No matter how large or small it is, your business needs custom signage and wayfinding. Maybe you’re a sprawling hospital with a complex system of departments in need of a detailed informational system. Or perhaps you’re a five-person office that needs to point out where the restrooms are.

Because signage is such a universal necessity, there is a wide selection of generic signage available for sale. After all, just about every business needs signs for parking or room numbers. If there are standard options for signage available, why invest in custom signage? There are a lot of benefits you may not have considered:

Custom Signage and Wayfinding Promotes Brand Identity

Custom wayfinding signage is a valuable opportunity to promote your brand identity. Even if you were set on sticking to generic signage options, every business needs at least one custom sign: their business name. This is the one thing you’re out of luck finding a generic option for. Besides, most people understand that this is a valuable investment. It announces who your business is and makes you easy to find. But why stop here?

Custom wayfinding is the ideal opportunity to incorporate your brand throughout the entire space. A visitor needs more than one encounter with your brand to really understand who you are. Consider what is a more memorable experience:

• A visit to an Apple store: every inch of their store – the colors, the furniture, the signs – somehow feel uniquely like Apple
• A visit to a tax attorney: where, although they had a sign out front, the interior feels like 100 other near-identical offices you’ve visited.

Apple’s branding strategy is obviously a lot more intensive than just custom signage. But wayfinding is a great place to start! It’s found throughout the space and is constantly being searched for and used by visitors who are navigating the building.

Branded Wayfinding Creates a Sense of Cohesive Community for Employees

Promoting your brand identity through signage has a lot of positive impacts beyond the marketing value. Visible and cohesive branding throughout your space has a powerful effect on the people who work there. It can be hard to feel like part of a team when working in an anonymous gray office. Incorporating your brand into the workspace serves as a consistent reminder of your company and its values.

A strong work culture is vital to the long-term success of your business. It affects employee retention, productivity, and overall happiness. Branding your workspace through strategies such as custom signage contributes to a better culture by reinforcing your core values. Create a culture where all employees have a stronger understanding of and connection to your brand. As a result, they’ll share the same goals and sense of purpose that drive your business to success.

Communicate More Clearly

The number one purpose your signage has is communication. From a simple indication of where an exit is to a detailed directory of a building’s occupants, your signage gives information to viewers. Custom signage allows you to provide this information in the clearest way possible.

Detailed vs. Vague

Because they need to be used in a wide variety of buildings and situations, standard signage can only be so specific. It provides only the bare minimum amount of information. Custom signage allows you to communicate with specificity. You can use more detailed language and provide clearer directional cues. The result is a less confusing experience for the user. They can navigate the space with more clarity because they are given more exact information.

Appropriate Design

Besides clearer language, custom signage can tailor the overall design to communicate more clearly. Custom signage design takes into account the exact circumstances in which the signage will be used. As a result, the designer can make informed choices about the letter style and sizing, as well as graphic placement. This ensures the signage is clear and readable at the distance it’s being seen at.

Custom Wayfinding Enhances Your Space Instead of Intruding

Generic signage is often an intrusive addition to the spaces it’s added to. It wasn’t made for that particular space, and this shows. The color clashes or the font and graphics don’t match the look of the space. The material often looks out of place as well. Basically, standard signage looks like an awkwardly tacked-on afterthought. Because frequently, that’s what it is.

Customization means that your signage actually enhances your environment. Because the materials and design options are limitless. In a sparsely decorated space, custom signs can be a much-needed touch of elegance or pop of color. Choose the color and material to perfectly accent your environment. Glass signage can add a sleek touch of modernity, or custom cut acrylic can incorporate playful or energizing shapes. Whatever atmosphere you’re trying to achieve, signage can support that.

Custom Signage Responds to Unique Concerns

Although there’s an impressively wide variety of standard signage available when it comes down to it, it’s just that – standard. Your business is anything but standard. Many businesses will have industry-specific concerns that need particular signage. For example, a print shop with a large format printer may need signage alerting employees to machinery safety procedures. These are situations that are so specific that it is difficult, often impossible, to find existing signage.

In cases like these, custom signage and wayfinding are an absolute necessity for clear communication. Even if the stakes aren’t as high as safety around industrial machinery.

Creating a Better Experience

A more beautiful environment, a less confusing time navigating, and a heightened sense of community – what do all of these benefits add up to? They create a more positive and memorable experience for both visitors and employees. What is more valuable than that?

When you’re choosing custom signage and wayfinding, you’re not simply picking nicer wall decoration. You’re choosing to prioritize your client’s experience and setting your business up for success. If you’re interested in custom signage for your space, contact MetWest today to learn more!