Artwork for Medical Office Buildings & Hospitals

Purchasing artwork for a new or existing medical office building or hospital can be an overwhelming project. As a former owner representative and project manager on a multi-million dollar healthcare facility, I completely understand the challenges you are up against.

What art will look best? What medium should I get? How do I know the colors will go with the furniture and carpet? How do I prevent the artwork from being damaged or stolen? How much will it cost? These are all valid questions that many project managers face when up against this lofty challenge. In this article, we will explore these questions and I will help you determine what artwork you should purchase for your medical office building project. The fact that you are looking to invest money in high quality artwork for your medical office or hospital tells me you already understand the importance of including artwork and the benefits that carefully, strategically selected artwork can have on your customer, their experience, and the health of the population you are serving. Indeed, nature has many scientifically documented positive impacts on the health of individuals - and these impacts are still realized through photos of nature as well. Fine art nature and landscape photography makes a wonderful choice as artwork in medical office buildings and hospitals. Let's dig deeper.

What Art Will Look Best For My Medical Office Building or Hospital?

This is always the 1st question you should ask yourself when looking to purchase artwork for your medical office building or hospital. There are two very critical components one needs to think about when answering this question. The first is the meaning of color and the second is the longevity of the artwork.

Let's tackle the first component.

The Meaning of Color

Different colors consciously and subconsciously have different meanings for people, both physically and psychologically. For example, have you ever noticed that you feel warmer when you watch a sunset? That is because the colors in that sunset had a psychological impact on your brain. Let's explore this more deeply:

Warm Colors:

Combinations of warm colors like orange, yellow, and red reflect energy, happiness, enthusiasm, power, and passion. Uses of these colors are quite appropriate in settings where the designer wishes to impart these feelings onto the viewer, such as in a physical therapy office or exercise area.

Warm Color Artwork for Hospitals and Medical Offices

Cool Colors:

Combinations of cool colors like blue, purple, and green often reflect feelings of calm, healing, contemplation, and professionalism. Uses of these colors are appropriate in medical office or hospital settings where you want to reduce feelings of anxiety or improve one's outlook on their situation, such as a lobby, waiting room, or patient recovering room.

Blue and Cool Color Artwork for Hospitals and Medical Offices

Digging deeper into the color wheel and thinking about practical uses of color from nature to provide an appropriate environment to visitors of your medical office building or hospital, let's explore individual colors more closely.

Red:

Typically speaking, designers avoid the color red because it is sometimes associated with danger, fear, violence, and excitement; however, there are some use cases of the color red as it pertains to nature and landscape photography where I believe it can enhance the experience of a visitor of a medical office building or hospital. Scenes that represent a location or experience that is powerful and emotional can be a catalyst for a more energetic experience or a reminder of a fond event.

Red Artwork for Hospitals and Medical Offices

Orange:

The color orange is an interesting one and often depends on the hue of orange in the artwork. More muted versions of the color are associated with the earth, changing seasons, and creativity. Since it is also often associated with the fruit of the same name, it can be associated with vibrancy and vitality. Given these associations, the color is an excellent choice for medical office buildings and hospitals where the setting hopes to instill ideas of vitality, such as the newborn section or a pediatrician office.

Orange Artwork for Hospitals and Medical Offices

Yellow:

The color yellow is incredibly bright and is often associated with happiness, cheerfulness, and hope. These are all emotions that are welcomed additions to any medical office building setting or hospital setting and artwork containing yellow is often some of the most eye-catching.

Yellow Artwork for Hospitals and Medical Offices

Green:

The color green is one of my favorites as it is often associated with renewal, health, stability, balance, and harmony and can often impart a calming effect on the viewer. As such, artwork containing green is a wonderful choice for medical office buildings and hospitals.

Green Artwork for Hospitals and Medical Offices

Purple:

The color purple used to be one of the most rare and expensive colors to create due to the dyes used in the process. As such, it is often associated with wealth, royalty, and standing; however, it is also associated with imagination and creativity, which makes it a wonderful choice for certain settings within a medical office building or hospital. Areas designed for mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, or other similar settings can benefit from this color choice since it stimulates the imagination and helps patients think outside the box.

Purple Artwork for Hospitals and Medical Offices

Blue:

The color blue is perhaps my favorite color to include in projects for medical office buildings and hospitals due to the calming effect it can have on the viewer. Depending on the hue of blue in question (light vs. dark), it can illicit feelings of peace, relaxation, strength, and reliability. Clearly, these are all positive emotions that would be highly beneficial in almost any medical office building or hospital setting, making blue a wonderful choice for artwork. Nature and landscape photos are particularly excellent for this because it has the added benefit of providing the viewer with an escape from reality.

Blue Artwork for Hospitals and Medical Offices

Artwork Longevity

The second component relating to making a great choice for artwork for a medical office building or hospital relates to the artwork's longevity, which is impacted mostly by the placement of the artwork and the medium chosen for printing and display. Many people that purchase artwork look for low cost and low quality artwork to beat budget constraints only to later regret this decision due to artwork that is easily damaged or unsuitable for long-term display.

Artwork Placement & Artwork Medium

The location for the artwork and how it is lit can be a critical factor for choosing the artwork to be hung in your medical office building or hospital. Typically, high traffic areas such as hallways make great places for artwork but you should keep in mind that there is more opportunity for the artwork to be nudged or scratched in this process. As such, I don't canvas for any art installations in medical office buildings. Rather, two great choices include Acrylic-faced fine art prints or Chromaluxe dye sublimated metal prints. The acrylic used is important as well as not all acrylic is created equally. For high traffic areas, I recommend TrueLife acrylic as it blocks 99% of UV radiation, is virtually scratch-proof, and repels dust. Metal prints, while more affordable and easy to clean, are prone to denting and scratching. Another budget conscious option is a dibond alternative where a fine art print is adhered directly to dibond, which is a durable plastic material and then the print is face-mounted with a laminate that protects the print. This is far more affordable than framing with glass and is much safer.

Artwork for Hospitals and Medical Offices

Matching Artwork with Furniture and Carpet

Many people ask about the importance of matching the colors in artwork with furniture and carpet. A safe way to prevent this from even becoming something to think about in the first place is to ensure that both carpeting and furniture mostly contain neutral colors such as grey, white, black, brown, beige, and tan. This will allow for any artwork to fit in nicely with the design elements of the space. However, if furniture and carpet have already been chosen for your project and they contain bright, playful colors, do not worry. Generally speaking, in my experience, it can be quite easy to find colors to compliment your existing choices. A great way to facilitate this is to search for artwork by color to find pieces that work with your furniture and carpet. Below, an example of what happens when you search for the color "purple."

Search for Medical Office & Hospital Artwork by Color

Preventing Theft of Artwork in Your Medical Office Building or Hospital

While theft of artwork in a medical office building or hospital is somewhat rare, it can happen. All of my artwork that I provide to medical office buildings and hospitals comes with security hardware which significantly reduces the chances that someone can just lift the artwork and take it away. Another more expensive option would be to hire security guards to patrol your facility 24/7, which many hospitals already do; however, in my experience, security hardware prevents anyone from absconding with your beautiful artwork.

How Much Will Artwork Cost for my Medical Office Building or Hospital?

Cost is an important variable for any project and a budget should be set early on in the project planning process to determine the quality and quantity of artwork needed. Many project managers may be tempted to purchase artwork from a stock agency and have it framed or use an art consultant to purchase artwork at a discounted rate. These options may sound quite desirable from a cost containment perspective; however, the process for obtaining the artwork desired and the end result can be compromised considerably. Additionally, this method of procurement can take a significant amount of time, and often time is not something that a project manager has a lot of. Working directly with an artist like myself you are able to receive a customized plan for your artwork needs. We start by having a phone call where I get a full understanding of your needs and desires. Afterwards, I create a customized proposal, often the same day or next day, which includes several options to meet your needs and fit your budget. I partner directly with a photographic laboratory which creates all of my high quality work on-demand and quickly to precise specifications to ensure that the artwork you desire for your project is perfect upon delivery.

I would be honored to provide these services to you and to have you hang my fine art landscape and nature photography artwork on your walls for your medical office or hospital project. Please contact me and let's set-up a time to get to know each other so I can best meet your needs, under your budget, and in the time crunch you are under. I would also encourage you to browse my galleries to find artwork that you enjoy.