We have taken our 40+ years of experience as one of the major sign makers in Kent, and compiled a list of some easy ways to use directional signage to guide the public right up to your shop front and in the door.
You’ve got an amazing looking business fascia, made up of backlit 3D letter signs and beautifully-decorated window displays, but what if your store font is not easily visible to the regular foot traffic? What if your fantastic signage is around the corner from the car park? How do you let customers know where you are?
Directional signage can be used on the street, on the roadside or – if your business covers a large area- on different parts of the property. It can also be extremely useful in interior settings, such as busy shopping malls, if you need a way to tell customers where you are located among the clutter and noise.
Semi-permanent options:
A-frames and pavement boards
The simplest way to guide customers to your physical store is by using a good old fashioned A-frame or pavement board, literally pointing the way. Examples of these can be found in any busy city centre with multiple shopping streets. If your business is down a side street, you can put your pavement board at the entrance, pointing down your street to announce that you are located there.
Pavement boards come in a variety of formats such as the classic A-frame, a swinging sign, much larger forecourt boards, or smaller boards for street use. They can be customised to suit the look and style of your business. As it is a fairly inexpensive and removable signage option, this is where a lot of businesses tend to get more creative, using marketing gimmicks or humour to captivate passing foot traffic and get people in the door.
Banners
Banners are another removable way of advertising your business, and one which can make quite a statement, which is why they are usually chosen to announce events or new businesses. They can be produced horizontally or vertically, to pretty much any size, and with or without a stand, depending on whether you want to fix it to something or to have it stand on its own.
Horizontal banners work better when they are located at a distance,, as they tend to be large and eye-catching, such as the one we produced for a local primary school. Banners can be a good option for smaller businesses or for signs that may need changing or updating often, due to their cheaper production cost and because they do not require expert installation.
An alternative use for these less-permanent signage options is to display time-specific information, such as a promotion or event, as the signs can be put out and taken down as and when they are needed. Vertical banners can be particularly effective at this, such as the ones we create for exhibitions and new shop opening events.
Projecting signs
Sometimes the solution is a simple one; maybe your shop is down a side road just off the main high street and you need something to grab people going in that direction. A projecting sign can be a good addition to your main signage, especially if you have an easily-recognisable logo.
Consider adding lighting to your projecting sign with efficient LED bulbs, so that it is viewable at night and from much further distances. This is also a good idea if the street is quite narrow or has tall buildings, as your sign may not get much natural light and could be largely invisible from even a short distance.
We can create your projecting signs to your specifications, which will take into account the building type as well as your brand aesthetic. The most popular types of projecting signs include those mounted with solid arms to the wall, or a hanging swing sign (such as those typically seen on pubs).
Roadside signs
If your business is located outside of a town, in a more remote area or on an industrial estate, it can help to think about roadside signage. This will both attract passing motorists into becoming customers, but also help people who are purposefully looking for you, especially if you’re not easy to find.
These can take the form of more permanent signage such as a freestanding sign, like one we created for the University of Kent; alternatively, you could opt for a wide format banner, especially if the sign is for a time-specific announcement.
A more creative option is to use a vehicle with custom graphics located at the roadside, or an overhead bridge, to advertise your location. This may only work for a small number of businesses, as it specific scenario.
You could also consider this when you are designing vehicle graphics for your business anyway. Anywhere the vehicle goes, customers will see it, and if your location is particularly hard to find, you could include a basic map with a big marker showing where you are located, as part of your design.
Car Park signage
If your business shares a car park or outside area with other businesses, it can help to place wayfinding signage there to orientate your clients, as this is where they initially start to look for directions. The size of your business and the area – as well as the rules of the car park – will guide the kind of signage options open to you, but in general keep it bright and simple, such as the ones in our wayfinding gallery.
You may have the option to add your branding to a monolith or plinth sign in the car park, and by all means make use of this, with a well-lit logo and company name; but it can help to have a unique sign to help you stand out from the crowd.
There are other locations that may need large carparks, such as university or hospital campuses and as such will need ample signage to name each area and wayfinding to direct visitors to payment points and different buildings.
When deciding where to place wayfinding signs, try to think of where a customer might stop to look for directions. Alternatively, if you are simply trying to make use of higher footfall areas, make your sign eye-catching and easy to understand.
There will also need to be considerations made for reserved or private parking areas, as well as allocated areas for mother and child vehicles or disabled parking bays.
Final thoughts
No matter how hard your business is to get to, there is a signage solution, and Medash Signs can help you identify it Directional signs can be a very effective add-on to your standard signage, and can be a creative way to build a larger customer base.
Whether you opt for a permanent way-finding sign or a changeable pavement board, here at Medash, we have been making shop signs from our factory in Ashford since 1977, and can bring all of our expertise and design know-how to the table. Get in touch with us today to begin designing your perfect business signage.