Best Practices for Wayfinding Signs

Foamcraft directional hospital moument sign- Phoenixville, PA

Large campuses can be overwhelming to navigate, but the right signage makes it simple. Signs that help visitors maneuver to their necessary location are called wayfinding signs. These are especially beneficial at institutions like schools, universities, or hospitals.

Making the Right First Impression

It doesn’t matter if you have an award-winning team and the world’s best service, if your customers cannot easily find where they need to go, they’re going to be annoyed when they get there, if they arrive at all.

Most of us have had a frustrating experience with a customer service phone call. After wasting time moving through layers of an ineffective phone tree, it doesn’t matter how helpful the service is when we finally speak to a human, we’ve formed a negative opinion about the company.

Just as moving through a non-functioning phone tree makes a company seem disorganized, missing or ineffective wayfinding signage gives your visitors a less than positive impression.

Take Advantage of Design Elements

It’s crucial that your signs are easy to understand, even at a distance, so choose succinct text in a font that reads easily.

All wayfinding signs on your campus need to have a cohesive color scheme, font, and appearance; and these should match any branding that you already have established. You can also use color to help identify places or group together similar locations.

Using Directional Signs

Generally, the first step to planning your directional signs is to determine how many entrances your campus has. Next, you need to create a tangible path to each building from each entrance. It’s a good practice to make these signs easy to adjust in case of future construction, adding or removing departments, or other changes.

Using Identification Signs

Identification signs don’t directly guide clients along a route, but rather they identify landmarks. Similar to the big red arrows on maps that say “you are here,” these signs help orient customers. It’s crucial that your visitors are able to determine which building or room they’re standing in front of, so it’s wise to label each with an identification sign.

 

 

Using Directories

When a client has a meeting or appointment, they will be relieved to see a directory when they walk through the door. These provide a list of offices in your building with details on where to find them.

Help Your Clients Find Their Way on Your Campus

For many businesses, wayfinding signs are necessary to guide clients to their destination within your property. When you’re ready to get started with your wayfinding signs, contact Elmark Signs online or by calling 610-692-0525.