The Purpose of Directional Signs
A directional sign, sometimes called a way-finding sign, is an important part of a business's property. It will allow clients, customers and staff to easily navigate the campus and find where they need to go without delay. This is especially true for first time visitors and new employees who are not acquainted with the facility.
Having directional signs on the property is even more important the larger and more complex the campus is. If there are numerous corridors, buildings and ancillary areas, directional signage is a must. A business will be losing clients in more ways than one if they can't find their way around the place.
Regulatory Reasons
In addition to the pragmatic purposes that directional signs have, there are also legal and regulatory ones.
The Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA, is a federal law that require businesses, buildings and other facilities to have proper signage for individuals with disabilities.
This can include handicap access ramp signage and braille signage for the blind to navigate through a building. Not following these federal regulations can leave a business with hefty fines and legal fees upwards of $75,000 for the first offense and 50,000 for each offense after that. These large fines could be per missing sign, which could be a devastating amount of lost money for any business.
Other important signs are exit signs to indicate points of egress in case of an emergency. OSHA requires exit signage at all points where a person can evacuate the building during an emergency. Again, failure to have proper signage can lead to serious fines.
Clarity of Signage
Having directional signs in a building or on a campus does little good if they are not visible and easy to process.
Most people walk quickly by a sign, or they briefly glance up from their cellphones to look at it. So, in order for the sign to be effective, it should be not only in a highly visible location, but large enough and clear enough to read and understand in a short amount of time.
It doesn't need to be anything too loud, but certainly noticeable and visually appealing. This would include choosing the right font size, the right texture, and a color scheme that complements the aesthetics and design of the campus.
All of these factors combined can spell success for a building's effective use of directional signs. Contact us if you would like to discuss custom directional signage for your business.
