In order to guide the flow of people internally and externally in your business, wayfinding signs are a necessity. They offer guidance and direction when asking for them is not feasible. Wayfinding signs are the ideal solution for large businesses that have not only a complex layout, but multiple stories. Hoarding boards are essential for construction sites to ensure workers safety. They inform visitors and employees where they are and help them reach their intended destinations.
Design For Visitors
When designing your wayfinding signage, it’s important to think like an outsider, aka visitor. Your signage needs to help people get where they’re going in the least amount of time possible. Ask yourself some questions like:
-Where would I go if I were a visitor?
-Which route would I take to get to my destination?
-Are there helpful shortcuts?
Go For Branded Designs
The wayfinding signs for your business should have common branding. The purpose of making these signs uniform is to ensure that visitors know which specific signs to look for. This will entail using the same color scheme, fonts, typeface and sizing to get the right look.
Where To Put The Signs
The idea behind the wayfinding signs is to help visitors locate where they’re trying to go, therefore, careful placement is a necessity with these signs. When we’re traveling linear, we tend to have an okay time with directions, but when it comes to twists and turns, that’s when help is necessary. Places that require decision making such as stairs, elevators, crossroads or any number of forks in the path should have a wayfinding sign.
Keep It Minimal
Signs meant to help the path of a visitor should have minimal information. It should point the direction where they need to go, the amount they need to travel to get there, and of course, easily labelling the destination such as restroom, cafeteria, offices etc.
Stay Consistent
It was touched upon briefly in the branding section, but consistency is definitely key to success. Wayfinding signs need a high level of consistency so visitors can spot them without problems. This entails choosing a shape, a logo, colours, and typeface that are used only for wayfinding signs. In these instances, the signage should in no way blend together with other signs in your facility as it can confuse newcomers.
