A systematic review of 37 indoor experiments found most studies reported physiological relaxation or improved recovery from stress and fatigue while people viewed real nature or representations of nature. Read the systematic review.
Mental Health Environments — Draft
Mental health & wellbeing environments
Calmer, safer and more human mental health environments
YDS Studio works with healthcare teams, architects and contractors to introduce nature, identity and a stronger sense of place into mental-health and wellbeing spaces through carefully considered wall graphics, murals, privacy treatments and acoustic artwork.
We contribute as a specialist environmental-graphics partner—not as the architect or main contractor—from early planning and specification through manufacture and staged installation.
A specialist environmental-graphics partner contributing across the project lifecycle.
Early planning
Specification support
Manufacture & nationwide installation
Nature & mental wellbeing
Bringing the restorative qualities of nature indoors
Healthcare environments need to be highly practical, but they do not have to feel impersonal. Carefully selected imagery of forests, coastlines and local flora can give a sterile interior a gentle visual focus and reconnect it with the world outside.
Research suggests nature imagery can work as a positive distraction and contribute to a more restorative experience. We use those findings as a design input—alongside the clinical brief, consumer and whānau perspectives, local context and the needs of each zone.
Important context: environmental graphics are not a clinical treatment, and individual responses vary. We design to support calmer, more welcoming environments without promising a medical outcome.
In a field study involving 457 radiology patients, both real plants and posters of plants were associated with small but significant reductions in reported stress compared with no nature. View the study record.
One acute psychiatric-unit study found realistic nature photography was associated with lower use of as-needed medication for visible anxiety and agitation than abstract art or no art during the study periods. It is promising single-site evidence, not proof of a universal outcome. View the study record.
Inspiration for your space
Beach horizons. Native forest. A sense of place.
These beach and forest scenes show the possibilities for your space. Your commercial mural is specified for the room, its users and the wall surface, with the artwork and finish developed as part of your project.
Coastal spaces
A familiar view. A moment to pause.
Open horizons, coastal light and pōhutukawa can bring a recognisable sense of Aotearoa into a waiting area or shared lounge. We consider the view from where people sit, the scale of the image and how it works with the rest of the room.
Native forest
Bring the outdoors into everyday spaces.
Native bush offers layers of greenery and a connection to familiar landscapes. Together, we consider the amount of detail, colour and contrast that suits the people using the space, whether it is one feature wall or a coordinated interior.
Immersive environments
A landscape shaped around your room.
A panoramic mural can give a space a completely different feel. We plan the composition around doors, furniture, corners and sightlines, so the artwork belongs in the room and supports the way it is used.
These are mural inspiration images from the existing YDS collection, not completed mental-health installations.Explore Wall Murals
Scale, detail and installation
See our murals in real spaces
See how nature-inspired wall murals can change the look and feel of an interior. These examples show the scale, detail and atmosphere that wall graphics bring to a space, from installation through to the finished result.
For a mental-health environment, we work with your team to choose imagery, colours and materials suited to the people using the space and the way it needs to function.
A walk through native forest
A completed forest mural wraps around a doorway, bringing depth and greenery into the room.
A forest mural taking shape
Watch our team install a detailed native forest scene, one panel at a time.
Nature at architectural scale
The Starship Atrium project connects forest imagery and suspended bird forms across a major healthcare interior.
From blank walls to native bush
Follow the installation as plain walls become an immersive forest setting.
These videos demonstrate real YDS mural work and installation. Only the Starship example above is identified as healthcare work; none are presented as completed mental-health inpatient projects.
Specialist environmental graphics
What YDS Studio can provide
Project-specific solutions for mental-health inpatient units, wellbeing spaces and wider healthcare environments—developed to sit coherently within the architecture and clinical brief.
Low-stimulation nature and biophilic wall graphics
Calm, carefully composed imagery with colour, contrast, scale and visual density adapted for each space.
Printed acoustic wall features
Custom-printed acoustic panels that bring artwork and acoustic treatment together in one coordinated feature.
Durable murals and protective laminated graphics
Large-format wall graphics for high-use environments, with durable and cleanable material options selected for the relevant clinical zone.
Privacy film and window manifestations
Frosted, printed and decorative glazing treatments that can support privacy, visibility and manifestation requirements.
Environmental wayfinding and room identification
Clear visual cues, destination markers and room-identification elements designed to complement the formal signage strategy.
Place-based artwork and cultural storytelling
Artwork grounded in local landscapes, flora, fauna and community identity. Cultural narratives are developed only through appropriate engagement and approval.
Removable or replaceable design elements
Flexible graphic elements that allow selected areas to be refreshed, replaced or delivered progressively through staged refurbishments.
Designed with care
Designed for sensitive healthcare environments
YDS can work with clinical teams, consumers, whānau, architects, project managers, contractors and cultural advisers to translate an agreed brief into a coordinated environmental-graphics package.
Designs can be adapted for different levels of stimulation, visibility, privacy and patient vulnerability across bedrooms, corridors, communal areas, entrances and whānau spaces.
Calm and legible
Clear, considered imagery rather than visually overwhelming patterns where lower stimulation is required.
Connected to place
Local landscapes, waterways, flora, fauna and community references can give an environment a distinct identity.
Appropriate cultural engagement
Māori narratives are developed only through engagement and approval with the appropriate mana whenua, iwi, hapū and/or cultural advisers identified by the client.
Project-specific material selection
We can provide information for review against anti-ligature requirements, cleanability, durability, fire documentation and infection-prevention requirements for the specific clinical zone.
Planned around hospital operations
Installation can be staged around access restrictions, clinical activity and construction programmes in consultation with the hospital and wider delivery team.
Technical noteFinal materials, detailing and compliance are reviewed and approved by the project’s clinical, design and technical teams for the specific application.
Colour psychology, applied with care
Colour is considered, not prescribed
Colour can help a healthcare environment feel less anonymous and easier to understand. Used purposefully, it can differentiate rooms and destinations, reinforce wayfinding and bring warmth and identity to spaces that might otherwise feel highly clinical.
There is no universal “calming colour.” Responses are shaped by age, culture, personal experience, sensory needs, lighting, material and the way colours are combined. We develop each palette with the project team and its users, balancing softer tonal fields, clear contrast and carefully placed accents for the needs of each clinical zone.
Evidence basis: research shows consistent colour–emotion associations, but does not support a one-colour-fits-all formula. We also reference NHS adult acute mental-health design guidance as an international design resource—not a New Zealand compliance standard—and the Annual Review of Psychology.
Purposeful contrast
Colour and texture can help distinguish spaces and support orientation when they are coordinated with the wider wayfinding system.
Lower visual load
Simple, legible compositions can avoid the repetitive grids and high-contrast patterns identified as potentially unsuitable in acute mental-health guidance.
Co-designed palettes
Consumers, whānau, clinical teams and cultural advisers can inform how colour, identity and local meaning are expressed in the final environment.
Selected projects
Relevant healthcare experience
Our healthcare portfolio demonstrates whole-ward transformations, entrances, corridors, waiting rooms, wayfinding, paediatric spaces and installation inside operating hospitals.
These projects demonstrate relevant healthcare experience; they are not all mental-health inpatient projects.
Auckland / arrival and circulation
Starship Children’s Hospital
Nature-led artwork and environmental graphics at significant scale, combining detailed artwork, New Zealand manufacture and complex installation within a major hospital environment.
View the Starship project
Nelson and Marlborough / regional hospitals
Nelson and Wairau hospitals
Environmental graphics across paediatric care, waiting and kōrero spaces, using local landscape references to give each setting a stronger sense of place.
South Auckland / paediatric care
Middlemore Kidz First
Large-format mural graphics and carefully managed replacement work demonstrate practical delivery within busy paediatric clinical spaces.
Hawke’s Bay / perioperative unit
Hawke’s Bay Hospital
Place-based artwork, native references and environmental graphics connect hospital spaces with local identity and create a more welcoming experience.
View the Hawke’s Bay projectFrom an idea to your walls
Plan your mural with our NZ team.
Whether you are refreshing a community mental-health centre or planning graphics for a larger facility, we start with the purpose of the space. Bring us in early so artwork, materials and installation can be coordinated with the wider project.
01Tell us about the space
Share your location, room use, wall measurements, photos and timeframe. Include any cleaning, material or procurement requirements.
- Project discovery and site information
- Clinical, consumer, whānau and cultural engagement
02Shape the design
Develop a beach, forest or custom graphics concept with our team. Agree the imagery, scale, placement and performance requirements with the people responsible for the environment.
- Place-based concept and artwork development
- Material, safety and technical review
- Samples and approvals
03Prepare for installation
We make your graphics in New Zealand and coordinate installation requirements and timing with the hospital, construction team and experienced installers.
- New Zealand manufacture
- Staged nationwide installation
- Maintenance, replacement and future expansion
Designed, produced and supported here
Designed and made in New Zealand
Your environmental graphics are designed and produced in our Hawke’s Bay studio. We’re a family-owned New Zealand business, with our design and production team working together to bring each project to life.
Working directly with us means you can discuss the artwork, materials and technical details with the team making your graphics.
Watch our story, featured by New Zealand Made
A coordinated specialist service
Why YDS Studio
One environmental-graphics partner across design, production and installation—with the scale to support focused upgrades and complete ward transformations.
Explore Commercial Projects★★★★★
5.0 on GoogleBased on 132 customer reviews at the time this page was updated.
View YDS Studio on Google-
01New Zealand-owned, designed and manufacturedClose oversight from concept through to completion.
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02Based in Hawke’s Bay and working nationwideHealthcare project coordination and installation throughout New Zealand.
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03Extensive experience inside active hospitalsCareful access planning, sequencing and coordination around clinical operations.
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04One managed serviceDesign, artwork development, printing, production and installation through one specialist team.
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05Flexible project scaleSmall environmental upgrades, staged refurbishments and complete ward-scale projects.
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06Technical documentation availableAvailable product data, fire documentation, cleaning guidance and material information for proposed systems.
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07Strong sustainability focusRecycled-PET options, accurate production, durable finishes and replaceable elements where appropriate.
Planning a mental-health space
Your questions, answered.
Practical answers for healthcare teams, architects, project managers and contractors considering environmental graphics.
When should YDS Studio be involved in a project?
Early involvement lets us contribute to artwork planning, wall and glazing locations, material selection, technical information, sampling and installation sequencing alongside the architect, clinical team and contractor. YDS Studio is the specialist environmental-graphics partner, not the architect or main contractor.
Do you create murals for mental-health facilities across New Zealand?
YDS Studio designs and makes custom wall murals and environmental graphics in New Zealand. We welcome enquiries for community mental-health centres, consultation rooms, shared spaces, wellbeing areas and inpatient facilities, and can coordinate experienced installation partners nationwide.
Can wall murals improve mental wellbeing?
Nature imagery may help create a more welcoming environment and provide a gentle visual focus. Research in one acute psychiatric setting found promising results, but murals are not a treatment and individual responses vary. We recommend choosing imagery with clinical teams, consumers and whānau.
Are beach or forest murals better for a mental-health space?
There is no single best image for everyone. A beach may offer open space and a simple horizon; forest imagery can offer familiar greenery but more visual detail. The actual image, scale, contrast and personal or cultural associations should be reviewed for the intended clinical zone.
Can we use a local landscape or request a custom design?
Yes. We can develop place-based artwork around the landscape or story a project wants to reflect. Supplied photography or artwork needs suitable print quality and permission for its intended use. Māori narratives are developed only through appropriate engagement and approval.
Are your graphics suitable for secure or inpatient settings?
Suitability is assessed for the specific room and proposed application. Clinical, facilities and technical teams need to confirm requirements for safety, anti-ligature detailing, cleaning, durability, fire performance and installation. We can provide available technical information for the proposed system.
Can you install while a hospital remains operational?
We have extensive experience working inside active hospitals. Access, staging, protection, working hours and installation sequencing are planned with the hospital, contractor and relevant clinical teams for each project.
What information do you need to start?
Send the project location and stage, room uses, plans or wall measurements, photographs, approximate timeframe and any known safety, cleaning, fire or procurement requirements. We can then identify the next design, sampling and technical steps.
Start a conversation
Planning an inpatient-unit or wellbeing-space upgrade?
Whether your project is at early planning, design, procurement or refurbishment stage, we can help identify where environmental graphics may contribute and what information is needed next.
Prefer to talk with us directly?info@yourdecalshop.co.nz0800 33 22 57
