10 Tips For Effective Wayfinding Signage

Do you know how to find your way? Whether you need signs to direct customers around your store, or wayfinding signs for an exhibition or display in West Sussex, there are certain fundamental rules you’ll need to follow to create the most effective signs.

Creating effective wayfinding signage is an art, and there are a wide array of signs at your disposal. From directional to information signs, each piece of the wayfinding jigsaw needs to fit into a cohesive whole. Here are 10 design and display tips to help you and your customer’s make the most of your wayfinding signs.

1. Never make assumptions

Always treat your customers as if this is their very first visit.

2. Know your space

Always take the time to survey and walk through the space. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and consider all the landmarks on your way, including places that are easy to navigate and those that present a potential problem.

3. Look for the decision points

Where are the places that a decision needs to be made about the direction of travel? Staircases, lifts, entrances, exits and crossroads are all obvious places to locate wayfinding signs to help visitors make informed decisions.

4. Add travel distance

Adding a distance or an estimated time of travel is useful when visitors may have deadlines to meet. It clues your customers into navigation between points A and B by creating concrete details around your landmarks and helps visitors to plan their visit.

5. Keep it concise

When you’re designing wayfinding signs, there’s no space for visual clutter. Keep the message and the way of conveying it clean, clear and precise. Use as few words as possible or, even better, use a symbol or pictogram. Your signs are there to inform, not to impress with your use of vocabulary, so don’t use fancy terms for the sake of it.

6. Don’t reinvent the wheel

If other signage in your building uses a consistent set of symbols, fonts, language and colour scheme, then stick with them. If your reception area is known as reception, don’t suddenly redesignate it as the foyer or lobby.

7. Keep signage up to date

Make a habit of revisiting your wayfinding on a regular basis. If any routes have changed, then outdated signs will cause confusion and disorientation where you should be seeking to introduce order and clarity.

8. Take note of hazards

If you’re installing signs outdoors, what are the immediate risks to the longevity of your sign? Will it fade in strong sunlight or be exposed to high winds? Is it likely to get pranged by cars or be covered in mud, obscuring the message? Assessing the risks will help you find the ideal installation spot.

9. Use the right materials for the job

If you want your signs to stand up to the rigours of the job, choose long-lasting materials that are appropriate to the installation site.

10. Understand the options

Design, fonts, colours and materials – at the Sussex Sign Company, we can help you assess all your options to create wayfinding signage that is informative and useful for your customers. Want to know more? Contact us for details.

Signage Trends For 2020

If you thought signage was outdated, think again. The printed sign market is predicted to be worth over $47 billion by 2024, thanks to new print technologies and materials. So what are the trends that will be driving the way your London signs look through 2020 and beyond?

Bridging the technology gap

Marketers are reassessing print signs as a way to cut through and bridge the gap between digital and analogue technologies. Signs are recognised for their ability to promote brand recognition and attract customers.

The integration of technologies like Near Field Communication will bring print and digital closer together. Imagine a point of sale sign that your customer could tap with their mobile to receive a discount voucher. These multichannel experiences will be one of the key trends of 2020.

Increasing personalisation

Personalisation will impact on signs in several distinct ways. Customised and personalised print signage that delights and surprises your customers will add a sense of uniqueness to your premises through the use of digital wallpapers that are fully customised for your brand.

But personalisation extends beyond the finished product into every part of the sign making process. Customers are realising the value of working with one company who can walk them through the entire process from design to installation, ensuring the personalised results they require with an improved customer relationship that is responsive to their needs.

Creativity is king

Personalisation, creativity and quality will combine to create concept signs that deliver a complete brand experience.

There’s also a perceptible shift towards the return of minimalism in design, with less being used to do and say more for your brand. Consider Apple, the king of the minimalist brand experience. If your logo, signs and branding elements are due for an overhaul, consider letting less be more.

Continuing cost-effectiveness

A key driver of the market, printed signs will continue to provide a value added, cost-effective solution a range of businesses. The long lifespan of traditional signs, their effectiveness and lower investment make them an attractive alternative to digital signs. Properly installed and maintained, they’ll keep putting your message in the public eye with negligible ongoing costs.

Timely displays

Focused campaigns will move beyond Christmas and summer holidays to embrace a huge range of marketing opportunities. Vinyl window graphics are durable yet lightweight and can be installed in just a few minutes.

Your business will be on trend and responsive to customers’ needs and the graphics can be removed and reused for the next campaign.

Sell with the senses

2020 will see retail develop the customer experience through all five senses, allowing customers to smell, taste and touch products, as well as just see them.

Point of sale displays are the ideal way to encourage customers to interact with a new product and get excited by it. Creative signs are all part of the holistic experience directing customers to the products you want them to experience.

Signage for 2020

At The Sussex Sign Company, we can help your London based business create signs fit for the 2020s, with high quality materials and outstanding design. If you’re ready to harness the power of printed signs for your business, get in touch and our team will be happy to help.

Signage History – The Ghost Signs Of London

Have you ever half glimpsed a faded piece of signage in London? Then you’ve seen a ghost sign, one of the fascinating pieces of advertising history that can still be seen around the capital. These fading adverts, like the Hovis sign in Haringey and the Bovril sign in Brixton, have endured over the centuries and survived against all odds.

Victims of modern sign making materials and techniques, these remnants of our advertising past can be found all over the world.

How were ghost signs produced?

The signs that remain are all a testament to the skill and craftsmanship of early signwriters. Smaller signs were often produced freehand, using the height of the bricks as a guide. Larger and more elaborate signs were often produced by a technique like stencilling – the design would be traced on paper with a spiked wheel and then chalk or charcoal would be used to mark out the perforations and create the outline of the design.

Particularly skilled signwriters would often embellish their signs with decorative flourishes like illustrations.

The early days of marketing

Ghost signs are a fascinating snapshot of changing attitudes in society – like the cigarette advert that claims smoking is good for your throat! Some of the businesses associated with ghost signs didn’t outlive their own advertising, but those that did moved with the times and started to explore other ways of bringing their branding to the public’s attention.

Though the heyday of signwriting was the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the art hasn’t died out. The craftsmanship that created the ghost signs is still around, although the materials have moved on – after all, many of the signs that remain were painted using lead based paints, making signwriting something of a risky business.

What modern signage can learn from ghost signs

With the uptick in interest in these remnants from marketing’s history, modern signs can learn from their more primitive ancestors:

– Good signs have a clear message: That’s demonstrated by the enduring popularity of ghost signs that keep the branding message simple. Your signs should be equally clear and easy to grasp, so your customers understand your business at a glance.

– Good signs withstand the elements: just like the lead based paint of old, modern materials should be chosen to withstand all weather conditions including harsh sun, wind and rain.

– Good signs boost business: there’s no way of quantifying what impact the ghost signs had in their time, but our enduring fascination with them suggests they continue to engage with passersby. A good sign will attract customers and have an impact on sales, otherwise you’ll need to rethink the way you’re using your branding and brand colours.

– Good signs reflect your business personality: Ghost signs are a snapshot of businesses that were around over a hundred years ago. If you want your signs to endure, they need to reflect the personality of your business by maintaining consistency across all the signs you use.

High quality signs for your business

Your current signage may not last as long as the beloved ghost signs, but at The Sussex Sign Company, we can help ensure they have just as big an impact. To find out how to maximise your ROI, contact us today.

Signage For Sponsors: Connection And Communication

Event sponsorship, in London and across the country, connects your business to the community while communicating a positive brand message. Signage for sponsors is a savvy way to raise awareness of your brand, drive traffic towards your business and ultimately create more sales opportunities. Innovative signage puts your sponsorship front and centre for maximum impact.

By sponsoring an event, a business not only raises awareness but helps to bring an event into being, whether that’s a sporting competition or a trade show. In return, sponsors expect their branding to have an impact by being displayed where it creates most impressions, whether that’s over a podium or above the main event staging.

If you’re the organiser of a sponsored event, you need to think about the way your signs can create connection and communication while delivering awareness for your sponsors. Maximise their return on investment by creating a range of signs that keeps the sponsor’s name top of mind at every stage of the event.

Dynamic messaging

Sponsor messaging doesn’t have to be confined to the event itself. A promotional vehicle wrap including the sponsor’s branding, floor graphics or advertising at bus stops or on station platforms can all carry your sponsor’s message far and wide, connecting the journey directly to the event itself.

Creating dynamic messaging opportunities will bring your sponsor’s branding to life and can be communicated to a captive audience through wall, floor and table stickers. Think about the places where those attending the event will gather, from coffee bars to lifts, and create a suite of signs to exploit these ideal placements.

Improve aesthetics

Attention to detail can make all the difference between an also-ran and an Instagrammable event that creates a real buzz. Most stadiums and conference halls are unattractive spaces that can be improved by the addition of display stands and banners. Make sure that your sponsor’s branding features prominently on eye-catching signs that turns breezeblock walls into ideal canvases for attractive messaging.

Walkthrough your venue with an eye to framing sponsorship messages in clear and creative ways. Try wrapping a concrete pillar, framing up a poster as art or using digital wallpaper to display sponsorship branding in evocative and unusual juxtapositions that capture the attention of event attendees and create priceless impressions for your sponsors.

Get social

Maximising the reach of sponsorship branding should always include social media channels. One easy win is to use your event backdrops as customised photo backdrops with prominent sponsorship logos. This improves brand visibility for those attending the event and the media and raises the awareness of your sponsor’s brand.

Take it a step further with a branded handheld photo frame or even a selfie booth that puts your sponsor’s logo and corporate colours front and centre of every photo opportunity.

Custom signage

By using innovative placement and design, you’ll create a sponsorship package that achieves maximum exposure for your sponsors, generating a real buzz and optimising your event revenues.

At The Sussex Sign Company, we have the expertise to deliver the maximum exposure for your event and your sponsors, maximising the return on your investment while making the most of your budget. Contact us today to find out how we can help you create signage that delivers.

Production Team Member / Vehicle Wrapper

The Sussex Sign Company is delighted to announce that we have an exciting opportunity for an experienced production team member / vehicle wrapper to join our team!

Please contact our Operations Director, Linda Edwards – 01273 424900 to find out more!

Signage For Temporary Use: Why, When And What?

Wherever your business is, from London to Edinburgh, the chances are that you’ll need temporary signage. You could be thinking ahead to the winter sales or considering running your own pop-up shop or restaurant for a few weeks or months.

Whether your business is well-established or seasonal, temporary signs are lightweight, cost-effective and durable enough to promote your business in the short term.

Why you need temporary signage

Temporary signs are the savvy way to communicate time-limited information to your customers in an eye-catching way. You may want to promote a seasonal product, a temporary exhibition or event, or even a flash sale. Temporary signs are lightweight and portable, they can be installed anywhere without the need for specialised hardware and expertise and they are typically low cost to manufacture.

The lower price point means you can afford to buy enough signs to make a real marketing impact with greater reach. Opt for recyclable materials and you’ll be able to dispose of your signs after use in an environmentally sustainable way.

When do I need temporary signs?

Look around and you’ll find temporary signs everywhere, advertising sales and providing directions. You’ll even find them providing safety information on construction sites. Whenever you have an event or product to promote that has a maximum shelf life of around 3 months, temporary signage is the answer – from banners and A frames to flyers and posters.

What are the right materials for temporary signs?

There are all sorts of materials you can consider for temporary signs, all with their own advantages and disadvantages. For example, posters are a quick and easy way to get the word out to your customers, but their lack of durability means they damage easily in wet and windy conditions.

Foam board is a popular choice, thanks to its relative durability – properly looked after, foam board signs can last up to 2 years. Lightweight and easy to hang using tape, foam board can be printed to extremely high standards and the combination of this material with a knockout design can give your signs plenty of impact.

Foam board signs don’t stand up to rain and wind too well, but if the conditions are right, they can be displayed outdoors to great effect. They’re also rigid, so if you intend to keep them for the same event next year, you’ll need a place where they can store flat.

Sandwich boards may have been banned in central London, but a snappy slogan gives this type of advertising plenty of seasonal pizzazz. Who knows, you could even end up on Instagram! They may be bulky, but if you use reusable graphics, they will have the versatility you need from a temporary sign solution.

For annually occurring events, a vinyl banner is a smart solution. Extremely durable banners can last for years without looking weathered or shabby and are easy to mount using rope or even cable ties. When you’ve finished using them, just roll and store.

Seasonal signs from The Sussex Sign Company

If your business needs seasonal signs as part of your marketing mix, we can help. At The Sussex Sign Company, we ensure the best possible ROI for our clients, so contact us today.

Signage Size Matters So Get The Right Size For The Job

When it comes to creating eye-catching signs for your London business, size really does matter. It’s critical that you get the size right when it comes to signage – too large and you can ruin the aesthetic of your premises, too small and you’ll never get noticed and your potential customers will never know who you are.

The optimum size for your signs is one that catches the attention of passersby and is easily read from a distance. The easiest way to take a rough gauge is to step away from your premises and view them as a customer would. Proportionality is key when you’re sizing your signs – try not to let them dominate or be so large they block the natural light.

Measure twice, design once

When you’re taking measurements for your signs, be careful to factor in any windows and doors. Your signs should never block the light or stop customers being able to enter your premises. Measure and remeasure to make sure your design will scale accurately without causing any kind of obstruction.

Location, location, location

Another critical element in scaling your sign to the right size is its eventual location. This is the best way to begin to understand the optimal size for your new signs.

Just looking at the sign’s intended location should give you an idea of the right scale for your sign. If you’re competing with other businesses on a busy high street, take a look at what seems to work best in terms of size and design.

If your sign is intended to be displayed at eye level, you’ll need to to make it readable without your customers having to take a step back. If it’s being displayed at an elevated location, then it should be clear enough and big enough to be seen from street level.

Link size and design

These are the two factors that are most closely linked when it comes to creating proportional signs. You’ll start with a finite space where the sign is designed to be installed, but don’t be tempted to fill it all with information. Instead, prioritise your company name and determine how legible that will be from a distance.

Now start to work on the rest of the design, adding your elements individually to create the most harmonious aesthetic focused around the key text. This should help you to visualise the size of text and the size of sign that will work best in the given space.

Don’t forget your budget

Another important consideration will be the size of your budget. After all, the bigger the sign, the bigger the budget required, so you may want to scale back your original ideas if you’re in danger of going over your maximum budget.

Creating professional signage in East Sussex

When it comes to creating fantastic signs, it’s all about perception. This is the first impression a potential customer has of your building, so you need to get it right. The easiest way to do that is to work with us at The Sussex Sign Company – we’ll help you maximise your ROI with the perfect sign, so contact us today.

Signage Choices: Why Your Office Needs Digital Wallpaper

When a client enters your London office, what impression does it make on them? If your first impressions could do with smartening up, consider new signage in the form of digital wallpaper.

This is the innovative way to combine colour, pattern and corporate messaging in one aesthetic package that delivers real design punch with a host of other benefits that paint and decals can’t match.

If your office lobby is crying out for visual appeal, then digital wallpaper might just be the smart choice when you need to make a great impression.

Premium appearance

There’s no doubt digital wallpaper is firmly on trend. There are no limits to how you can dress your walls or the graphics you can use to create the right atmosphere, from abstract designs incorporating your logo to more overt corporate messaging. You can turn your lobby into anything from a tropical beach to an urban skyline with a bespoke digital wallpaper.

This combination of style, concept and cutting edge technology effortlessly creates visual impact and a premium appearance.

The budget option that isn’t

Paint might seem the cost-effective option and you’d be right – in the short term. But if you want to think long term and look as if you do, then investing your budget in digital wallpaper can give you a much better return. Paintwork can quickly look tired and scuffed, requiring regular retouching and a full blown revamp in as little as 3 years.

Opt for digital wallpaper and you can make over your office and deliver that all-important first impression of professionalism. A fresh, bold and timeless design that incorporates your logo, branding colours and other strong messaging elements will outlast paint by up to five times. That means your lobby continues to look fresh and smart when paint has already begun to look shabby, and definitely not chic.

Conceal your flaws with digital wallpaper

Cracks, flaws, damage – when you paint your office walls, there’s no hiding place. If the preparation isn’t right, then the finished result will always look rough and uneven – hardly the slick and professional face that your business wants to show to the world.

And that’s where digital wallpaper has the advantage. Excellent at concealing flaws and imperfections, this type of signage is ideal for creating an emphasis wall that focuses the attention of prospective clients on your brand.

Investing your budget in a bespoke design will create a consistent and dynamic interior that delivers a message about your professionalism and success as a business. When you have a captive audience, there’s no better way of generating brand recognition and awareness as an introduction to your business.

Maximise your return on signage investment

If you want to create an effortless brand identity that really maximises the return on your investment, digital wallpaper is a savvy choice. There’s no waste because we only print exactly what you need, meaning you’re not paying for any leftover materials. And the impact of a bespoke design will speak volumes about your business for years to come.

Interested in what digital wallpaper can do for your business? Get in touch with The Sussex Sign Company today to discuss your options.

Signage Trends That Make Your Business Instantly Instagrammable

Social media is a brilliant tool for building your brand. With 3 billion people worldwide now using social channels to directly connect to their favourite brands, shares and likes are some of your best marketing weapons. If you’re not working these signage trends, and you are a business in a major global city like London, can you afford not to have a business that’s Instagram-ready. Is your signage up to the job?

If you’re a business that relies on social interactions, then you’ll know that Instagram is one of the best social media platforms for business, with over 71% of global Instagrammers falling into the 35 and under demographic. There’s also a near perfect crossover with YouTube, with 95% of Instagrammers also using the video platform. That’s a lot of influence.

So where do signs fit into the equation? If you’re encouraging customers to snap and share, you need your branding to be absolutely on point. If a picture paints a thousand words, tired and worn looking signs are a quick way to put a dent in your brand image when they’re all over Instagram.

Signage: is yours Insta worthy?

If social is part of your marketing plan, then it pays to step outside of your business and ask yourself some questions. Try snapping some selfies with your signs in the background – do they look exciting, fresh and inviting, or could you be doing better? Do you need additional signs to create a more customer-friendly experience or could your entire branding do with a makeover to create a more Instagrammable result?

If you’ve dismissed Instagram as a platform for your business, here’s a statistic to make you think again. 60% of Instagram users – that’s upwards of 600 million people daily – search for new brands and products on Instagram. Is that a market your business can afford to miss out on? Are you picking up on these signage trends?

Get started by looking for similar businesses and seeing how they use their Instagram account and the kinds of images that guests are taking and posting. How does your signage measure up? Whether your brand would benefit from a minor refresh or a major overhaul, putting yourself in your customer’s shoes will give you the advantage of making yourself Instagram friendly.

Getting up to speed

If influencing Instagram is your goal, then investing in new signs and impactful branding is critical. If your aim is to get your brand on a social platform in a way that positively impacts your marketing, then you need to work with the professionals to create consistent and eye-catching signs that are worth sharing.

Consider illuminating your signs with low energy, low cost LEDs to ensure they’re well lit and more than just the background to a customer’s selfie. Innovative lighting effects created with channel letters allow your sign to project a message at all times of the day and night.

Professional signs in Sussex

At The Sussex Sign Company, we can create the kind of signs that influencers will take notice of. We can help you stand in your customer’s place and create branding that makes the most of Instagram’s social reach. Contact us today for more information on new signs for your London business.

Signage Design Trends You Need To Know About In 2019

Signage design in London is more important than ever. In fact, the biggest brands in the world are sitting up and paying attention to the importance of signs which means they’re now evolving into something new and exciting. From clever use of vinyl wraps and negative space to vintage and minimal design, the future looks bright.

Safety first

The love affair with glass in our public spaces shows no signs of diminishing with the transparent Tulip Tower set to become London’s tallest skyscraper. However, glass as a construction material has a raft of safety issues, not least of which is people walking into glass walls!

Anti-collision decals are a chic and practical way to prevent injury, but they can also be used to create industry-relevant displays and marketing while fulfilling their safety purpose. If you don’t have glass walls, create an eye-catching window display using vinyl.

Nice and easy

The days of over-complicated signage are over. For modern marketers, an interest in minimalism and pared back design is all about ease – no one wants to look as if they’re trying too hard.

Out go over complicated logos and messages in favour of sleek and straightforward designs that communicate their message in a simple and uncluttered way. Channel letters and halo lighting are one smart way to keep your signs slick and contemporary.

Use negative space creatively

With the rise of digital wallpaper, there’s no excuse not to get creative with those blank walls. Inject some brand personality and key into the trend for bright pops of colour and bold graphics by making the most of all the negative space in your premises – especially if you have oddly shaped walls or curves that can really make the most of a quirky and eye-catching design.

Try one of the new dynamic and highly detailed hand-drawn style illustrations. Or be influenced by the mainstreaming of futuristic influences such as geometric shapes, abstraction and 3D. Colour palettes are moving away from muted minimalism to a new bright palette that’s intense and vivid, adding a real playfulness to your business graphics.

Go retro

Vintage signs are having a moment, their strong typography and fun colours keying into a sense of nostalgia that millennials find appealing. Think vintage painted designs and neon lighting then replicate the look in the latest materials using LED illumination for beautiful, long-lasting and sustainable signs.

Use bold and easy to read fonts that project individuality and innovation and don’t be afraid to move away from the overly professional to the relaxed and relatable – personalisation is set to be an even bigger part of the customer experience in the future.

Professional signage for your business

You may not be a mega brand but that doesn’t mean you can’t borrow some of their tricks. To keep your brand relevant over the coming year, please contact the Sussex Sign Company. We can advise you on a range of sign solutions designed to maximise the return on your investment thanks to our end to end service from design to installation.