Wayfinding Signage Part 2: How To Do It Right
So in the first part of this series, we explained what wayfinding signage is (if you haven’t read that or don’t know what it is, click here to learn!). Now that you know what it is, we want to share our design principles for how to make your wayfinding signage awesome. Let’s go ➡️
Keep It Simple
You know that “keep it simple” is already a really good rule for life, so it’s not that surprising that it’s a good design principle as well. It’s always something we mention when working on vehicle wraps: less is more. Key ideas:
You should only put up the information you need
You should have no visual clutter
You are not forcing your potential customers to have to think
You get everything you need at a glance
Consider Everyone and All Situations
Part of making signage easy to read and follow is making sure that the font isn’t too small to read or too large and obnoxious.
If you see customers in the early morning, evening, or at night you also want to make sure you’ve got the right lighting for your signage.
Also consider the height of your signage and when it makes sense, you might consider braille for those who are blind and need to know where to go.
Finally, make sure to use universal symbols and language so that there’s no confusion.
Think About Materials
We always say that quality materials matter but depending on where your signage is, it may need to be periodically replaced/refreshed. An indoor, climate-controlled sign is going to have a much longer lifespan than an outdoor, by the road sign.
Elevate Your Brand
While wayfinding signage isn’t, strictly speaking, advertising or promotion, it is a subtle opportunity to promote your brand and create better brand awareness.
That means that all the signage should look and feel similar and shouldn’t just convey information, but do it with a look and feel that communicates who you are as a company.
Focus on the Customer
Often, when we talk about these principles with clients, we get the wide-eyed “I never thought about that” look, which makes sense. We go into the office every day and know where everything is, so we don’t ever really think about wayfinding signage. But as consumers we use them all the time, and you will tell someone when you couldn’t find something or the signage was terrible or confusing.
Put yourself in a customer’s place. You’re trying to find some place and the signage should always be answering the following questions:
Where am I?
Where’s my destination?
How do I get there?
If you’re not doing that, particularly at spots where the next place to turn or door to open isn’t obvious, you’re failing your customers, and in some cases, can lose them before they ever have the chance to become one.
Now that you’ve got all our design principles, would you like some help making some wayfinding signage? We’d love to help!