Signage Era: Everything you need to Know

design@greyphyte.comAugust 25, 2022

Signage is everywhere. It is the signage era as we cant ignore but see them everywhere. Be it a street, bus station, railway station, airport or any office. It is impossible to notice sign boards nearby. You can spot at least 3 signages from where you are sitting right now. But have you ever wondered why there are so many signs around? There can be a chance that you don't read the content but immediately understand a certain thing from a sign board. For example: you are traveling to an unknown city and unaware about the local language. Without interacting with anyone, you can understand where the washroom is, whether it is a men's or women’s washroom. Similarly there are sign boards almost everywhere which depict a certain message or a thing to communicate to the audience. However, signages are considered important for a broader range of reasons.

What is Signage?

So we have understood that signages are everywhere but how do you define that. What basically a signage is? The answer is very simple and easy to understand. Signages are generally defined as a graphic representation of a certain information that conveys directly to the audience. These sign boards can be in numbers, symbols, images, words or combinations of all four. Words communicate directly, images showcase the representation and that combination works in each form. The audience gets a clear idea of how, who, what, why, when and where. The concept of 5 Ws + 1H.

Purpose of Sign Boards

As the definition suggests, signages are for communication. They can serve a variety of purposes, depending on where and how they will be use. The purpose of signage is public awareness, promotion, providing information, safety awareness, providing directions and to identify. Signages are also used to entice audiences towards your brand, product or a service. Moreover, the sign boards fulfill the purpose of recognition or identification of brand.

Types of Signage

Signs come in four different types, but each serves a distinct purpose depending on how it is used. Let’s dive into the different types of sign board.

1. Informational: Informational signage depicts a certain information to convey to the audience in an easier way. This type of signage pertains to the overall facilities of things you want to convey. Moreover informational signage gives a border information and should be universally understandable in every part of the world. For example, bump head on the road side, silence zone or no parking signs. Such kind of sign boards are noticeable almost everywhere.

2. Directional Signage: Directional signages are commonly at public places. Mostly they are also known wayfinding because such signages help to find a way or allow people to understand that they reach their destination. Like, airports, bus stations, railway stations, museums or any other public place. For example, the left sign indicates exit and the right indicates cafe.

3. Identification: This is the most common and seen signage. Identification signage helps to identify basic things without reading the text. For example a sign of drinking water or washing hands, identification of washrooms on gender basis at public places, signs of danger or poison on certain products or areas under construction.

4. Regulatory: Regulatory signage indicates basic rules and regulations. It is usually large and bold when it comes to regulatory sign board. Simple, clear, prominent and concise messages should convey through regulatory signage. For example, someone will not touch an electric board if it has a sign of danger or doesn't open. There should not be any room of vagueness when designing a regulatory board. Such signages enforce major rules of the place for privacy or safety concerns.

The Signage Era

As a matter of fact, signages are helpful boards that convey a message without actually making any communication. Also, the agency is more likely to make a positive impression if the signage is designed properly and placed correctly. According to statistics of the US , 49% sales increased in a week when a cafe changed its signage board. Signage is a good tool for advertising, so if you're not using it, then your brand is missing out.

Signage Era: Everything you need to Know