Custom Office Signs – Different Options, What’s Best?
Beyond multimedia ads, posters, product labels and other marketing collaterals, you still need to keep your company’s image or “presence” visible in places or situations where you and your employees may be too busy to speak for the company. Custom-made office signs can help do some of that talking!
Outdoor signs
If your business depends on walk-in clients, you need an outdoor sign so they’ll actually find you. Make sure your outdoor signs reflect the same company logo, fonts, colors, style, marketing tagline, etc. as in the rest of your marketing campaign.
Standing ground signs. Installed on the front lawn of your office, these need to be durable and weatherproof, with at least two display sides that can be easily read from nearly any angle and as far away as possible. These can be made with cedar posts and treated plywood (i.e. Crezon Plywood or Alumiclad Plywood), with garden floodlights to illuminate it by night. You can also have a backlit sign, with durable semi-transparent plastic displays and an aluminum frame to house the lights within.
Building IDs. If you don’t have a lawn or spot on the sidewalk, take it higher. Place a “building ID” sign prominently at the outer wall of your office building, or as an overhanging sign facing passersby. These signs are best done as backlit “light boxes”, made of durable plastic or semi-transparent material and aluminum framing.
Interior signs
Once inside your office, you need to impress visitors by restating your company’s presence in a more polished manner.
Lobby wall signage. These are large versions of your company’s name, logo and tagline (if any) made out of metal (i.e. polished, cut or cast), formed plastic or acrylic, or even foam, and mounted on your receiving area’s most prominent wall (usually where your receptionist’s desk is). For the best effect, use raised mounts (spacers between the mounting surface and the actual signage). For drama, have ceiling spotlights trained on the signage or attached behind the signage itself.
Office nameplates. These are signs for doors or areas designated for particular departments and officers. Though simpler, these signs should still bear the same style and personality as your official logo. Use the same font and colors as with the lobby wall signage to mark important areas such as “Product Development”, “Sales & Marketing”, “Accounting”, “President’s Office”, and even “Cafeteria” and “Restrooms”. Instead of using cheap static cling or decal signs over each department’s glass doors, do your best to budget for the same material you used for the lobby’s wall signage-it does make your company look more credible to both clients and employees!