Business centres, public transport hubs, and even healthcare institutions rely heavily on signage systems to help people at large navigate smoothly through the establishments. Clear and simple signage systems help the people in reaching there desired location without any hassles. For educational institutions, especially, the signage systems serve a dual purpose – firstly, they create a sense of safety and comfort the students, and secondly, they help in the educational institute in conveying it’s values and beliefs. Many educational institutions are turning to attractive signage to attract and hold there students’ attention to important announcements, notices, disciplinary and security guidelines across the campus.

Signage systems in educational establishments are used for –

  • Providing directions across the campus
  • Making big and important announcements
  • As a replacement to regular notice boards
  • Providing safety guidelines

The various types of signage solutions in educational institutions

Directional Signage
Large educational campuses make use of directional or wayfinding signage systems to help the students and visitors decide where they need to go and how to get there. These signages are placed at strategic locations all over the campus as well as inside the buildings and make the everyday functioning easy.

Safety Signage
Educational institutions need to comply with the safety laws and rules and it is essential for them to place the safety signs as per the defined guidelines. These signs ensure the safety of the students in case of any emergencies.

Branding
The right signage systems help the educational institutes in establishing a strong brand, convey there culture, heritage, values and ideals and at the same time, provide a sense of comfort and safety to the students and visitors.
Key considerations in the signage solutions

Durability
Educational institutions require several signage for outdoor areas. These signage systems are exposed to changing weather conditions, sun, storm, rain etc. The institutions need to look for signage which are durable, can sustain extreme environmental conditions, and are low on maintenance. At the same time, there should not be any compromise on the look and feel of the signages.

Changeability
The location of the classrooms keeps changing. Different teachers are assigned to different classes. Exam rooms are always different. How can educational establishments address these changing requirements? They obviously cannot afford to have hand-written signage all over the institute. This is where modular signage solutions, which offer easy changeability of the signs, come into the picture.

Consistency
From the perspective of maintaining a standard image, all the signs within the institution need to maintain consistent style, font, colours, and size. Such consistency is hard to achieve if the signs are custom-made – especially when the number of signs increase. Modular signage systems offer a consistent look and feel irrespective of the number of signs.

Maintenance
The signage systems need to be extremely easy to maintain. Changing the signs, cleaning the signage, or even fixing a particular sign should not require the intervention of an expert. The signage systems should also be largely scratch proof and durable. Modular signage systems are extremely low on maintenance and deliver a high return on investment over a period.
Best practices in signage design for educational institutions

-Pay special attention to the colours used in the signs. Colours play an important role in the messaging as well as readability of the signs. With specific colour combinations, the signages can be made more readable, pleasant, and aesthetic.
-The fonts for the signage should be carefully selected. Each font conveys a particular mood and, therefore, should be appropriately selected. The text should effectively convey the desired information while creating a professional look.
-Select the location of the signage strategically. Place the appropriate signage based on how long people are going to stay at the location, what decisions they need to make, what are the obstacles to placing the signs, etc.

While educational institutes are facing tough competition for students, signage systems can help them in creating a great first impression with prospective students and there parents. It can help them in creating a welcoming and comforting tone for the entire experience. It is, therefore, important for educational establishments to invest in high-quality, comprehensive, and well-planned signage system.