A delivery driver circles the property looking for the right building. A visitor walks through the wrong entrance and stops an employee for directions. Another visitor slows down at an intersection because it isn’t clear which way to turn. They finally reach their destination, but only after passing it once.
When these moments happen continuously each day, they create unnecessary friction and delays.
The Functional Outcomes of Smooth Directional Signage:
The goal is simple: make the property easier to use. Whether someone visits every day or has never been there before, the signage should provide the information they need at the moment they need it.
Studies on navigational signage in facilities indicate that clear visuals reduced backtracking 62%, and improved overall rate of travel throughout the facility by 13%.
On average, hospital employees report helping someone with directions at least 4 times per week, with each instance consuming about 7 minutes. Altogether, the average staff member spends roughly half an hour every week just helping other people navigate. (Source) Beyond that, those same staff members said that providing navigational assistance was a distraction from their primary duties. That distraction was something they felt well after the time it literally took to provide the assistance.
Expert Guidance on Size, Design, and Placement. No Guesswork.
How large does a directional sign need to be for a driver to read it before reaching a turn? Will the lettering stand out clearly against the background color? Is a sign better placed at the entrance or farther up the road? How much information can you include before it becomes difficult to process at a glance?
You don’t have to spend your time working through these details, or learn the hard way after a sign has already been fabricated and installed.
JED Signs & Co. can guide your decisions about sign size, typography, colors, materials, messaging, and placement based on your property and how people will actually encounter the signage. That might mean recommending larger lettering for a sign viewed from a moving vehicle, simplifying the information at a busy intersection, or identifying a location where landscaping, parked vehicles, or another structure could obstruct the sign from the direction visitors approach.
Our creative team has decades of combined experience, including local sign permitting, special considerations for both indoor and outdoor signage, and North Carolina ADA standards. You won’t have to sweat the details.
Our office is in the Jamestown/Greensboro area, and we can take projects in surrounding areas like High Point and Burlington. When you work with us, we’ll help with design through installation.
Installation Process: Handled.
Directional signage often needs to work across an entire property and not a single location. That can mean different mounting surfaces, electrical requirements, permitting considerations, and installations that need to happen without disrupting the people using the property.
- Electrical work: Illuminated signs and digital displays require safe wiring and coordination with electricians. For outdoor signage located away from the building, careful planning becomes even more important. We help coordinate those requirements so the necessary infrastructure is accounted for before installation.
- Mounting: Drywall, masonry, posts, and other surfaces each require the right anchoring method for a secure, long-lasting installation. We’ll determine what your signage and installation location require.
- Building management coordination: Especially in office buildings, schools, apartment communities, and other active facilities, installation may need to work around operating hours, access requirements, or property rules. We can coordinate those details to minimize disruption.
- Permits and compliance: We handle applicable sign permitting and help ensure signage meets relevant accessibility requirements, including North Carolina ADA standards. You don’t have to determine which requirements apply or navigate the permitting process yourself.
The result is a simpler project on your end. Instead of coordinating designers, installers, permitting requirements, electrical needs, and property logistics yourself, you have an experienced signage partner managing the details needed to get the job done correctly.
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Looking for Specialized Installations?
You can punch up the aesthetics with specialized wayfinding options like these:
- Backlit and halo-lit signs for visibility in dim areas. It’s a premium look, and it ensures usability any time of day. This is helpful anywhere, but especially for hospitals and college campuses where there’s foot traffic all times of day.
- Digital wayfinding screens that can be updated in real time. This is a super way to efficiently manage a community heads-up, upgrade maps, and more. Plenty of campuses have benefitted here, with tangible results to show for it.
- Modular signage systems that allow for future tenant changes or building reconfiguration. These are a slam dunk for apartment/townhome communities, as well as senior living communities.
Talk to a design specialist today!
