The Effective Use Of Wayfinding Signs

Wayfinding signs are a convenient and easy to understand for of sign that are designed to provide direction and ensure a steady flow of foot traffic around a building, premise, or location. There are many different design options with this type of sign and there are a similarly diverse range of applications for which they can be used.

When creating the design for wayfinding signs you should consider a number of factors, such as whether they will be used indoors or outdoors, whether they will be easily visible, and also whether they effectively convey the message that you want them to. Using wayfinding signs effectively can benefit you as well as visitors to your business or premises.

What Are Wayfinding Signs?

Wayfinding signs; http://www.is-group.co.uk/About-Us/Types-of-Signs/Wayfinding-Signs - are a group of signs that are used in many locales and destinations in order to provide simple and clear directions. They are often seen at the side of roads but also on footpaths, in town and city centres, and in various commercial locations as well as sites of interest. They not only benefit visitors to a site but also the site owner.

Typically, these signs use particular colours depending on the type of destination they are directing people to. Road signs, for example, may use blue to denote public services, brown for points of interest, and white for town centre directions. When you are attempting to manage the flow of traffic through your own premises or site, however, you can choose the colours that you want to use but you should ensure uniformity because this helps people recognise the purpose of the signs.

Wayfinding Sign Applications

There are many ways that these signs can be used and in many different locations. Shopping centres are a good example of how they can be used to ensure that foot traffic finds its way around all of the most important shops and other areas and if you have visited a zoo or even a tourist town or village you will have seen arrows pointing to various locations.

If you have a commercial property or even an office you too can use wayfinding to help direct traffic. Your visitors will not become frustrated by getting lost and they will not need to ask directions from your members of staff. Furthermore, you will be able to ensure that they walk past or to the most important areas.

Design Options

Consider where and how the signs will be used. Those that are being placed outdoors will have very different demands to those used indoors. Metal, plastic, and wood are among the most common material choices when it comes to creating good looking and effective signs.

You will also need to choose the colour and shape of the sign, as well as the font and text that is to be displayed. Some signs can benefit from the use of images but these should be simple and clear because overly complex images that are difficult to see and recognise can cause confusion rather than avoid it.

Using Wayfinding Signs For Your Business

While it is common to see wayfinding signs directing around towns and streets they can be used in many other areas too. If you have a lot of rooms within your business premises, or you have an outdoor venue then this type of sign can be especially beneficial for you and your visitors.

Plan the flow of traffic before you add signs. If all of your signs point to a single location you will experience congestion in this area and may find that other areas are completely free of visitors. Also plan the wording, images, and design of the signs so that you can employ some uniformity between all of your signs.

Author: Andrew Durbin, Follow me on Google+