Spotlight on Dinosaur Themed Decor

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Exterior Showstoppers
Reception Desk Decor
Bench Seating
Photo Ops
Themed Murals
Play Areas
Theater Spaces
Signs and Wayfinding
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Travel back to the Land Before Time when you walk through your office doors. With dinosaur themed decor you can embark on a pre-historic adventure with a wooly mammoth, a triceratops, or maybe a brontosaurus!

Adding dinosaur themed decor to your space will add action, adventure, and mystery to your medical or dental office, childcare center, hotel play area, or any kid-oriented environment that you want to elevate for your visitor experience.

Let’s take a look back on some past Imagination Design Studios dino themed projects to get some creative juices flowing on how we can transform your everyday space into a primordial world of wonder.

Wow Your Clients With Dino-Mite Exterior Showstoppers

A head-turning exterior landscape is a sure way to wow everyone who passes by. Intrigue all ages with an extraordinary sculpture that signals you are a destination that promises an unforgettably unique experience if they walk through your doors.

Also, an exterior showstopper makes your real estate work for you. An IDS rooftop landmark is a perfect way to let your building advertise for you 24/7!

Check out this cute brushing dino! But don’t mistake cute for little, this ginormous dino spans across the length of this practice’s roof and it turns heads from miles away, stirring up curiosity all throughout the local community.

This brontosaurus and sabretooth tiger act as attention-grabbing exterior Landmarks above the carved rocky signage on the outside of this medical clinic. Kids know this is a fun place to go for a check-up.

Realistic dinosaurs are fun for all ages, like the raptor created for this orthodontic office.

Welcoming Dinosaur Reception Desk Decor

Once inside, the adventure for your young visitors can really begin. Capture your guests’ attention the moment they walk through the front door by bringing your theme to the reception desk.

As parents are occupied with the check-in process, children can plan an excavation excursion and examine these uncovered dino bones that have been carefully sculpted and textured to encourage exploration and spark imagination.

This jungle hut reception has been overrun with some pretty cool dinos! Be sure to give the curious brontosaurus hanging out on the bridge a wave on the way inside.

Dinosaur themed reception desk sided with yellow bamboo, 3D sculpted dinosaur heads, and a welcome sign.

Even a small desk can get a WOW upgrade that will draw visitors straight to it. Big or small, this check-in desk with ancient dinosaur bones makes for a beautiful decor piece. You can even throw an archeologist into the mix…

Immerse Yourself in the Adventure with Themed Bench Seating

From your reception desk to your waiting areas, the dinosaur theming can travel with your guests in a number of great decor products. Seating is an integral part of any lobby, waiting area, or lounge.

Carved seating that mimics the rocky hoodoos of ancient landscapes sets the scene for a dinosaur adventure.

Add a character to any seating area and your bench also doubles as a perfect photo-op to snap a ‘share-worthy’ moment for parents to keep and share with others. This will help you to promote your brand and what your location has to offer.

Let’s look at even more ways you can integrate photo ops into your space…

Pose with a Prehistoric Photo Op

Stand up characters are a fun photo op for kids and their families to pose beside. They can even be moved around your space or brought along to trade shows or public events.

Photo ops are great for the exterior of your building as well. They’ll draw in people passing by and spark curiosity about your business.

These two adorable dinos are all dolled up and waiting for their date to arrive – little do they know they’re waiting for each other on opposite ends of the street. Who’s going to tell them?

Dinosaur Themed Murals to Transport Your Walls to the Past

For the spaces that aren’t big enough for you to fit a life-size sculpted t-rex, a thrilling mural designed and illustrated by our artists can leave a lasting impression.

Time-traveling dino adventure anyone?

This Dino Tours mural incorporates gaming tablets (seen on the side of the vehicle) into the illustrated design.

Dinosaur divider walls separating the children’s play area from the adult sitting area are a fun way to add color, excitement, and organization to a space.

Our clients love mural additions as they are a visual way to keep children stimulated, encourage them to get lost in their imaginations, and make their own fun.

Speaking of organization, let’s check in on a few play areas that give kids a place to play, make a mess, and have fun in a dedicated area just for them.

Jurassic Play Areas Are Fun for All Ages

Creating special places just for children within your office space is a great way to make kids feel special. A private game area made for kids will make them well extra welcomed into your practice.

Did you know dinosaurs make great friends? This colossal creature invites its little guests into an aquatic cavern – a private play area where kids can unwind and parents can rest knowing that they are safe in a child-friendly environment.

Take a closer look – inside this sea cave an engaging gaming system has been built into the wall to entertain kids of all ages.

Theater Spaces for Entrainment and Education

The whole gang will show up for a movie in your hoodoo-filled dino themed theater area.

Kids can watch their favorite movie with all their favorite dino-pals while waiting for their approaching appointment. Local children’s groups, scouts, and tours can come in for educational presentations as well.

Our charming characters get into the movie too. Popcorn and 3D glasses abound in a cozy theater made for kids!

Signs and Wayfinding to Help Guests Find Their Way To and Through Your Jurassic Park

Signs have two benefits – as eye-catching marketing on the exterior of your building as you saw before in our Landmarks section, and as helpful wayfinding to lead your guests around the inside of your building.

Let’s look at what you can do to the inside of your space. Add an eye catching sign like this in your space to ensure your practice stands out as being family-friendly and fun.

These cuties below are sure to bring a smile to your clients’ faces the second they catch a glimpse.

Ready to set out on a Jurassic journey of your own? Our Creative Consultants are excited to amaze you with some prehistoric options for your space! In the words of Dr. Henry Wu from Jurassic Park, “You didn’t ask for reality; you asked for more teeth!”

Want to take a closer look at some dinosaur themed offices? Check out these two projects below:

A Dino-Mite Dental Clinic

Two Them es – Dinosaur and Jungle

Want a dinosaur themed office of your own? Our Creative Consultants can’t wait to help you go back in time!

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Optimize Your Healthcare Facilities for Patient Acquisition

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Conscious Effort is Required to Attract New Patients
Design Details that Influence Patient Acquisition
Relationships Affect Patient Acquisition
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Convincing new patients to choose you for their care is a journey – a journey that starts with the patient’s first appointment and develops through a series of good experiences with your clinic. Those positive results will typically point back to how well your office is optimized for patient acquisition.

That’s no small feat. These days patient interaction is skewed by your staff demeanor, your standard of care, the services you provide, insurance acceptance, and more. That also includes the design of your office which enhances or diminishes a patient’s impression of you, your team, and your skills.

Conscious Effort is Required to Attract New Patients

The cost of acquiring one new patient can total hundreds of dollars or more. Your total investment can vary from patient to patient depending on their responsiveness to either your office culture or future targeted marketing initiatives.

There’s also the competitive environment that hospitals and clinics exist in. Advertising campaigns can cross the line of sight of potential patients via direct mail pieces or online advertisements. Healthcare providers spend upwards of $10 billion on advertising a year in the US – that’s a lot of effort being poured into attracting new clients.

The conclusion that can be drawn from this is clear – the choice is in the hands of the patients!

And that is the problem you have to solve with your acquisition efforts – occupying a prominent place in their mind when they are making a choice about their health or their family’s care. You must be intentional in your actions to secure their attention and keep it.

Be Aware of the Environment You Have Created for Your Patients

Your physical space, clinic atmosphere, vibe, and overall culture can have a substantial impact on patient acquisition. New patients especially are discerning about specific things relative to your office environment.

Does the space mitigate their anxieties?
Does it feel like a safe and sterile environment?
Will satisfaction be consistent across satellite locations?

These factors align with what’s referred to as evidence-based design strategy. That’s the theory that you can create an office environment that helps you achieve the best possible healthcare outcomes.

And of course, this would strongly influence the acquisition of new patients.

The power of first impressions relies on how each patient feels the moment they encounter your practice. It could be the tone of a direct mailout, the glowing referral of a friend or online review, or the atmosphere of the office when they first walk in.

”Design choices matter. Approximately 24 to 35% of a patient’s overall satisfaction with a health care experience is influenced by the design and decor of the facility.” ^[1]

Design Details that Influence Patient Acquisition

Overall Design Details

Interior design and decor are important for setting a mood in your dental office.

Maximizing your office design extends from curb to exam room. Remember that one scheduled appointment doesn’t guarantee a second. Make a first impression that sticks like glue.

Apply conscientious design from the entrance to the reception to the exam & treatment areas.
Maintain and routinely upgrade your exterior and interior spaces.
Theme your office to connect with your patient demographic.

Create a Mood with Details in Your Front Office and Reception Area

The attention to detail you bring to establish the vibe of your entry areas will help your patients connect with your space. A pleasant and comfortable tone invites guests in and makes them feel at home. This feeling will have patients willing to begin establishing a long-term relationship with your practice.

It has been amazing to see the overwhelmingly positive reaction of patients as they come in for treatment. Providing exceptional care and comfort are foundational to my practice. Since the installation, I have watched their joy increase immensely.
– Dr. Clyde Maxwell

When creating a patient welcome area, there are a few things you should try to accomplish.

Welcome your patients to your office with a smile. Your receptionists are the first people your clients interact with, and as such, are the face of your company. Use your reception desk or check-in desk as a beacon to welcome them inside your space.

Include natural features such as plants, nature art, outdoor views, soft lighting, and skylights that utilize natural lighting effects. Provide patients with a comfortable place to relax their minds.

Contemporary jungle themed waiting room.

underwater themed waiting room with custom murals, whale sculpture and fish — Village Family Dental Surgery

Include elements like reading materials, free wi-fi, and especially in the case of pediatric areas, themed decor, etc.

An important part of your reception area is entertainment. Turning the wait time into a relaxing or even a fun time with amenities like free wifi, snacks, or games for kids is a great we to turn your office into a welcoming space.

A separate play corner or room for children in waiting areas creates a special space just for them (and a space where adults can relax without the noise of children). A welcoming space for children will reduce their anxiety, but also put their parents at ease knowing they are entertained and occupied, and in the end have them both looking forward to their appointments!

Contemporary jungle themed playroom with wall mounted gaming systems, silhouette murals, and 3D jungle characters. — Pikeville Medical Center Children’s Hospital

Waiting room area with underwater themed gazebo and wall divider with peek-through face portals for photo op as starfish and scuba diver — Gunderson Health System

Ultimately, the intentions are to create a space that your clients enjoy visiting and are motivated to return to when a future need arises. Patients, whether children or adults, will acknowledge and appreciate that you put effort into their comfort and entertainment by paying attention to the spaces they will be using.

Extend Friendly Decor into Your Examination Spaces

Bring the journey beyond your waiting room and into the rest of your space with themed decor. Bright colors and landscape imagery promise your guests a distraction from their ailments if they choose your services. After time spent in your space, patients will know your priorities are giving top not services and a positive experience.

Modern hospital room with a yellow framed bed.

Pediatric wards can especially benefit from transformative decor in exam and recovery areas. Young patients will feel at ease and parents will have a great distraction for their children. Here are some great examples of how themed office decor has transformed office spaces to create a positive pediatric patient experience.

Jungle murals brighten up a sterile treatment room.

Patients will feel like they’re going on a walk through the wilderness in this treatment area hallway.

At the end of the day, it is the vibe you create in your business space that helps patients feel more engaged and in control of their relationship with you as their care provider.

Theming on the Building’s Exterior to Grab Attention

Visibility, parking availability, ease of access, and exterior aesthetic are all factors that set the tone for patient acquisition success.

At IDS we are all about making the best first impressions for pediatric healthcare environments. We work with family-friendly businesses to design both big and small themed elements for the exterior of their locations. Whether it is a giant blue whale perched on top of a building, a pirate ship busting through the wall, or a quirky photo op, people will begin to associate your business with your theming choices… “They promise a friendly experience!” or “These people go above and beyond for their clients.”

And here’s the thing with exterior theming, suddenly your building is advertising for you 24/7. Exterior theming will not only attract new clientele but spread the word around town about who you are and what you do.

“As a result of the theming, marketing has definitely improved. Even if patients cannot remember the name of the clinic, they know where we are and that our clinic is the fun place for kids to come play while they are waiting for their appointment. Telling patients it is the clinic with the giraffe and alligator is an easy visual landmark to help them find us. This has helped get new patients through the doors.”
– Sheryl Wright, Family Nurse Practitioner and Owner of Reelfoot Pediatrics

Relationship Development Details that Affect Patient Acquisition

Not all relationships start at a good place. In fact, for many healthcare appointments, there might already be a strike against you.

It’s nothing personal, it’s just that individual health is well, personal. Put in the work of creating the right environment and match that with good relational skills to help dissolve your patients’ natural existing anxieties.

Pay Personal Attention to Your Patients

It’s easy for patients to feel like a number in a long line of appointments you have throughout the day. Every patient interaction or conversation provides you an opportunity to deepen your relationship with them.

Your top relational skill is listening!

It helps to rely on your office design flow for enhanced listening. Meaning, that it’s a good idea to have patient conversations in a designated, comfortable consult area.

Patients will feel more at ease and you and your team members will be better equipped to truly listen to what your patients share with you.

This consult area is designed to put kids at ease as they sit with their parents.

You can also offer additional points of contact beyond an in-person exam and consultation. Making yourself or resources available to your patients beyond office hours will help them feel valued and connected.

Leverage Your Knowledge to Build Trust with Your Patients

Patients know it’s a good idea to take care of their physical health. But they’re often lacking the “why” behind it.

Trust is a defining element in any relationship, but is particularly central to the patient-physician relationship. Trust is built through knowledge and being able to convey that knowledge to your patients in a way they will understand. Patients who feel informed are more likely to have a positive experience. And that positive experience leads to an increase in your patient acquisition success.

Listen to their specific questions, and find a solution that is unique to them and their situation.
Encourage them to ask questions about your standard of care, technology, treatment outcomes, financials, and more. Freedom to inquire (without judgement) enhances the doctor-patient relationship.
Have resources available that they can take home or look up online beyond the appointment to help them feel empowered.

Patients who trust their healthcare providers are more likely to have longer relationships with their physicians.

Schedule the Next Appointment

Relationships require consistency. The same applies to maintaining health. Your intentional efforts to set a patient’s next follow-up appointment confirms that you consider their healthcare as a priority.

Staying connected to you and your office and their health maintains consistency that is essential. Those levels of consistency confirm that you’re on the path to increasing your patient acquisition percentages.

Keep in mind that acquiring patients is fundamentally a two-fold process. It is one part environment and one part relational.

Optimize your clinics around each and you’ll increase your successful patient acquisition.

Check out these related resources on these strategies that lead to an increase in patient acquisition:

6 Dental Office Images That Show How Intentional Design Impacts Patient Experience

What is Patient Experience and Why Does It Matter?

A Practical Guide to Creating an Exceptional Patient Experience

Contact Imagination Design Studios (IDS) to get started transforming your office from a mundane to magical patient experience.

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How Exterior Theming Can Draw Visitors to Your Tourist Attraction

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You know that little saying… don’t judge a book by its cover? What if I told you that is exactly what you want your customers to do.

In other words, when your guests pull up to your business you want them to be impressed with your building and have a good idea of how you operate on the inside. Follow along as we discuss how bringing a little imagination and personality to the exterior of your building can have a beneficial impact on the business that comes through your doors.

What Does the Exterior Look of Your Business Say to Guests?

In our recent blog What Does Your Reception and Lobby Say to Guests, we noted that it only takes seven seconds for a person to make a first impression. Seven seconds is just enough time for a person to decide whether they are going to turn into your parking lot or not.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
– Oscar Wilde

Make sure your guests are wowed from moment one with something that makes them take a deep breath and think, “I am in the right place.”

What Do You Want Your Visitors to Know About You?

What attracts visitors to your destination? Is it your signature dish, prehistoric fossils & minerals, a new science exhibit, or top-notch scuba tours? Similarly, why are you as a business owner excited to have guests join you in your space?

You can give visitors the answers to these questions by designing the exterior of your location to visually represent who you are, and make them feel assured they are in the right place when they arrive.

Before you embark on the journey of designing your dream exterior, start by asking yourself the following questions:

How do I want my brand to be visually represented?
What assumptions do I want people to make when they arrive at my business?
What are my target audience’s interests?

Attract Attention with Landmark Characters to Top Your Building

Turn heads from miles away and make people think “I have to go there.”

External business landmarks – a tried and true advertising technique that works for your business 24 hours a day.

Your business’s exterior is the first interaction guests have with your company. Let it be your silent salesperson and speak on your behalf for all the moments you are not around. Let it intrigue passersby. You are a one-of-a-kind business, give people the idea that what you are doing through your doors is different and exciting.

Shot of giant octopus landmark character peeking over the rooftop. — This legendary landmark makes it obvious that this location is committed to the promise of fun. A strong impression like this sticks like glue – who forgets an octopus with a snorkel practically inviting you inside for a scuba-filled adventure.

Giant sculpted lion and cub landmark character on roof of pediatric dental office. — Check out these keepers of the animal kingdom. Visitors will be curious as to what other playful safari animals they may encounter as they wander through this attraction.

Close-up exterior shot of Godzilla hanging off the outside of the Hollywood Wax Museum. — “There’s only one thing that can leave a footprint that size…” Feast your eyes on the world’s largest gorilla gripping the Empire State Building in its clutches.

Kids posing for a photo on a giant exterior landmark of a tiger and elephant river rafting. — Ready for a white water rafting adventure? This wild landmark doubles as a photo op for these kids who have hopped on for the ride!

Giant sea turtle rooftop landmark character. — Looking for some radical waves to surf? Give this dude some fin for riding that gnarly wave over the edge of this business rooftop.

Exterior shot of business with a giant red and blue dinosaur landmark character on the roof. — Fans of fossils and dinosaurs will spot this friendly dino from miles away as it spans over the entirety of this building’s roof.

Shot of giant horse and cow rooftop landmark characters. — Yehaaaaaw! This educational facility promises a farmyard full of fun to all the guests who walk through the doors!

Close-up exterior shot of the Mount Rushmore Cladding on the outside of the Hollywood Wax Museum. — This is a landmark of… a landmark! The Hollywood Wax Museum displays stars of the past in the style of Mount Rushmore.

Grab attention and let the word of your unique exterior spread far and wide. Exterior theming will attract new visitors and get the community talking about you. “Turn left at the giant octopus” will become a common phrase. People won’t be able to help but come by and check you out.

Advertise with Themed Cladding for Your Building Exterior

Take it one step further than a sculpture on your roof – cover your whole building in an eye-catching display!

Theming the entire exterior of your business will have car breaks screeching and kids and adults alike screaming “stop the car!”

Turn your space from mundane to magical and hit people with the curiosity bug. They will have a hard time staying away from your space wondering what is behind your remarkable doors.

Exterior shop of Wonderworks Musuem themed and cladded to look like an upside-down building. — This wonderful upsidedown museum is sure to draw attention. What do you think has happened to the inside? Should we explore?

Do you dare enter the Castle of Chaos? The themed cladding on this building radiates mystery and the promise of a thrill.

The Hollywood Wax Museum is the home of the stars!

When guests pull up to MagiQuest, they know they are in for an adventure. Which magical door should they try first?

Become a Shareworthy Business With Themed Photo Ops

Whether you operate a healthcare facility, hospitality venue, or tourism destination, it’s critical that your clients leave happy and are excited to come back. And if you’ve done it just right, they will be happy to share with others the great experience they’ve had in your space.

Give your guest something to share by showcasing visually interesting moments they can easily capture and post on social media. But what could these significant opportunities be for your business? Well, what is the first thing you do when you are looking to visit a new place? Do you check prices, read reviews, or do you scan the photos? Our guess is photos first.

Picture this… the first photos of your business that come up on Google are customers posing with your one-of-a-kind photo op. They are beaming in these photos because they’ve just had a wonderful time in your space.

Check out a selection of photo ops created by the IDS team over the years. These 3D characters continue to stop visitors in their tracks to snap a memory to this day.

Hollywood Wax has a heart-stopping photo op where families can pose with King Kong himself.

Those with a sweet tooth can pretend to be the founders of a famous chocolate shop in this peek-through photo op display.

Fans of trains can hammer in the final golden railway spike on their adventure through the olden days.

Visitors to the famous dinosaur town of Drumheller, Alberta can pose with a raptor come to life!

Have a blast at the local science center! Guests can explore the stars while pretending to be an astronaut.

warthog with a sports jersey and foam finger photo op bench — Sports fan? A mascot that’s always ready for a close-up is the perfect photo op outside of a stadium.

Including your logo in the shot is a must! Your guests will be advertising for you when they share their photos with others.

This anime-inspired mecha dragon gets all the kids excited for a new adventure.

Seasonal photo ops are another great way to entice visitors with fun photos. An entire Christmas display may not work for your business, but a Santa who’s always ready for a photo will draw in kids and adults for a quick shot.

This “selfie Santa” lets you put your phone in Santa’s hand for the perfect photo.

As we said, when you’ve done it just right, the content your guests capture interacting with your space and something like a photo op will easily showcase how the experience at your location made them feel – #happywecame! That’s the real power of visual content and why social approval remains the most powerful way to influence business results.

Speaking of which, check out how exterior theming can supercharge your return on investment (ROI)…

Supercharge Your ROI with Exterior Theming

Let me give you a little scenario…

There are two businesses in the same industry and each owner wants to work on boosting their ROI. Both business owners have committed to a similar budget over the next 5 years to achieve this goal.

Business A has committed to dedicating that money primarily to social media advertising initiatives. Whereas Business B has dedicated these funds solely to investing in theming of the exterior of their business – Business B’s theming included an addition of a marvelous photo op character.

Business A has undoubtedly seen an increase in business deriving directly from their marketing efforts. However, Business B’s upfront investment in theming has cut their need to spend on marketing entirely. Why? Because their customers have begun marketing for them.

People love sharing their experiences on social media. Business B’s photo-op in front of their storefront gave their guests the perfect opportunity to do so. On top of that, people cannot help but talk. Business B’s visitors continue to share the word that there is a magical photo op attraction in their community. This has people far and wide talking about and seeking out Business B’s attraction.

What theming investment has afforded for Business B is years of free marketing collateral for a one-time investment. Whereas business A will inevitably have to continue contributing to their marketing initiatives to keep seeing the results they are seeing. But because they will need to continue making significant contributions to see similar results they will have to ask… is this sustainable?

“I think undeniably this is the best marketing tool you can possibly use – you know, you don’t have to put up a billboard when you have a business like this.”
– Dr. Bill Martin, IDS theming client

Encourage your guests to look, point, and judge a book by its cover. Reel them in with the story your exterior tells. You are mysterious, you offer relaxation, or you can provide ultimate fun. A first impression lasts forever, so catch their attention and keep it.

Want some more inspiration for promoting your town or business?

4 Ways a Roadside Attraction Can Benefit Your City or Town

6 Types of Roadside Attractions That Will Get You Noticed

The Magic of Parade Floats: Types and Benefits

Playful Photo Op Inspiration

Contact Imagination Design Studios (IDS) to get started transforming your business into a magical guest experience.

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What Does Your Reception and Lobby Say to Guests?

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The Significance of a Thoughtfully Designed Lobby
What Should Your Lobby Look Like?
Benefits of a Recognizable and Branded Themed Lobby
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What do you look at when you walk into someone’s home? Is it the flooring, the paint, the artwork? What you are doing in those moments is making a judgment on the space you’ve entered and how you feel in it.

As a hospitality provider, you are hosting your guests’ home away from home. They may stay for just the evening or perhaps a few weeks, but their first few moments in your space can make or break their impression of your business for the remainder of their stay.

The Significance of a Thoughtfully Designed Lobby

Within the first seven seconds of meeting, people will have a solid impression of who you are – and some research suggests a tenth of a second is all it takes to start determining traits like trustworthiness.
– Forbes

It’s all about your visitors. Your lobby is the first place your guests have will have contact with the face of your company, and as such, plays a significant role in influencing the first impression they make of your business. Make them feel welcome!

Consider what they are stepping into –the heart of your space. Your lobby and reception space is a place for them to check-in and out, socialize, relax, wait for a ride, or catch up on some work. Encouraging these connective activities by ensuring the space is designed with comfort, quality, appeal, and functionality can communicate that this space was created for them.

But you do have to ask, what design elements in your lobby will invoke these welcoming feelings?

What Should Your Lobby Look Like?

Do you have a trendy hotel restaurant, a family-friendly resort, or an experiential bar? To secure satisfaction amongst your guests you must stimulate their imagination in relation to your brand and what you do through your design.

Whether you are building from scratch or looking to enhance your lobby space, start by asking yourself these questions in relevance to who you are as a company:

Who is my clientele? Who are the people you need to connect with? Aim to connect with them on a multitude of sensory levels (i.e., eyesight, touch, smell, sound) through the design of your space. Remember to consider their abilities and factor accessibility and functionality into your design.
What emotions do you want to provoke in your guests? Are you wanting your guests to feel curious, excited, cheery, amused, relaxed, etc.?
How would you like to capture their attention? Is it with an out-of-the-box wow factor, cozy furniture, a grand roaring fireplace, sleek decor, or mood lighting?
What expectations do you want to establish? How should guests expect to feel heading into your establishment after their encounter in your welcome area, or what can they be sure to experience if they choose to return?

Once you have established these elements, you can add your design flair to show them who you are.

Speaking of that flare, let’s talk about ways that you can weave your brand into your lobby space.

Benefits of a Recognizable and Branded Themed Lobby

Build a space that forges lasting emotional connections between you and your customers by adding brand activations.

A brand activation is an interaction with your brand that is intentionally implemented to create awareness and connect with your target audience on an exclusive level. Brand activations are an experience.

Prime Marketing puts it best…

Brand activation allows a brand to have a privileged moment with the consumer one-on-one to showcase the features and advantages of a product.

Creating lasting emotional connections between you and your customers gives them a memory they can take with them.

Here is a noteworthy example:

Lipton Iced Tea’s Slip & Slide in London

Take a peek at this Lipton Tea slip & slide that was assembled in downtown London early on a Friday morning. It was set up to encourage commuters to #BeADaybreaker, have a bit fun of on their way to work, and take a slip down the slide. This brought a ton of smiles to sliders’ faces, gave them a fun interaction on a Friday morning, and a memory associated with the Lipton brand to take with them.

This is an extreme example of course. Basically, if a consumer is physically engaging with a brand in any way, such as interacting with a photo op or getting swag from the team on a parade float, you have created an experience for your audience.

The IDS team created the Skip the Dishes parade float.

Depending on the vibe of your business, you can subtly mesh brand activations into your guest experience or go big!

Let’s take it slow and build up to the showstoppers…

Branded Items to Delight Your Guests

Take your guest experience to the next level with some customization of the products that guests will use while checking in, having continental breakfast, or lounging while waiting for an Uber.

Add your branding to things like:

Pens
Coasters
Napkins
Water bottle labels

Create branded swag that guests can keep or purchase from your gift shop.

Tote bags
Mugs and tumblers
Lip balm
Sun hats and ball caps
Sunglasses

Encouraging guests to keep some swag as a memory of their trip is a thoughtful way to remind them of their time in your space.

Immersive Wall Murals to Transform Lounge Spaces

Transform your space into some special, something they wouldn’t see anywhere else. Wall murals are a great extension of your brand presence as they can be designed to fit the story of who you are – a cozy hideaway, a chic hangout, or a family-friendly escape. Why not liven up your space with a custom addition that will have guests oohing and awing!

Consider a contemporary and chic addition that brings a simplistic color pallet that appeals to a wide range of ages.

For a family-friendly location, try something more fun. An age-old game we all have a hard time passing up is I spy with my little eye. Hide various brand elements throughout the game for your guests to find while they relax in your lobby area. Also great for family rooms or play areas where kids and their parents can spend some time after a day of activities.

Themed Reception Desks for Welcome Guests with Whimsy

There is incredible value in staffing your waiting area with a wonderful individual or team to greet your visitors. Their bright smiles can elevate your visitor’s first moments in your space by giving them a moment to personally connect with those who represent your brand.

Why not elevate the location guests are directed to be greeted by turning it into an awe-inspiring centerpiece?

These modern reception desks are vibrantly chic. This refreshing design communicates luxury and relaxation.

These reception desks are fun and eye-catching and set the mood for an extraordinary experience.

Creative Lobby Seating for Guests

Functionality is a key factor in providing a comfortable sanctuary for your guests. Your visitors could be checking in after a long day on the road or returning from wandering the local tourist spots. Either way, they will appreciate a comfortable place to grab a moment of rest.

But who said functionality and comfort mean you have to sacrifice interesting design? Check out these practical and stylish seating solutions.

This bench seating is elegantly eye-catching. Make this coral sculpture the pearl of your lobby. Its sleek and luminous design elements will have guests feeling refreshed when they take a moment to rest their feet.

Guests can join these friendly seals perched in this cozy corner. Don’t forget to snap a picture! Your guests will have something to show their friends when they tell them they got to hang out with these friendly sea creatures.

In fact, give your visitors ample opportunity to snap the vacation away with these unforgettable photo ops…

Photo Opportunities for Visiting Families

Encourage your guests to take home a memory – a picture with a branded photo op. This is the perfect addition to your lobby or reception area because as discussed above, it is a space that they will spend time in at various points during their stay. If guests are on a leisurely trip, stopping to snap a picture will seem enticing.

Cozy up in this lodge lobby and snap a memory with this bear cub… keep an eye out for mamma bear though.

Surfs up with this little shredding pup mascot. Guests can hop on the board and practice their skills before they hit the wave pool with their friends or family!

Speaking of the pool, what about a friendly lifeguard shark character leading from the lobby to the pool? The logo on his chest makes for a great social media promo when guests take their pictures with this charming character.

Eye-catching Centerpieces for Your Lobby

Wow your guests with out-of-the-box dimension and creativity.

Eye-catching centerpieces can be monumental additions to your space. Your visitors will start associating you and your business with the memorable item that took their breath away the moment they walked into your space.

This remarkable sculpted whale soars above this modern designed lobby. Its impressive size and carefully crafted features are the perfect attention-grabbing recipe to make an impactful first impression.

These tree sculpted supporting beams turned this lobby into a contemporary forest. These could have been plain structural beams, but instead, guests are consistently wowed by the thoughtfully unique detail.

First impressions count, so show your guests you are excited to invite them into a space that reflects who you are as a company. Tell your guests that you’re friendly, fun, and interactive! Go crazy or keep it simple, but strive to produce a reaction that makes your guests feel welcomed.

Want some more inspiration for promoting your business?

How Exterior Theming Can Draw Visitors to Your Tourist Attraction

4 Ways a Roadside Attraction Can Benefit Your City or Town

6 Types of Roadside Attractions That Will Get You Noticed

Playful Photo Op Inspiration

Contact Imagination Design Studios (IDS) to get started transforming your business into a magical guest experience.

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Top 7 Interactive Waiting Room Ideas

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1. Interact with People
2. Interact with Entertainment
3. Interact with Play
4. Interact with Learning
5. Interact with Amenities
6. Interact with Memories
7. Interact with Tastebuds
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We have seen a shift in how people place value on a service – where once people were only concerned with how effective their treatment was, now they are concerned with how fun or enjoyable their experience in your care was as well.

As a business owner, you see the value in the services you offer because you are delivering a product or service you are both skilled at and passionate about. Patients and their families will appreciate your skill once in your exam room, but what about the time they spend in your waiting room?

By providing the visitors to your office an engaging atmosphere, you can get a jump start on establishing positive relationships with patients the second they walk through your door.

Create a Positive Patient Experience with these 7 Interactive Waiting Room Ideas

1. Interact with People – Welcome Your Patients to the Office with a Smile

In our technological age, we understand how tempting it is to bring digitization into your business, especially when you have already worked hard to provide external digital affordances like an informative website, online booking calendars, chatboxes, or even mobile diagnostic apps. As a result, mobile check-in services and electronic kiosks are enticing to implement to save on resources… but where’s the interaction?

There is an unmatched value in staffing your waiting area with a wonderful individual or team to greet your visitors who want to have some human interaction, rather than relying on a virtual receptionist.

These individuals are the first people your clients have interaction with inside your business and as such, should be thought of as the face of your company. They can brighten your visitor’s first moments in your space with a positive and cheerful interaction. It is this interaction that can impact their frame of mind heading into their appointment.

Face-to-face interaction extends the convenience of connectivity and this is essential to building genuine trust and loyalty that your clients will have with your business.

2. Interact with Entertainment – Add Digital Entertainment to Your Waiting Room

However, after saying digital greetings are impersonal, we must assure you that digital conveniences aren’t all bad.

People are eager to have an exciting outlet to take their mind off waiting, which is typically a mundane experience. Whether it’s a theater experience, video game tablets, or something more special like an interactive floor projection game, digital entertainment is a way for guests to disconnect from the mundane waiting process and connect with the fun vibe of your office experience.

Cozy theater space for your waiting room.

Safari tent themed theater with bench seating. — Fun theater area for the whole family.

Video game station for children and teens.

Visits to medical environments can often be anxiety-inducing. Offering a moment of relief through a funny movie, thrilling video game, or interactive simulation can make waiting feel like an opportunity to relax and feel secure in the space they are in. Additions like these have been uniquely constructed in office spaces for both children and parents to engage with and feel welcome by making them feel like they are a part of the space.

3. Interact with Play – Active Waiting Room Play Areas for Kids and Tots

Like the theater and gaming areas discussed above, another interactive convenience you can add if you have a child-friendly business is a play area with active entertainment like slides, KeeBee playboards, an I Spy wall mural, or even a giant Litezilla light board.

Dental office treatment room I Spy game wall mural of a Dr. Seuss landscape. — An I Spy wall mural with hidden pictures.

Boy playing with a LiteZilla wall. — Litezilla giant lite brite.

If you cater to both kids and adults, you can create a special kids area or playroom just for them. IDS designers are experts at helping offices create a memorable space that is equal parts fun and functional.

Game room entrance with pirate ship theming an seal photo op character. — A designated room for kids with a themed entrance.

A play structure for kids to play inside.

A divider wall in a large room creates a play area for kids.

Telling a child to sit still and wait is a taxing job. Parents will be appreciative of a space for their children to escape and play while they can relax knowing their kids are in a safe and fun environment.

4. Interact with Learning – Entertaining Education for Kids

While keeping kids occupied with different activities, why not add some education into the mix? Any dental office can benefit from a tooth brushing station where kids can practice brushing and flossing. A tooth model with some icky cavities shows kids why brushing is so important.

Interactive tooth models showing healthy teeth, cavities, and roots.

Kids can play and learn at the same time, helping them remember the lessons of the day when they get home to brush their own teeth.

5. Interact with Amenities – Charging Station and Free Wifi

When children are distracted by your engaging entertainment, parents have a moment to themselves and will turn to their own entertainment – their phones. Supplying your waiting room with a charging station and a free wifi hub is a thoughtful way to offer additional convenience to your visitors while they wait.

Wireless charging has improved by leaps and bounds, so don’t think of a charging station with a mess of wires. You can even add a charging table with hidden wireless charging spots to your waiting room.

Providing your guests with a hotspot is an enticing opportunity for your guests to share their whereabouts which will extend the name of your office out into the community. Maybe they will share a picture of their little one having a blast playing on the slide or a video of them making an artistic design on the LiteZilla lite brite.

6. Interact with Memories – Photo Ops for Your Guests

Create a social media moment and give your clients something to pose with while they wait. Photo ops are a great interactive form of entertainment that doubles as a marketing tool for your office. Parents will share photos of the fun time they and their kids had at your office with their friends and family.

7. Interact with Tastebuds – Refreshments and Snack Stations

For an extra indulgent treat, supplying your waiting room with a snack hub can make or break a patient’s patience.

We have made a few tasty stations over the years. A few of our clients even have ice cream machines!

A few tips:

Make sure there is a variety – ensure you have healthy options, allergy considerate, tea & coffee, sweet & salty. Your guests will be wowed and appreciate the thought behind the options.
Have a suggestion box – pique their interest and have them looking forward to their favorite tasty treat when they return next.
Brand your items – create custom stickers for your water bottles or tag your snacks with a thank you note. This additional step will leave guests feeling valued and aware of the extra mile you go for them and their comfort.

At the end of the day, just show your clients who you are – the most caring provider in your community! Take these tips and modify them to suit you best and your clients will have no trouble recognizing the effort you put into your practice and space to make them feel involved and appreciated.

Including them through interaction with your space is an open invitation for them to return.

Check out these related resources for making your waiting room a fun place to spend some time:

Tips to Make Your Dental Practice More Inviting for Pediatric Patients

Top-Shelf Anxiety Books for Kids to Add to Your Clinic Waiting Area

Contact Imagination Design Studios (IDS) to get started transforming your office into an anxiety-free dental experience for kids.

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Spotlight on Pirate Themed Offices

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Yargh, matey! Join us on a swashbuckling pirate adventure, brought right into your own business! Pirate themes are engaging for both young and seasoned sailors. Let your imagination sail the 7 seas by transforming your medical office, childcare centre, hotel family room, or any kid-focused environment to offer your guests an exciting visit both above and deep below the waves.

Beloved by all ages, pirates are an endlessly fun and daring theme to bring to any office to make the wait times go by in the blink of an eye-patch clad eye.

Let’s review some classic IDS pirate-inspired offices and explore how many ways this exciting genre can be incorporated into any child-oriented environment.

Pirate Play Areas

Pirate Ship Themed Play Areas and Kids’ Rooms

A pirate ship makes the perfect play area structure! The craggy wooden walls of a ship and cannon portholes not only translate into a wide array of play area shapes, sizes, and styles, but also act as a child’s imaginary portal to a new world.

Wall of a pirate ship sectioning off a kids play area

Pirate ship themed entrance to a children's play area

Yellow ship connected to an enclosed pirate ship play structure boarded with friendly seatmates

Play structures create private areas or playrooms where kids can be kids, while adults can sit together and relax in their own area catered to them.

Pirate ship kids fort with a custom planked dividing wall accompanied by an underwater themed mural on interior walls

Pirate ship themed entrance to a kids zone greeted by a friendly seal and curious octopus

Pirate ships are the perfect environment to spark a child’s imagination. Children can pretend to be a pirate themselves, steering the ship towards buried treasure or firing off cannons at the enemy. They can pretend to be a scuba diver searching for old abandoned treasure on the dark of the ocean floor. The possibilites are endless.

Beyond their imaginations, don’t forget to add some games to entertain kids as well…

Pirate Games and Activities

Little ones can settle into a sunken ship to explore and play games on wall-mounted gaming stations or take the helm with a real wheel so kids can steer the ship.

Interactive games in pirate ship themed play area

Active play like climbing structures and slides is a great way for kids to burn off some energy. Parents will appreciate it.

Yellow slide on a pirate ship themed play structure

Video games and tablets will keep older kids and teens happy. Interactive games can be added to the sculpted walls of a pirate ship or tucked into a treasure chest!

Gaming consoles built into an underwater themed feature tower in dental office

Treasure-filled Environments

Fill your environment beyond the play area. Walls, desks, seating and more are waiting to be themed.

Murals Full of Pirate Treasure

Even if you don’t have the space to incorporate an entire ship in your office, beautifully illustrated 2D wall murals can bring kids in on the action just as effectively. An illustration of a sunken pirate ship will have kids wondering – why did the ship sink? What undersea creatures now occupy the cabin? The possibilities are endless and sure to pass the time.

You can even incorporate an I Spy picture find game in your mural so children will be able to search for treasure within the mural. We can theme the objects in the game around your type of business – find 3 toothbrushes or 6 bandaids or 4 butterflies drawn to match real local flora and fauna. Within a medical environment, this is a fun way to help familiarize and desensitize younger, more nervous children with objects that doctors use to help patients.

We have many styles to choose from. Below you can see how our illustrated ‘assets’ can be used to create a custom scene to suit your style.

Nautical Reception Desks

Welcome families to the ocean with a nautical themed reception desk. Big or small, murals or 3D sculptures, these desks are a great way to bring guests into your business.

Underwater Bench and Stool Seating Ideas

Exciting pirate adventures can even be incorporated into your seating! This round seating arrangement loops around a sculpted crow’s nest centerpiece, with a grinning captain turtle, keeping a look out for danger. Around the mast are sculpted 3D fish.

Spark imagination in your visitors. Is this bench an old ship mast perhaps?

Incorporating a photo op character into a themed seating area elevates a bench to a whole new level.

Small stools are great for children.

Pirate and Pals Brushing Mirrors

Pirates and their water-dwelling friends like sharks and alligators make great frames for brushing mirrors in dental office brushing areas. Don’t miss that gold tooth detail on the pirate. Small details are what makes theming magical.

Pirate Theater Spaces

Whether a large seating area or a small private room, theaters create an entertaining space for kids where they can sit back and enjoy a movie or even a presentation from staff.

Add seating and a TV or projection screen to create a theater atmosphere.

A dental or medical office with a theater area creates a perfect space for local clubs, scouts, and schools to come visit for an educational presentation.

Larger Than Life Pirate Decor

Pirate Themed Exterior Landmark Characters

Set the tone for your pirate adventure and reel clients in by bringing your theme outside!! We love the way these giant octopuses riding pirate ships let any passerby know how incredible the clinic and dental office, respectively, is inside.

Landmarks also act as a memorable photo op. Children and families love to pose beside these behemoths and share on their social feeds.

Pirate Photo Op Characters

Speaking of photo ops, smiling characters on benches create amazing photo opportunities for young and old. By incorporating signs and logos into the shot, your business brand will be included in every photo.

Talk about adventure on the high seas! No office is complete without a charming photo op to help boost social media engagement.

The minnow moustache on this shark captain is sure to get a few laughs.

Love our pirate themed offices? There’s more where that came from!

Sunken Ship Play Area

Pirate Octopus Undersea Adventure

Treasure Island Dental Office

Want a pirate themed office of your own? Our Creative Consultants can’t wait to help you get your sea legs!

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Trends to Watch in 2022 – Creating Convenience for Your Clients

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It’s a new year, so there’s new business and marketing trends for you to check out to keep up-to-date with your competitors.

The last 2 years have really driven home the need (and desire) for convenience. The at-home, on-demand world of Skip the Dishes, Amazon, and Netflix has changed the way consumers view obtaining products and services. Dental patients are a type of consumer, and with multiple options for patients to choose from when it comes to their healthcare and dental providers, prioritizing convenience for patients will help you stand out.

But how do you align yourself with the convenience of streaming and online delivery services?

To start off you need to recognize that consumers go online to find the care they desire. They also expect to be able to access services 24/7 in addition to being able to communicate directly with their dentist or doctor.

You’re probably thinking that creating more convenience for patients is going to be inconvenient to you, but it doesn’t have to be, not with the right tools.

Here are Our Recommendations for Creating Convenience for Your Clients to Help You Stand Out in 2022

Make Communication More Convenient by Adding a Chatbot to Your Website

Chatbots are a convenient way of opening dialogue with a patient via your website. You’ve seen those little boxes pop up in the corner of the website, asking if you need help with anything. Sometimes they are monitored by staff, but more often than not, they are simply bots. These chatbots can be automated to provide answers to common questions, helped along with some basic AI, with an additional prompt that directs users to leave their contact info if the conversation does require a human touch.

This technology can help your practice grow by generating more appointments (by prompting patients to book online – see below for more) and increasing patient satisfaction (by answering questions immediately, at all times of the day). Yes, chatbots are available 24/7, which is the convenience patients are looking for. The chatbot market for healthcare is expected to triple by 2025 in the US alone. That’s a trend worth paying attention to.

Couple interacting with virtual bot that asks "How can I assist you?" together on smartphone. — Patient with questions about a toothache in the middle of the night?
A chatbot has you covered.

In addition, by using a chatbot you are able to captured useful data and contact information you can use to better target your patients and potential clients with marketing campaigns. If everyone is asking about teeth whitening, it’s time to a promotion to drive up interest.

There are plenty of chatbot programs on the market, including some that have been created specifically with dental and medical businesses in mind.

Here’s a roundup of the best reviewed chatbots we found on the web:

Dental Attendant

Dental Attendant is a virtual staff member who lives on your dental office website. He works in the bottom corner of your homepage to help visitors get the information they need to become patients at your dental practice.

Chat Compose

ChatBots are an innovative way to automate frequent processes. They can provide critical information to your patients, such as procedures, prices and treatment. They can also book and confirm appointments in your name.

Herobot

It can make the difference between a patient scheduling with your office or with your competitor.

There are many options out there with lots of different features that will suit your business needs, so shop around and see what works best for you.

Make Paying More Convenient by Offering Online Payment Options

Woman holding a credit card while typing in details in on the computer.

From banks to utility providers to car insurance, businesses are going paperless, both for convenience and for the environment. According to the Trends in Healthcare Payments annual report, 79 percent of patients prefer to pay online. Patients expect the latest technology in the treatment room. To boost confidence in your business, you should have the latest technology in your front office as well. Allowing patients to pay online or from their mobile devices is the next natural step in modernizing the way you do business.

Online payment allows for:

Receiving instant payments, keeping your books balanced
More options for payments, from credit cards to PayPal to Apple Pay
Sending payment reminders without harassing phone calls
Simplifying reporting and reconciliation, making accounting easier
Reducing labor when it comes to filing, printing, and organizing paper billing
And yes, it is good for the environment, which may be an added bonus to potential patients

All are great ways to add more convenience to your patient’s experience with your front office, as well as great benefits for you and your team.

Including a more convenient way to interact with your business that your competition does not, such as “Now accepting online payments!” is a great tidbit of information to improve any advertising you do.

Make Booking an Appointment More Convenient by Including an Online Portal to Schedule Appointments

Mom playing a game on a tablet while her kids play in the background.

Consider adding an online portal that allows patients to schedule appointments using a digital calendar.

The aforementioned streaming and delivery services are all accessible online, so consumers now expect to be able to go online to acquire all of their needed services. Allowing people to book online is a great option for busy parents trying to wrangle kids or a 9 to 5 worker who just can’t squeeze enough time into their lunch break to make a call. You can help draw in those patients who may have just continually put off an appointment indefinitely out of inconvenience (I know I’m guilty of that). It also makes a great tagline to say booking an appointment with your office is as easy as ordering in dinner.

Including options to download and fill out required paperwork during booking is a big bonus as well to many online booking systems. The ability for clients to fill out paperwork at their leisure before an appointment will also save your staff time during the check-in process.

There are dozens of online booking apps available, with many aimed at dentists and healthcare.

We found a list of the most popular online portal apps according to Google:

Picktime

Picktime is a free web based appointment scheduling software for dentists and healthcare businesses in which clinics can book their patient’s appointments and also let their patients book their own appointments online. Picktime offers a comprehensive suite of appointment services for practices of all sizes.

Simply Book

Design a professional and customized look for your booking website. You can even choose the most convenient way for your clients to see your booking availability such as by class, time or staff.

Setmore

Appointment-setting shouldn’t feel like pulling teeth. List your availability online and allow patients to book when it’s convenient for them.

Thanks to growing popularity, there are many options available for online booking. So do you research and find one that works best for you.

Make Bringing Kids to an Appointment More Convenient by Using a Fun Environment

While you can add many online conveniences for your patients, at some point they will have to come to you in person.

Patients, as consumers, want to feel special. Like the fitting room experience in a luxury clothing store or the sales experience in a high-end car dealership, a great patient experience is friendly staff + a welcoming space with amenities + a stress-free transaction.

IDS designers are experts on creating the welcoming space part of the equation, especially when it comes to businesses aimed at children and families. Games, theaters, and play areas create fun activities that turn required tasks like going to the dentist or doctor for a checkup into an enjoyable experience. Patients won’t mind coming in if they know they’re going to have a good time.

Forest themed kids corner in waiting room with a sculpted tree and a goat eating a s'more by the fire.

Themed decor for kids is not just for pediatric spaces. A special room or a corner devoted to kids in a general clinic shows parents that you care about their needs. Plus a separate play area for children will keep them occupied and entertained while parents relax in a space designed around their needs, with wifi, hot drinks, and comfy seating.

Modern dental waiting room with a forest themed kid corner.

To wrap up, remember that this year is about creating convenience in every aspect of you business to help boost your edge on patient acquisition and patient experience. What other ways are you improving your business in 2022 that will help you stand out from the competition?

Speaking of convenience, make sure it’s easy for your potential clients to find you on Google.

Don’t forget about keeping your website up-to-date and easy to browse.

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Dentophobia: How to Help Kids Deal with Anxiety About Dental Procedures

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You see and hear about it everywhere: children and adults alike are nervous about going to the dentist. In fact, in many cases, they’re more than nervous. They have dental-related anxiety.

Dentophobia, or simply dental fear and anxiety (DFA) is incredibly common, not only in North America, but also around the world. According to various studies and reports, 74% of children and adolescents report anxiety, and one in ten of them suffer from a severe phobia that almost entirely inhibits them from going to the dentist’s office at all.

There are different reasons why kids might be scared of the dentist. Many of them are similar to the reasons that adults are scared, including being self-conscious about their oral health and a generalized fear of needles. Other concerns are more child-specific, like the fear of the unknown, having never actually been to the dentist before, and a general feeling of powerlessness.

Whatever the reason, as a dentist, it’s important that you do your best to alleviate your patient’s concerns.

Here are a few tips to help kids deal with their dental jitters for any procedure, and ensure a pleasant experience for everyone!

Communicate with Kids

Dentist reviewing x-rays with patient and mother.

The most important place to start is by talking to the kids themselves. By nature, kids are naturally curious and eager to explore the world around them. Here’s are some examples of ways you can ensure you’re communicating clearly and effectively with your young patients:

Talk to your patient directly, not “around” them. While communication with parents is important too (see below), it’s important that the child be at the center of your attention.
Ask them about their life and hobbies! Get them comfortable and laughing before you get down the the serious business.
Speak calmly and use more simple words that kids understand in order to help them relax. Don’t overcomplicate things, medical words and confusing terms can be scary and cause their imgaintions to run wild.
Be the “hype-wo/man” so to speak, and praise them throughout the appointment. Positive reinforcement is absolutely key, and works wonders on easing stress. You can always promise them a trip to a prize cabinet or treausre drawer as a fun reward to look forward to.

Talk to Parents

Almost equally important to helping kids deal with dental procedure anxiety, is establishing and cultivating a strong relationship with their parents. Research suggests that parental dental fear is a key factor in whether or not someone will develop dental fear and anxiety of their own.

Consider the following when talking to parents:

Provide them with some key “talking points” in advance. A great guide that you can provide parents is The Kids’ Guide to the Dentist, a fun story that takes kids through their first dental visit and what they can expect.

Address their own concerns. As mentioned, parental dental fear is a strong indicator for dental fear in their children. By easing their own anxieties, parents are better able to ensure that their kids don’t repeat similar habits.
Give them some key resources that they can take home and share with their kids before their first visit, or in between subsequent visits.

By communicating clearly with parents and providing them with the resources that they need, you can take another step in reducing overall dental anxiety with your young patients.

Create a Welcoming Space

On top of open communication with your patients and their parents, one of the most important things you can do to help with dental anxiety is to provide a welcoming and friendly environment.

A welcoming environment can take a few different shapes. Some suggestions include:

Books that kids and their parents can peruse while waiting for the dentist— particularly if they’re dentist-themed!
Sometimes, a fresh coat of paint can help make all the difference. Within a general practice, consider a colorful children’s play and activity area. Playgrounds are always bright and colourful, so painting a special space for kids in a colour they know if meant for fun and play eases them into your environment.

Create a space made just for kids. A private room or even just a corner that acts as a welcoming space for children to hang out in before their appointment makes kids feel special.

tent entrance paly area with tree and woodland creatures

Under-water themed waiting area with cushioned bench seats and a 3D sculpted photo op seal wearing water goggles

If your practice is primarily focused on kids, you might want to consider going beyond just one designated play area, and set up a whole themed office. This ensures that kids are interacting with a dynamic and exciting space every step of the way. By transforming a space into a magical destination kids will be excited to go to the dentist, competely eliminating that pesky dentophobia.

sculpted sandcastle reception desk and custom beach mural in pediatric dental office

By helping kids deal with dental anxiety at a young age, you will instill healthy habits within them, helping to ensure that they don’t grow into overly anxious adults that avoid proper oral health solely out of fear.

For more ideas on how to transform your dental office into the most welcoming space possible for kids, contact Imagination Design Studios (IDS) to talk to a creative consultant today.

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Spotlight on Fun Farmyard Office Decor

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Outdoor Eye-Catching Theming
Interior Theming Transformations
Themed Wall Decor
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Time for an IDS theming feature! Today, we’ll take a look at some adorable farmyard themed spaces that went hog-wild with their characters and playful atmosphere. There’s no one way to bring some barnyard fun to your kid-focused clinic, dental office or daycare, so we’re going to feature a handful of our favorite ways to bring some udderly amazing decor to any office environment!

Outdoor Eye-Catching Theming

As we’ve discussed before, a great way to signal your incredible theming to potential visitors traveling by your business is by beginning with the outdoor decor.

Farm Themed Landmarks

Grab attention with a giant outdoor landmark character. This smiling cow and horse sculpture can be seen for miles around! A landmark like this would bring your theme to the neighboring community before they even step in the door.

Landmarks at ground level can also act as fun photo ops for kids and parents to pose beside. This crazy scene below portrays a group of chickens on the run with the help of their big bull friend. The farmer horse is on their tail and a couple of pig farmhands have gotten caught in the middle of all that feathery chaos. If that doesn’t get the neighborhood talking, what will?

Exterior Signage

Building signs and billboards are just as eye-catching as a big landmark display. This crew of farmyard characters wraps around the building so it can be seen by drivers going in all directions.

Exterior Photo Ops with Friendly Farm Animals

Passers-by will love to cuddle up next to this cute photo op bench featuring an overall-clad piggy. The bonus of having an outdoor photo op is that even non-patients will want to get their picture taken. Both guests and locals from the neighborhood can pose beside this smiling farmer and share the photos with their friends and family on social media.

Photo ops can be farmyard characters or even props. A miniature farm truck or tractor would make a fun photo for kids to sit in. Classic head hole photo ops are great too.

You can learn about great ways to use a photo op in our previous blog on the topic.

Farm Window Murals

Exterior window murals (bonus: you can see these on the inside too) create privacy and are a unique way to theme the outside of your building. Anyone passing by a building like this will be very curious to see what’s inside. It’s a great way to create foot traffic and new clients.

The UV-resistant vinyl we use to print these scenes of rolling pastures and grinning farm animals keeps these graphics looking colorful for years to come.

Traveling Billboards

We’ve talked before about the amazing benefits of a billboard on wheels. Vehicle wraps are an eye-catching way to take your brand around town. It’s for more than just running errands, you can visit sports events, drive in parades, attend local fairs & markets, or drive it to schools during events. This lounging cow with its western graphic wrap grabs attention everywhere it goes.

Your farm themed building will stand out like a big red barn when you add theming to your exterior.

Interior Theming Transformations

To really make an impact, IDS can bring the whole farm inside! These whimsical environments are packed to the rafters with expertly themed fun. From floor to ceiling, the moment you walk through the door you’re transported to a barnyard where even pigs can fly.

Combining 2D murals, 3D sculpted elements, and themed furniture, all these harmonious elements truly bring the experience to life in this clinic waiting room. Check out these a-moo-zing theming ideas!

Barn Themed Reception Desks

The reception desk is often the first thing a guest or patient will see when they enter an office. Why not make it the most noticeable thing in the room!

A warm and inviting barnyard reception desk is a great way to set the scene. The red against a subdued paint color or a colorful mural makes the desk pop! Patients will know just where to go to check in when they enter the office.

Farm Themed Gaming Areas

Adding an entertaining distraction to your reception area or kids’ play room is an important part of the immersive theming experience.

Playboards are great for little folks visiting the farm.

Gaming stations and game walls are a great way to entertain kids and teens with some high-tech distractions. Tablets can be added to any theme, but they sure look extra cute attached to a bail of hay.

This game wall is transformed into a full country band, with a combination of 2D and 3D to bring this scene to life.

Educational Entertainment with a Barnyard Twist

Play can be educational as well. IDS has a long history of theming museums before working in dental and medical offices. Hands-on, interactive, and educational displays are a great way to engage patients as they want for a dental or medical appointment.

The educational areas in these two dental offices have lots of interactive entertainment, including a brushing demonstration station and an informative model of a tooth with cavities vs healthy teeth.

Farm Prize Cupboards

An important part of any dental or medical visit (at least to kids, anyway) is the prize at the end. This writer still remembers getting a neon bouncy ball from the dental treasure box or a sticker for being good at a doctor’s appointment.

This barn-shaped cabinet takes that treasure box concept to a whole new magical level. This particular chicken doles out t-shirts and prizes to those who visit her barnyard.

Cozy Farm Seating

Seating is an integral part of any office, whether it’s for a dental, medical, or childcare space. Seating is one of the best things to theme as it’s a piece that guests will feel the most comfortable interacting with. And don’t worry, our seating solutions are built tough so they are meant to be used.

From hay bail benches to seating made to look like a wagon wheel to stools carved like the worms that make the vegetable fields fertile, the possibilities are endless for farm themed seating solutions.

Mooore Photo Ops

We already mentioned photo ops for the outside of your building, but of course you should have them inside where your visitors will spend the most time. Grab your cowboy hat and mooove on in beside this charming cowpoke for a great photo to share on social media.

Themed Wall Decor

From brushing mirrors to murals, wall art can truly enhance the environment of your practice. It’s the easiest way to transform your space while leaving room for important equipment and storage.

Farm Animal Brushing Mirrors

For some practical decor, themed brushing mirrors like this cow and goat can blend in seamlessly with your other themed elements while still fulfilling an important role in a pediatric dentist’s office. Smiling mirrors are a great way to teach little kids how to brush their teeth in a fun and memorable way.

Farm Landscape Wall Murals

Whether sophisticated and neutral or bright and colorful, a wall mural acts as a simple and cost-effective way to thoroughly theme your space. Even a barnyard setting can be simplified and modernized using sleek silhouettes!

But really, who wants a clean and sophisticated barn theme… you’re probably looking for something filled with color and pizazz! Check out this crazy barnyard scene below. This mural is also an “I Spy” game so kids can search for hidden items in the scene while they wait.

Look closely at the treatment rooms below – part of the fence is actually a real piece of wood – the board acts as a chair rail to help prevent scuffs from the chairs and trolleys that move around the room. Genius!

From the reception area, open bay, treatment & exam rooms, play areas, and yes, even your bathrooms, murals can transform a room from something plain into acres of wheat fields, meadows, barns, and windmills.

If there’s one thing kids love, it’s potty humor.

Faux Windows with Fields and Pastures

Cute window frame murals bring the world of your theme right into your office in a subtler way. These simple touches with real window frames are a simple yet effective method to bring the barnyard to your practice.

These smaller graphics can be just as transformative as full-on murals. Children can imagine a whole world beyond just the bull peeking in the window while munching on hay.

What did we miss? What would you like to see in your farm themed decor? The possibilities are endless when you work with the design team at IDS to create your dream office.

Want to check out more of our farmyard themed projects? Check out the links below!

A Moo-Zing Farm Theme Mega Office

A-maize-ing Barnyard Clinic

Ronald Mcdonald House Barn Room

Want a barnyard themed office of your own? Our Creative Consultants can’t wait to help you get farming!

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‘Word of Mouth’ Has Evolved to No Words at All

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Send & Share

There was a time when ‘word of mouth’ had a very literal meaning – one human speaking to another in person. And for centuries, it’s been the preferred way to grow a business, brand, or idea.

One human speaking to another… not anymore!

Nowadays, social media has hijacked what it means to grow by “word of mouth.” This should come as no surprise, but when we unpack what this means for your brand, you might be shocked at what you find.

Social Media Has Changed Communication

In recent years, social media has become more and more about visually stimulating content and less about the written word. Emojis have replaced sentences and punctuation is seemingly optional

Examples of this shift away from written text are all around us – consider the popularity of Pinterest, or look back to Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram, or Twitter’s evolution to support streaming video on what was originally a text-only platform.

Why read a product review when you can watch a video?

These are big companies placing huge bets that people want to engage with photos and video, more than read text. And if you look at some of the more recent entries into the social sphere, such as TikTok, it reinforces this point even more.

Word of Mouth Marketing

Back to ‘word of mouth’ – let’s agree that when it comes to nurturing referrals, it’s really social endorsement we’re talking about here.

The expression ‘word of mouth’ has evolved to become less about the words, and more about the action of consumers helping tell your story by sharing their experience. And when we enable them to do so in a way that’s in alignment with our brand, expedited growth is the result.

Through this evolution, the key ingredient has remained steadfast which is how storytelling is the foundation of building a strong brand. And, as always, the very best way for your story to be told is through customers who have had positive experiences – ideally with a healthy dose of surprise and delight. In fact, a consistent flow of positive content shared voluntarily by your customers (or fans of your brand) is the holy grail of social endorsement.

So, put this all together and what does it mean?

The brands that are going to win at growing through “word of mouth” are the ones who enable their customers/followers/users/evangelists to tell their stories using engaging visual content.

People want to show off where they have been, what they have eaten, and what they are doing.

So instead of obsessing over what customers will SAY about their experience with your brand, shift your focus to how they will SHOW the world that experience in a visual way.

Become a Share-worthy Business

If you welcome customers into your place of business then, more than ever before, the design of your environment plays a critical role in the success of your marketing. You must be intentional about creating ‘share-worthy’ moments along the way. Beautiful spaces, photo opportunities, and giving people the time to take a second without rushing them through your business will encourage them to share. When done right, your brand benefits from being shared (endorsed) by customers on a daily basis.

Think about the last time you booked an Airbnb or VRBO – what did you do first, read the reviews or scan the photos? (My bet is photos first.) Or, have you ever considered purchasing a piece for furniture or home decor online and explored the customer photos, so you could see how the item looks in a real-life setting? There’s no doubt, as humans we are wired to give preference to visual content to gain the insights we’re seeking.

Whether you operate a healthcare facility, hospitality venue, or a tourism destination, it’s critical to offer your customers a variety of visually interesting moments that capture their experience and are primed for sharing on social media – either as photos or video.

When you’ve done it just right, the photo will showcase how the experience made them feel – no caption needed. That’s the real power of visual content and why social endorsement remains the most powerful way to influence business results.

Ready to make your business THE stand-out choice for families? Get in touch to learn more about how our design solutions will make a huge difference for your brand through evolved word-of-mouth marketing.