What Makes for Quality and Effective School Signage?

School signage is often overlooked by comparison to corporate signage, and even compared to higher educational organisations such as colleges and universities. Signage in schools is no less vital, however, and plays a wide range of important roles inside a school. From building the school’s reputation as an educational institution to ensuring that everyone can safely find their way to an emergency exit, signage is manifested in schools in such a way that they cannot safely and effectively operate without it.

We’re going to take a look in more detail at these different but equally crucial functions played by signage in schools, and in particular, how schools can make sure that their signage achieves these functions more effectively. Does school signage simply need to be readable to be effective? Or is there much more to it? Read on to learn everything that you need to know.

Excuse me, where’s the library?

Schools consist of departments broken down by subject area, and each department usually has several classrooms. Between lessons, hundreds or even thousands of pupils and staff have to move from classroom to classroom in a very short space of time. If just one child or teacher is late to a lesson, then the whole class suffers.

There’s also the consideration of new pupils. Schools want to help them settle in and feel comfortable in their new surroundings as much as possible, as it can be a scary and intimidating time when starting in a new school. Therefore, clear and effective wayfinding signage is paramount to the everyday functioning of the school.

Another chokepoint in schools occurs in the morning and evening when busses and cars arrive in the tens and hundreds. The importance of wayfinding signage is most clearly seen on the first day of the school year – children are excited to be back with their friends, and parents are probably glad to have them back in school too. This can very easily be soured by frustration, however, due to ineffective directional signage.

Evaluate your wayfinding signage

It’s imperative that parents can park, drop off their children and leave efficiently to avoid making everyone late for work and to create a good impression of the school. An easy way to evaluate the effectiveness of your existing signage is to look at it with ‘prospective parent goggles’ on – pretend that you’re a first-time visitor and try to navigate using only the cues of directional signage.

Start from the main road. Can you see the school from the road? Or is signage required to welcome visitors and guide them towards the reception? One solution could be to stock up on temporary signage, such as banners, for the first week of school to help keep traffic flowing and minimise stress levels.

Now you’re on the campus – can you find the reception easily? Depending on the size of the campus, traditional signposts to the most important destinations can be particularly effective here. It’s not practical to signpost every single department or room, though, and it can be frustrating and inconvenient to parents and visitors to have to visit the reception every time to ask for directions.

‘You are here’-style maps of the campus with a colour-coded directory listing can be mounted in signs and placed at strategic locations such as the car park, the reception and areas where multiple paths converge. Of primary importance, however, is the need to keep maps and directories simple and easy to read. Too much information can be just as frustrating and ineffective as none at all.

Safety signage is regulated by numerous health and safety laws and local authority rules, but as you view the campus with your ‘prospective parent goggles’, ensure that emergency exit signs are visible wherever you are. Your wayfinding system should complement your safety signage to provide a truly effective directional solution.

Signage as branding

As well as aiding in navigation and safety, school signage is also an integral part of the institution’s image and thus its reputation. Modern, correctly installed and well-maintained signage can be used to create a professional and welcoming atmosphere for both the students and those all-important prospective parents. The style and design of the signage sets the tone for what happens inside the buildings, helping school managers to build an environment conducive to learning.

Branded signs should feature the school’s logo or crest; its values and philosophy, summed up by a slogan; and some contact information, such as a website, phone number and email address. The signage could also be cleverly designed to incorporate any brand colours, such as those reflected in the school’s uniform.

The design and quality of school signage is critical. There isn’t necessarily a ‘right’ way to design a school sign, but the signage should reflect the school in as many ways as possible in order to be effective. For example, consider the different effects created by using a sleek, modern sans-serif typeface compared to one styled like handwritten calligraphy. Both can make for great signs, but communicate very different messages.

This is necessary to ensure that your signage fulfils its purposes and doesn’t inadvertently put people off at first sight due to poor quality or design, which would naturally convey the message of a poor quality school. Careful use of quality design in your signage will ensure that the school is recognised as an educational institution with a distinctive set of ethics, standards, values and approaches to learning.

Whether it’s for primary schools, nurseries, private schools, comprehensives, academies or even specialist schools, The Sussex Sign Company can work with you to produce an all-encompassing signage solution that coherently and clearly conveys the values and philosophy of your school. We have a wealth of experience with all forms of signage, from main entrance signs, notice boards and welcome signs to information display boards and directional signage. Get in touch through our website to learn more. Call us on 01273 417057.

Why use The Sussex Sign Company for corporate signage.

Corporate Signage:

When thinking of a company or a brand, what comes to mind? Perhaps the last experience that you had with the company flashes in front of your eyes, or maybe an advert that you saw which referenced the brand in question. When we consider our encounters and relationships with businesses and brands, we experience an emotional response. Depending on the nature of the experience, that emotional response can be positive or negative.

These emotional responses, founded on actual experiences, are highly significant to consumers when it comes to making purchase decisions. Naturally, if you’ve recently had a positive encounter with a company that led to your needs being met in a timely and efficient fashion, then the positive emotional response that you experience when considering whether to purchase from them again is likely to tip the scales in that company’s favour. A negative emotional response due to a bad experience, however, means that you are likely to remain wary of that company, even if they offer a special deal or particularly low prices.

Given that the associations that consumers have with your brand could literally make or break your business, it’s clear how crucial it is to do everything you can, as a business owner, to make sure that your customers leave your store with a smile on their face. This includes all of the things that you should be doing anyway, such as providing outstanding customer service.

However, your levels of customer service, for example, are determined by your corporate culture, your attitude and that of your employees. There is a far easier way to influence customer perceptions of your business, boost your brand visibility and improve consumer brand recognition. This is done via the clever and strategic use of corporate signage to create an integrated and unified brand image.

The Power of Corporate Signage

Whether you’re about to open your doors for the first time or you’ve been operating for decades, signage remains one of the most critical considerations for bricks-and-mortar businesses. First and foremost, an attractive and creative sign is vital to indicate your presence. If your customers and any opportunistic wanderers can’t find your business, then they can’t buy from you.

But besides marking out where your store is located, signage also plays an important role in distinguishing your business from the competition. The high street is a cut-throat environment and this doesn’t look set to change. Every town in the country has a number of pet shops, bakeries, repair shops and so on. Signage gives you an opportunity to indicate why yours is different and why consumers should come to you instead of your competitors.

Of course, only a small minority of the people walking past your shop are likely to come in, but signage helps to plant the seed for sales further down the line as well. Market research indicates that consumers are more likely to buy from a company whose brand they are already familiar with. So, make sure your signage is memorable and appealing, and your business will enjoy the effects of a boost in brand recognition.

The Medium is the Message

The power of corporate signage to serve as a kind of silent salesperson for your business, brand and products is clear. A well designed and eye-catching piece of signage can help to make a favourable first impression on potential customers before they’ve even set foot in your business. Getting this right is vital, though, because if you get your signage wrong, your business not only wastes the investment of time and money put into the signage, but actively loses additional income in the form of earnings from customers put off by the inappropriate signage.

Inappropriate in this context needn’t mean ‘offensive’. Signage can be inappropriate simply by not speaking to your target group of consumers in their language and thus communicating to them a message that you didn’t intend to send.

For example, imagine a sign made up of built-up lettering that is initially poorly installed. The faces of some of the letters slip slightly, a couple drop away totally. This sign communicates certain messages to any would-be customers in no more than a split second.

Firstly it gives the impression that you don’t care about the appearance of your business, and thus probably don’t care about other areas of your operations such as customer service or product quality, either. Secondly is the suggestion that health and safety isn’t on your radar as a business owner, as the lettering could easily fall and hurt someone.

Then come other messages, some occurring subconsciously in the mind of the consumer, that the business clearly isn’t doing very well, as they can’t afford the time or money to repair and replace the sign. This sets off other alarm bells – why aren’t they doing well? This acts to reinforce the initial negative impression obtained at first sight. Purchase decisions like these are made in a matter of seconds and very often, as with all first impressions, they cannot be undone.

Why Use The Sussex Sign Company?

Getting signage right the first time is evidently vital to your future as a business. To do this, you need to use a signage company capable of meeting your needs. At The Sussex Signs Company, we offer holistic corporate signage solutions where we take care of everything from design to installation.

We are able to do this effectively because of our in-house teams and preferred partners with a wealth of experience, qualifications and ability that gives you peace of mind in knowing that an expert will be working on your project every step of the way.

We also believe that installation is not the end of the job – it is simply a transformation of our working relationship into one where we manage the maintenance of your signs to ensure that they keep turning heads and providing maximal return on your investment far into the future. Call us today on 01273 417057

Only Trust a Commercial Signage Specialist with Your Business Signs

Why Should You Only Trust a Commercial Signage Specialist with Your Business Signs?

Commercial signage is perhaps the most fundamental way of promoting a business. Signage indicates to everyone who passes by that your business is located here. This way, not only will those who have encountered your other forms of marketing be able to find your premises, but opportunistic customers walking past will also be able to drop in on a whim.

Trade signage communicates more than just your name and location, however. The quality and finish of your commercial signs also speak volumes about the level of importance that your business places on its image. This might sound superficial, but we all know the importance of first impressions – after all, if it’s bad, you don’t get a chance to make a second one.

If your signage, through its lack of professionalism, gives the impression that you don’t care about your business’ image, then some people may feel concerned that this carries over to other areas of your operations, such as a lack of regard for good customer service or the quality of your products.

This represents a real missed opportunity to attract new custom, build your business’ profile and extend your brand’s reach, and costs you money in two senses. Firstly, the money that you have invested in marketing is wasted because your campaign fails to reach its full potential, and secondly, potential earnings from customers who would love to patronise your business will never be realised, having been put off and turned away at the door.

The importance of effective and professional signage is not in doubt, then. Any commercial organisation seeking to improve its appeal and visibility to potential customers and local residents whilst avoiding the pitfalls detailed above should enlist the services of a creative, experienced and skilled commercial signage specialist. We’re going to look at what such a specialist could offer your firm that no-one else can, and why, in our view, the services of a signage specialist are integral to the operations of any company.

What Can a Signage Specialist do for Your Company?

There are many types of business signage available and each one is designed to communicate your message to a targeted audience in a uniquely effective way. These types of signage include freestanding signs installed into the ground, or wall- and roof-mounted signs commonly seen in built-up towns and cities where free ground space is at a premium. Then there are premises where the building itself is used as a sign, with a shop frontage bolted on and fashioned in brand-specific colours and styles.

Internal commercial signage is another type, commonly encountered in shopping malls, arcades and other areas where businesses share space. With all of these types of signage to choose from and more, it’s vital that business owners choose a signage solution that complements their image by being appealing to their target consumer group. Without this, the signage will be ineffective at best and at worst, counterproductive. Fortunately, getting this right is something that a signage specialist can be trusted to achieve. But that’s far from everything that a specialist can do.

Maximise Your Marketing Potential

Signage is all about communicating a message, so it follows that a specialist in signage best knows how to creatively transmit a unique message appealing to the general public and easily understood by your target group of consumers. A carefully chosen and designed signage solution can even enhance your business’ image by expressing your agenda and values, leaving a strong and lasting impression on viewers.

As well as this, well designed, professional signage has several other advantages. Unlike marketing techniques that use digital or print media, usually with relatively short print runs, signage promotes your business 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for as long as it is standing. The effectiveness of this form of advertising, as opposed to hiring a billboard or a radio slot, is clear to see. Consumers will be familiar with and recognise your brand even if they’ve never set foot in your store. When considered in terms of ‘cost per day’ or ‘cost per view’, signage is also far cheaper than these other forms of promotion.

Signs are also able to appear to a much wider audience than other forms of advertising. Radio slots or television commercials might look very flashy and tempting, but if few people are watching or listening at that time, then the advert is totally ineffective and the investment was wasted. Likewise, newspaper adverts will, by default, never reach anyone who doesn’t read that newspaper.

A professional sign designed and installed by a signage specialist, however, will be seen by whoever walks past it, which is likely to be a reasonable cross-section of society, depending on the location of the sign. This initially wide audience can then be selected from at will by using your sign to deliver a targeted message at a particular segment of this total audience, as detailed earlier. This makes signage a far more versatile and effective form of promotion when used correctly.

What’s more, market research has demonstrated that signs are actually far more effective at swaying uncertain customers than other forms of advertising. This further indicates the importance of a well-designed sign. All of the effects and abilities of signage discussed here are contained within every sign, but the point is that with the assistance and knowledge of a commercial signage specialist, these standard effects are enhanced, ensuring that your signage provides the best return on investment possible.

At The Sussex Sign Company, we have the keenly honed expertise to be able to offer a holistic signage creation service with experts and specialists working on every stage of your sign, from design to fabrication and installation. Only this way can the marketing potential of your brand by maximised. If you’d like to know more, don’t hesitate to get in touch, Call us today on 01273 417057

Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Shop Signs!

You’ve spent months of planning, designing and building to spruce up the interior of your high street shop. It’s now opening day, and despite the marketing campaign you don’t attract anywhere near as many customers as you hoped and expected. It hurts even more because you’re sure you did everything right, no?

The answer could be staring you in the face. It’s often overlooked, but thankfully very straightforward to put right – the issue is signage. With market research suggesting that in the UK, even in the contemporary age of social media and the internet, up to 50 percent of new customers make an on-the-spot decision to enter your shop on the basis of your signage outside.

But it’s not just new businesses that risk putting themselves at peril by underestimating the importance of signage. Regardless of the age or nature of the business, there are a whole host of reasons why signage shouldn’t simply be an afterthought, but rather must be a well-integrated facet of any marketing plan. We’re going to take a look at a few of these now.

Shop Signs and New Custom

The answer, according to a wealth of market research, suggests that signage is highly important due to its effect on attracting new customers. Seeking new custom is a task that no business is exempt from and must do in order to survive, whether the company has a hundred years of trading behind it or only opened last month.

Indeed, one study showed that just under 30 percent of those passing your premises won’t even be aware that your business exists if you don’t have visible and clear signage on your shop frontage. This means that your business misses out on opportunistic and impulse buyers, resulting in an immediate loss of both footfall and profit.

This has the knock-on effect of depriving your business of the repeat custom that can arise from wowing these impulse buyers with excellent customer service. As well as the repeat custom of new visitors, your business will also miss out on the chance for these customers to be impressed and drive even more custom by doing your promotional work for you via word of mouth.

Further marketing studies have found that, depending on the focus and location of your business, the proportion of impulse buyers varies from 25 to 45 percent. Given all of the above benefits to be derived from attracting new and opportunistic custom alone, imagine the power of a sign that reminds this demographic that they’ve been meaning to buy such-and-such for a while, and that your store happens to sell it?

Driving Local Custom

Most bricks-and-mortar shops are generally dependant on local custom for the majority of their business, making signage highly important for shops in this position. It won’t come as a surprise to shop owners to learn that, on average, 85 percent of a shop’s customers live within five miles of the store. What’s more, people living within this radius, including non-customers, will be exposed to your signs around 50 to 60 times a week if your store is located on a busy thoroughfare.

This represents a vast pool of potential customers, but only if these people know where your store is located and what it has to offer them. People who have been recommended to visit your shop will also need to be able to find your premises, and preferably as easily as possible. The statistics and studies quoted above clearly show that signage is the most effective way to communicate these important pieces of information to your target market.

It’s also worth remembering that this pool of potential new customers renews and changes annually, as around 20 percent of the population move house ever year. In light of the growing popularity of e-commerce and internet shopping, along with the capacity of shop signage to maximise the pulling and selling power of your store, shop signs are clearly something that can no longer be ignored or left as an afterthought.

Shop Signs: A Business Investment?

As we’ve seen, signs are vital for driving new custom for all businesses, whether they’re new start-ups or established old hands. In this sense, shop signage is most accurately viewed as an investment like any other – it involves an initial expenditure which should, if employed correctly, deliver a substantial return.

Signage is also well placed to produce a particularly substantial return on investment. Shop frontage signs are in operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, spreading your message to anyone and everyone who ventures past your premises. Compared to hiring a newspaper advert for a week, or a TV slot or billboard for a month, it is clear that, as a form of advertisement and promotion, signage is without a doubt the most effective means of reaching your target audience of potential customers.

On the other hand it’s worth noting that poor or absent signage due to lack of investment doesn’t just mean that no money is spent on signage – it means that the business is actively losing money as a result of failing to attract potential customers daily. This lost revenue adds up over time, alongside lost engagement and connections with these potentially life-long customers.

Final Thoughts

Any business decision involving expenditure should be carefully planned and thought through, especially something with the power and effect of signage. Fortunately, we at The Sussex Sign Company are well-placed to help guide you and your business through any hard decisions. With over two decades’ experience in the sector, we have the expertise to help draw up a tailor-made solution to the uniquely specific needs and requirements of your firm. Get in touch today to find out what we can do together, call us on 01273 417057

Halo Illuminated Signage: Don’t Ignore the Benefits!

Almost all businesses have signs nowadays – they’re simply essential to show customers where your store is, and have many functions that allow them to be one of the most powerful marketing tools in the arsenal of any business owner. But with signage so ubiquitous, how do you differentiate your company from the others?

Illuminated signage provides a solution to this end, along with many other benefits. Besides making your company premises stand out in a packed and increasingly competitive bricks-and-mortar retail environment, illuminated signage can serve to revamp your business exterior with a particularly 21st century, super-contemporary look. This is sure to turn heads and maybe even attract customers who had previously dismissed your firm altogether.

The Power of Illuminated Signage

Advances in fabrication and illumination technologies have given business owners access to a huge variety of illumination techniques and options which can be used to create beautiful, show-stopping illuminated signs, tailored perfectly to the needs of your business. Variety extends over the types of materials used in the sign and the types of illumination to make your signs stand out.

Built-up signs are composed of several layers to create a stunning 3D effect, making your sign stand out in the literal as well as the figurative sense of the word. Built-up signs can be manufactured from brushed or polished metals, including stainless steel or aluminium, or plastics such as acrylic. This range of materials ensures that built-up lettering is well within the reach of almost all business owners.

Halo Illumination – What and How?

Using built-up lettering also expands the types of lighting effects that can be applied, due to the fact that locating the lights in one of the many different locations on, or in, the letter will produce a different effect. Illumination techniques generally revolve around LED-backlit letters or a light box. When internal illumination is combined with built-up lettering or logo shapes fabricated from solid metal or acrylic, the faces of the letter remain opaque with the light diffused against the background surface creating the effect of a glowing halo.

What Can Halo Illuminated Signage do for You?

First and foremost, by giving your signs a glowing outline, you make them far more visible! Illuminated signage ensures that your business is clear and stands out 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, no matter the weather. This is especially useful in the winter months when the nights start to draw in early and your shop would be totally unnoticeable to impulse customers and those who explicitly wish to visit.

There isn’t really a comparable advertising medium that works around the clock to promote your business. Illuminated signage brings your business and brand to life via the power of light.

Greater Clarity for More Effective Communication

When a passer-by sees your sign, you only have a split-second window in which to communicate your message before their glance moves on to something else. This means that clarity is paramount and, fortunately, illuminating your sign with a halo makes it much easier to read and understand. Using illuminated signage for any time-limited promotions or special offers will guarantee that your message has a far greater impact than it otherwise would.

Consumer Perceptions

All signs have the power of transforming passers-by into potential customers simply by virtue of being seen. However, signage communicates more than just the message written on it – indeed, in some senses, ‘the medium is the message’. The medium of halo illuminated signage, with its eye-catching lighting effects and use of sleek metals such as aluminium, carries a distinctly contemporary and cutting edge feel.

Therefore, with the use of halo illumination, the transformative power of signage is extended further, working to engender the impression in the minds of viewers that your business itself is fresh and modern.

Improve Your Image

Upgrading your signage with a halo illumination effect shows everyone who encounters it that you take your marketing and business image very seriously. This can work wonders for boosting your credibility and reputation, even among people who have never interacted with your business before. By showing that your signage, marketing and image are considered important, it will seem likely that you’ll take other areas of your business, such as customer service and quality of products, just as seriously – if not more so.

Furthermore, a firm that can take the time and capital to invest in a new and visually impressive illuminated shop sign must necessarily be doing well in business. The subconscious implication to the customer is that you must be doing something right, making you the right person for them to choose to do business with.

Boost Your Energy Efficiency

Halo illuminated signs use LED technology to deliver massive efficiency improvements, reducing your impact on the environment and minimising your expenditure at the same time. Previous illumination systems worked either with external light – shining a spotlight at something so it can be seen – or internal light, such as backlit lightboxes containing fluorescent tubes.

Spotlights are highly energy inefficient, emitting large amounts of wasted energy as heat and driving up your bills. Lightboxes using tube lighting often fail to light the surface evenly, spoiling the quality and effect of the sign. Neither of these techniques produce particularly effective halo effects, either.

LEDs, by contrast, last for thousands and thousands of hours, functioning as a ‘plug in and forget’ solution to signage illumination. They also use roughly 5 to 10 percent of the energy used by halogens and fluorescent bulbs, representing a massive saving for the environment and your bottom line over time.

Let’s Work Together

At the Sussex Sign Company, we have the skills and expertise to create a halo illuminated sign to your precise specifications. We also have an in-house design team to help advise on the specifics to ensure that your sign helps your business to reach its maximum potential, call us today on 01273 417057

A Powerful Tool: Differentiate Your Brand and Drive New Clients with LED Light Pockets

All retail premises on high streets face certain pressures these days, with growing numbers of consumers opting for online commerce against the general backdrop of commercial uncertainty over what the future holds. Despite historically high house prices, estate agents feel both of these pressures particularly keenly at the moment, and unless the Brexit affair is settled speedily, there is a chance that this could continue for some time to come.

Fortunately, there are plenty of tools to draw consumers and clients back to brick-and-mortar stores. Delivering unparalleled customer service with which internet-based companies can’t hope to compete is one of the most effective ways to do this. In this blog, however, we’ll be looking at the power of signage to attract new custom, in particular the fairly new technology of LED light pockets for estate agent window displays.These display solutions are increasingly popular, but adoption is still far from saturation point – so now is the time to strike. Read on to find out everything you need to know about this innovative and eye-catching display technology, whether it is worth the investment or not, and what it could offer your business.

LED Light Pockets: What are They and How do They Work?

The use by estate agents of clear acrylic pockets suspended from cables is long established, so much so that it would be surprising to see an agent’s window without them. By embedding LEDs into the pockets, an attractive and striking effect is created, visually highlighting your window. Each panel is generally not more than several millimetres thick and they often come in a range of styles, including bevelled and framed edges.

With these designs, the LED light is bounced off the inner edges of the pocket, creating the impression that the frame of the pocket is glowing. Each pocket is attached to imperceptibly thin metal cables, suspended between the ceiling and floor. At a glance, the glowing pockets look as if they’re floating, which is a particularly striking thing for any passerby to see! The power for the LEDs is transmitted by wires tucked away inside the suspension cables, furthering this visual effect.

These pockets can often be made to order in any size as well, giving estate agents the opportunity to use posters and graphics to draw attention to promotions or special deals, as well as simply highlighting the present properties up for sale. The lack of clutter, combined with a highly visible and legible form of display, allows you to convey maximum information with minimal effort on your part or that of the viewer.

What Can These Light Pockets do for Your Estate Agency?

Your business may close at 5pm, but with the aid of glowing light pockets in your windows, your properties will be advertised and clearly visible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, allowing people to see what you have on offer any time of day. This is particularly effective during the winter months, when the evening draws in by 4 or 5pm, but people will be present in busy streets until much later.

In this regard, LED illuminated window pockets constitute a powerful tool that utilises the promotional capacity of a space that you already own and have the right to use, as opposed to hiring a billboard or space in the pull-out property supplement of a newspaper. That said, there are many other stores on the high street, and all of them will be trying to do the same thing that you are – maximising their use of space for promotion. Fortunately, LED-illuminated pockets can help to differentiate you further still.

Brand Differentiation

By making your window display glow, your premises are guaranteed to stand out from the white noise of the high street, working to grab attention and hold it. This means that people are likely to remember your store, and thus your brand will be in the front of their mind when they eventually need your services, or if someone else mentions looking to buy or sell a house. In this way, brand differentiation pays its dividends over a long period of time, and therefore this form of signage should be viewed as an investment.

Furthermore, the contemporary and modern style of these light pockets creates the perception that your business is forward-facing, modern and efficient. This also makes people more likely to buy from you, and can even give you an edge over those older brands who can claim expertise by way of having existed for decades.

Keeping Up Appearances

Such an investment in window displays also suggests to consumers a care of appearances. Any business that is able to devote time and money to external appearance is more likely to be doing well in terms of custom, and therefore must be doing something right. This care over appearances also implies that you take care over other areas of work, such as attentiveness to customer service and experience, getting the job done and producing positive results.

Lastly, the beautiful effect created by glowing frames in your window allows your premises to actually enhance the look and feel of the local area, which is something that not many businesses can genuinely claim to do. All of these thoughts are subconscious and occur when viewing your window display, but they influence decisions very strongly.

The technologies behind signage solutions change and develop every year. At The Sussex Sign Company, we have accrued several decades’ experience in the business, and we’d be thrilled to put that expertise and knowledge to work for the aid of your company. To find out about the great things that we can achieve if we work together, get in touch today, Call us on 01273 417057

Is the quality of your estate agent signage letting you down?

They’re a ubiquitous sight on streets, roads and lanes across the United Kingdom – brightly coloured boards outside properties advertising their sale, usually with the name of the estate agent responsible, together with a telephone number by which to contact them if you’re interested. Estate agents have long used these signs to drive interest in certain properties, particularly those requiring a little additional exposure.

For Sale signs also serve a purpose as a beacon for instinctive or opportunistic buyers who see a house that they like and phone to arrange a viewing on impulse alone. And then there’s the window adverts on the premises of the estate agents itself. Who hasn’t stopped to have a quick look at the local property prices once or twice?

However, in recent years questions have been raised about the continued usefulness of both of these forms of signage in light of the digital age in which we now live. With the online market the first port of call for many would-be buyers and sellers, are For Sale signs still relevant?

Combine this with the sales promotion potential offered by other commonly used formats such as the property supplements in local newspapers, and it might be easy to conclude that estate agent signage will shortly be a thing of the past. In this article we’ll examine this question, finding that not only is this form of signage still very useful, but that its sales and promotional power can be redoubled by ensuring that the quality of the signage is top-notch.

For Sale signs

In addition to drawing attention to the fact that the property is up for sale, For Sale signs also garner publicity via word of mouth. The sign is subconsciously noticed by someone walking past. Then, days or even weeks later, someone close to them – anyone from a loved one or friend to a neighbour or colleague – mentions that they’re looking to buy a property in a certain area. The person who noticed the sign might say something along the lines of “Oh, have you seen that property just off the high street, with the For Sale sign?”

The presence of a sign alone may even get people talking. Who hasn’t heard someone say something along the lines of “Have you seen that they’ve put that house down the road up for sale?” This increases the reach of your promotion significantly. However, this tactic is far more likely to have success in villages and smaller towns, where lots of people know each other and come into regular contact, and gossip travels much faster.

Window signage

There is also a second permanent signage fixture used by estate agents. This takes the form of signage suspended in the window of the agent’s premises, displaying some of the property up for sale locally. These signs often take the form of A4-sized clear plastic pockets suspended from wires that are attached to the floor and ceiling. Recent innovations in window signage have led to the creation of slightly thicker acrylic pockets with LEDs embedded inside. The light bounces off the sides of the frame, making it appear as if the edges are glowing. This is a fantastic way to draw attention to the properties on offer, and even raise their profile a little.

The fact that light is involved also means that your signs will be viewable 24 hours a day, reminding people of your presence even if they simply drive past. Naturally, high quality window signage will make people reflect on your brand with more positive reactions, increasing the likelihood of referral to others via word of mouth should the issue of needing to buy or sell a property come up in conversation.

When people walk past the agent’s premises, many like to stop and have a look at the local prices and see if any interesting properties are up for sale in the vicinity, purely out of curiosity. If the signage is poorly maintained or hard to read, their attention will not be held for long and they will walk on. Even if they didn’t intend to buy a property, they will remember your brand as representing a particularly successful-looking estate agency, thus providing an excellent opportunity to use your estate agent signage to build brand familiarity and recognition.

Estate agent signage: more than just selling homes

In considering estate agent signs from the perspective of marketing, we need to take a more holistic and long-term perspective. This means looking beyond the immediate goal of seeking to sell a specific property. As touched upon above, estate agent signs also help agents to boost their brand familiarity and recognition.

As people encounter your brand more frequently, they will associate it with ideas such as ‘local community’, ‘trust’, ‘reliability’, and so on. Coming to be viewed as a part of the local community is perhaps one of the useful things that can happen to any small or medium business in terms of public relations.

Impressions of trust, reliability and effectiveness can be engendered by sticking a bright red ‘SOLD’ sticker over both the For Sale sign and the window advertisement, or you could even utilise multi-coloured LEDs to differentiate between sold and un-sold properties. These techniques use signage to promote you and your brand as being highly effective at selling properties, and can be used even if the property in question was actually sold over the internet or via a newspaper ad.

The last word

Estate agent signage is far from a has-been – it still offers huge marketing potential to agents and plays important roles beyond simply selling individual properties. At The Sussex Sign Company, we have what it takes to craft a tailor-made signage solution that perfectly responds to the needs of your estate agency. Don’t hesitate to get in touch today to find out what we can do for you. Call us today on 01273 417057

Wayfinding Signs in educational settings – a tool to engage, enrich and inspire?

Wayfinding signage is ubiquitous in urban centres, public spaces, healthcare facilities and transportation hubs. Wayfinding systems initially served a simple function, consisting of arrows and signs to direct people towards their destination. Decades of research and evolution in wayfinding signage has led to the development of a highly integrated technology-driven discipline with an overriding focus on the user experience.

In practice, this means that, as well as simply directing people around a space or building, wayfinding systems can be used to enhance the understanding and experiences of those using them. Of course, the complexities of navigating hospitals, museums, libraries and airports mean that the basic function of wayfinding systems is still very much in demand.

However, hospitals and airports, in particular, are generally quite stressful environments. Research since the 1980s has examined how clever design and careful consideration can allow the creation of wayfinding systems that contribute to a sense of calm and security, helping otherwise stressed patients or passengers to relax a little.

In this article, we’ll look at the potential for wayfinding signage to add value to another setting – that of educational institutions such as schools, colleges and universities. Can wayfinding systems be used to assist education, to engage, enrich and inspire? What other benefits could the implementation of a comprehensive and holistic wayfinding system bring to an educational institution? Read on to uncover the answers to these questions and more.

The basics of wayfinding

In order to answer the above questions, we’ll need to start by looking at what wayfinding is and how it works. Systems and devices to help people orientate and direct themselves around unfamiliar spaces can take many forms, from maps and signs to digital displays and touchscreen panels. Innovations have been created over the years, including coloured lines along the corridors of hospitals to lead patients to different departments. More recently, scannable QR codes have been employed, allowing visitors to download interactive maps to their phones.

The essential aim is the same, regardless as to the form that a specific wayfinding system takes. Whenever someone enters a space for the first time, they’re faced with decisions. They may know what their destination is – for example, the office of the regional manager – and might even know where it is in the building, perhaps the fifth floor. The person probably won’t have any idea how to get from their present location to their desired location, and this is the challenge that wayfinding seeks to solve.

Wayfinding systems do this by breaking the journey into a series of points or nodes. These nodes can be used to keep the user of the system on track. Nodes are created at appropriate intervals throughout the journey when a decision must be made in order to provide information to inform that decision. For example, in the journey to the regional manager’s office, wayfinding signage will be required at the reception desk, at the lifts on both the ground floor and fifth floor, and perhaps some corridor signage pointing to the office itself.

Wayfinding is therefore a physical form of spatial problem solving, answering the three questions of ‘where am I?’, ‘where do I need to go?’ and ‘how do I get there?’ Whilst the theory behind wayfinding may sound complex, a well-designed and effective wayfinding system should be unobtrusive and aim to answer these three questions as efficiently as possible.

Wayfinding in educational institutions

However, this is not all that wayfinding systems have to offer. Correctly employed, they can be used to enhance the user experience of any space. Consider, a museum or art gallery. Each floor of these buildings holds a specially planned exhibition, curated by professionals to educate and entertain. Wayfinding signage can be used to ensure that visitors follow carefully structured paths and don’t miss any exhibits.

The same applies in educational institutions. Universities, in particular, tend to be based on sprawling campuses consisting of many buildings and facilities. Regular users will likely have certain areas where they habitually work, study and relax, but will require directions to find any other part of the institution when required. Therefore, in the context of regular users, wayfinding systems assist inter-departmental communication, delivering a far better interconnected academic institution with efficiency benefits across the board.

Another regular feature of universities is a high volume of first time visitors. In the case of prospective students, wayfinding systems are a critical element in making those all-important impressions when they arrive for open days. Not only will it help them to move speedily and effectively around the campus, but well-designed signage leaves the impression that the university is properly cared for and looked after.

The same applies to academic visitors from other universities. Most academic institutions regularly host conferences attracting a variety of people; newcomers and repeat visitors alike. This category of wayfinding users also benefit from improved efficiency whilst moving around campus, and they’ll take back this excellent impression of the campus with them. Additionally, by including your branding on the signs, you can ensure a high level of brand familiarity and recognition.

Even smaller institutions, such as schools, require effective wayfinding in order to function optimally. Wayfinding in this context is necessary to help children, who are potentially vulnerable if they lose their way, to stay on track. Knowing that they can orient themselves and easily locate a responsible adult in the event of an emergency can provide a sense of security and safety for pupils, teachers and parents alike.

At The Sussex Sign Company, we have the expertise to assist you in designing, fabricating and installing inspirational wayfinding systems to enrich and enhance the lives of students, teachers and visitors, helping them to engage with each other and their surroundings more instinctively. Get in touch to see how we can help you today. Call 01273 417057

How to give your business a boost using shop window promotional signage

You can never have too much custom. Whether you’re an established and booming business with a loyal customer base, or a new franchise in an unfamiliar neighbourhood, it pays to avoid becoming complacent. The strategy of using your shop windows for promotional signage displays offers a range of benefits to all retail-oriented businesses with bricks-and-mortar premises.

Shop window signage – types and options

We’ll discuss the numerous benefits of a marketing campaign involving shop window signage further down, but firstly we’ll take a look at what this form of signage actually entails. Promotional window signage comes in several forms, but usually involves a vinyl film which is held in place on the window with adhesive.

Face-mounted signage is applied onto the interior of the window facing out. The face of the sign is protected by the glass, which is a benefit of this form of window signage. However, the downside is that it may limit the view into and out of the shop itself, depending on positioning. Window signage can also be affixed onto the exterior of the window, but due to the exposure to the elements, thicker and heavier films should be used.

One modern innovation in window signage is perforated film which is see-through on the non-graphic side. The film is affixed to the window of your premises, creating an eye-catching magnet for new customers, while those inside the shop can see through the film onto the street as it allows light to pass through. This provides the best of both worlds and can be used in highly innovative ways to create striking adverts and promotions.

Graphics are printed onto the surface of the film, making it possible to use a huge array of colours, high resolution photos and typefaces of your choosing. This means that the sky really is the limit in terms of the designs you can create. What’s more, the computerised aspect of the design process succeeds where hand-painted signs fail by ensuring consistency in the appearance of your signs. This is vital if you seek to increase your brand recognition and plan to use a series of signs, changing one after the other.

And this leads to another highly useful feature of window signage: its ease of installation and removal. Many shop-owners have had negative experiences with vinyl applications in windows before, but yet another modern innovation has come to their rescue. Special vinyl film is now available with air channels on the adhesive surface to allow full air egress, making frustrating bubbles and wrinkles a thing of the past. Window films can be installed in minutes with excellent, smooth results and best of all, no special tools are required.

The vinyl signs can also be removed whenever you choose, simply by peeling them away from the window substrate. Modern adhesives should leave behind very little residue as well, making these signs absolutely perfect for seasonal, short- and medium-term promotions.

Purposes and benefits of promotional signage

The options for shop window signage have expanded enormously in recent years and incorporate several new technologies to provide the best user experience possible, ensuring a high return on investment for the business that uses them. What other benefits do they hold for businesses?

Shop window graphics provide a highly cost-effective means of driving new business. After all, you already own or rent the space, so window signage is essentially a free marketing tool. Why pay for space to advertise all over town when you already have space – and on exactly the same location as your shop?

Shop window signage is a particularly effective form of advertising due to its presence at eye level. This creates far more impressions on pedestrians walking past your shop than a sign several meters from the ground.

Other than customers who leave home intending to buy from you, and impulse buyers, many of your customers will have noticed your shop at an earlier date, glanced through the window and thought “that place looks nice, I should pop in there sometime.” Attractive and informative promotional signage in your window gives the potential customer a reason to come back.

Shop window promotional signage also affords you the opportunity to enhance your brand’s familiarity with your target market. Over time, by making your store noticeable, it will come to be seen as a stalwart of the community; something that is very important for engendering customer brand loyalty and repeat custom.

Bright and attractive window signage will draw the attention of those passing by your shop, but very few of them will actually come in. However, by making an impression even upon those who do not enter your store, you ensure that your business will be at the front of their minds when they do require your product or service. This also applies to recommendations.

For example, if someone passes by a bakery twice a week during their normal routine, they will definitely have noticed the window signage and will be aware of the bakery’s presence. They may have no need for its products at the moment. But one of their friends asks them if they know anywhere good to buy fresh, high quality bread, your business will be the first one that comes to mind thanks to the passive yet memorable effect of well-designed promotional window signage.

As explained above, shop window signage gives you the ability to refresh or remove your sign whenever you choose. Keeping your shopfront looking fresh provides several other benefits, including preventing your shopfront from ever fading into the background, which is important in the increasingly competitive high street.

The modern retail environment is a tricky one for anyone to navigate, but at The Sussex Sign Company we can offer a wealth of advice as to how to ensure that you get the most out of your signage. Come and talk to us today, call us on 01273 417057.

Halo illuminated letters in high street signage:

The high street has always been a competitive environment with a limited number of potential customers, established brand loyalty and a willingness to pay more at local and ‘authentic’ businesses. According to a report commissioned by the Economist, the high street retail environment has become considerably more cut-throat in recent years.

Uncertain futures?

Retail sales are declining due to changing consumer habits, including a greater tendency to shop online. The outlook might be a little gloomy, with an added hint of uncertainty since Brexit, but there are still billions of pounds of commerce up for grabs. The tightening of consumer retail spending leads to an ever-more competitive environment, as an increasing number of businesses vie for a decreasing amount of consumer money.

Retail firms are working on drawing in customers and getting them to come back again and again with a variety of techniques, including cutting prices, diversifying their offerings and spending vast sums on public relations and marketing campaigns. There is a far easier option, however, that offers huge marketing potential, harnessing the power of brands and won’t cost you an arm and a leg: high street signage.

Retail signage is often overlooked, with many business owners assuming that provided that their trading name is nice and clear above the door, then customers will come in. This may be true enough, but such an approach fails to utilise the true potential offered by signage. In particular, halo illuminated signage can turn your shopfront from ‘just another shop’ that fades into the background, into an attractive, sleek and modern locale that subtly improves its surrounding environment.

What is halo illuminated signage?

There are several different forms of illuminated lettering used in signage, including side, full letter and face illumination, all of which are self-explanatory. Halo illuminated signage is a type of built-up lettering with LEDs positioned internally to create a glowing ‘halo’ effect behind the letter. The light is diffused onto the fitting surface upon which each letter is installed.

This is far more subtle and contemporary in appearance than large ‘lightboxes’ in use in so much high street signage which is, essentially, a box containing LEDs or fluorescent tubes that shine through a translucent sign on the front. Indeed, changes in planning regulations over the past decade have indicated a shift away from large illuminated surfaces towards more subtle and aesthetically pleasing forms of signage lighting.

Halo illumination can be used in built-up lettering fabricated from any material, from stainless steel and aluminium to acrylic and modelboard, depending on the precise effect and impression you seek to create. The illuminated surface behind the letter requires a little more thought. For the perfect halo effect, it’s wise to avoid dark coloured surfaces such as black, purple or dark brown as these colours absorb more light than they reflect. This can cause ‘spotting’, when the LEDs’ light doesn’t diffuse evenly, spoiling the halo effect.

Likewise, glossy surfaces should also be avoided. This is due to their high reflectivity which may even allow the viewer to see the LED modules themselves in the reflection when viewing side-on. For the sleek and beautiful halo effect that’ll make your premises the talk of the high street, matte surfaces with medium or light colours are the best bet.

The use of LEDs instead of tube lighting or powerful spotlights also provides several benefits in itself. LEDs usually last for several thousand hours, with ratings varying between models, but essentially providing a ‘fit and forget’ signage solution. LEDs are also very low producers of carbon, using between 5 to 10 per cent of the energy of halogen or fluorescent lighting.

Why illuminated signage?

As covered above, increased competition is the watchword of the day as a brick-and-mortar retailer. High street signage, if poorly designed or not looked after, quickly fades into the white noise of our image-saturated shopping environments. To really turn people’s heads, something a little different is required. Going all-out with brash, loud signage is likely to turn people off, but halo illumination provides an eye-catching yet subtle and understated solution.

Illuminated signage also has the benefit of making your store visible 24 hours a day, advertising your presence to any and all of the hundreds or thousands of daily passers-by. You aren’t likely to get much footfall at 4am on a weekday, but this feature is very valuable in winter, when the sun is already setting by late afternoon. Depending on your line of business, incorporating warm, welcoming colours into your sign could take advantage of winter by appearing particularly inviting to pedestrians.

Furthermore, humans are creatures of habit and people are far more likely to buy from brands or stores that they know. By having a highly recognisable and memorable sign on display 24 hours a day, and especially after dark, you increase your brand familiarity amongst your target market.

Put simply: imagine you own a bakery. Of those people who have seen your memorable and bright high street signage, when they come to need a custom cake designed or fancy some special bread, your bakery will be the first that pops into their minds. The same applies if they are asked by someone else to recommend a good bakery. Your glowing signage creates a good impression even if they’ve never set foot on your premises.

High street retail signage and the contemporary retail environment can feel like minefields. You want to attract customers, but not put them off by coming on too strong. At The Sussex Sign Company, we have the knowledge and practical experience that only comes from decades of working in the industry. And we’d love to put our finely honed expertise to use for the good of your business. Contact us today to see what we can do for you, on 01273 417057