Architects: How The Sussex Sign Company can help you

When you’re designing a building, signage is probably not one of the top things you’re thinking about, but it should play a major part in how you plan both inside and outside. For many business owners, signage is a key piece of advertising and probably the first thing which potential customers and visitors notice when they drop in. That means it needs to be prominently displayed in order to do its work, and it’s critical to factor it in whenever you design a new building.

The Sussex Sign Company has been working with architects for more than twenty years now, helping them design buildings which can really showcase our top quality signs. Whether they’re shop front signs, estate agent’s displays or school signs, making sure signage is seamlessly incorporated into your building designs must be a top priority.

Forward thinking

Signage is a major part of any new building – think about the front of a shop, restaurant, bar, gym, convenience store or takeaway, and you’ll immediately picture their signs. On the front of a High Street establishment, signs are usually the first thing people see and they need to be clearly visible in order to perform their advertising function and draw in potential customers.

That means that when you’re planning a new build, you ought to be thinking forward to how the external space will be used. While pondering the light and the positioning of doors and windows might be second nature to you, signage may very well come lower down the pecking order. Signage can, however, have a big impact on the overall layout of such things. You need to factor in space for shop front signs or other signage, which a business owner may want positioned above a door, for instance, or a halo illuminated sign over a window.

Discussing signage with the future owner of the establishment will help you ascertain their needs and plan other elements of the building’s exterior around the picture they have built up in their minds – forward thinking and considering signage therefore becomes all the more important.

The inside story

You also need to think about signage on the inside of your building. You’re probably very used to thinking about interior building space and how it is used by people, but you should also factor in that those people need to be guided at times. Wayfinding signs are the ideal solution, but you need to remember that they’ll need floor, wall or ceiling space to be prominently displayed.

Consider how people will move throughout your building, avoiding the build-up of crowds in more confined areas such as lobbies, corridors and around lifts. Then think about where signs would be best positioned to help guide people and move them along. Wayfinding signage needs to be highly visible and easy to read, so that people don’t have to slow down or stop in order to see where they need to go.

You also need to think about signage in communal areas. Most hotels, gyms, hospitals, offices and other large buildings will almost always need some sort of large-scale signage in the entrance area, so lobbies and foyers often need enough wall space to display a big signboard outlining where people can find various wards or departments. It may not seem like a big thing, but ensuring there is enough wall space for a large sign board means thinking about where windows and lighting are positioned, or even where plug sockets are to be situated on a wall.

What makes good signage?

Good signage is a key weapon in every business’s arsenal, providing round-the-clock advertising for any company. While there are many things to consider when planning a new building, signage really should make its way towards the top of the agenda if it’s to work and help a business attract and keep their customers.

Professional sign installers know about where signage should be positioned in order for it to work its magic. That means that talking with a signage expert can help you think more clearly about how to factor signage in to your new building designs. Rather than having signage as a lovely afterthought to adorn your next project, think of it as a centrepiece on the outside of an establishment and make sure you’re planning around it.

Signage can often dictate (in the nicest possible way) how the exterior of a building should look and function. Knowing where your future signs will be positioned may, therefore, have a big influence over how you think about your new creation.

Work with the Professionals

Of course, signage needs to be ‘done properly’, which means working with a professional and experienced company that can offer all the advice and guidance you need in order to factor signs into your building design. Here at The Sussex Sign Company, we’ve been helping architects design beautiful buildings for more than twenty years, making us the go-to company in the region for bespoke signage.

With a highly experienced team of skilled and well-qualified designers and installers, we’re best placed to help out if your architectural practice is working on a new building. Whatever sort of project you are working on – from hospitals to restaurants, shopping malls to gyms – we’re at the top of our game and always ready to lend a helping hand.

For more information on the services that The Sussex Sign Company can provide, simply get in touch with our expert team today on 01273 424900 or email us now.