Custom signs are a major part of any business. Retailers often use these signs to help direct customers through their store. They have custom signs listing what items are on what aisle, signs for new products, and custom banners announcing sales and other specials. But what about other types of businesses? What types of custom signs will you need if you’re an office rather than a store?
Just because you’re an office instead of a store doesn’t mean you don’t need to direct people. Some offices do have customers in the building on a daily basis. Others may have other industry professionals or vendors. Even if you don’t have anyone outside of your staff in the building, you may still need to provide some direction. If you have a large office building with multiple floors, people are going to need to know where various departments are.
If you’re not certain what custom signs you’ll need for your office, TNT Signs can help. Our team has years of experience working with businesses of all industries and sizes. We’ll assist you in determining what signs you need, how customized they should be, and more. Let’s take a look at some of these signs and how you might design them to make certain they meet your needs.
Custom Signs Help People Find the Right Department
Let’s start with the most obvious type of sign you may need in your business: signs pointing people to the right departments. You may need a single sign near the door with department names or employee names and their office numbers or arrows indicating which hallway to take. If your office is fairly small or has a simple layout, office numbers may suffice. If you have a larger area, you might need arrows indicating which direction to go, then have signs for the individual employees or departments down each hall.
Of course, you will need some kind of custom signage on each office door. How else will people know where office 101 is if there’s not a sign on the door? In some cases, you may want to keep your offices numbered. If you put an employee’s name on the sign and they leave, that sign is no longer useful, so you could save money by simply using the office number. If you want to personalize things a little more, you could put the person’s job title on the door. For example, instead of simply “Office 101” the sign could read “Office 101 – Director of Technology” or simply “Director of Technology.” This way, as long as the position uses that office, it doesn’t matter if the actual employee changes.
Are The Signs That Important?
Are these signs important? Basic directional signs are likely going to be something you want to invest in. If you are a very small office with less than a dozen employees, you may not necessarily need a lot of direction. Office numbers may suffice. If you have a receptionist, you may not even need to number the rooms—the receptionist could direct guests to the right space. However, as you grow, you’ll likely find that some kind of signage for each office is a necessity.
Do these signs need to be heavily designed? No. In fact, keeping the design fairly simple is often the best way to go. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put your business name or logo on the sign somewhere. They just don’t need to be too big or stand out. People are in your office already—you don’t need to market to them that much.
Instructions for Visitors
In addition to direction signs, you may also need signs that provide instructions to visitors. These may be basic instructions such as “please check in at the front desk” or “please silence your phones.” They could also be more specific, such as “deliveries should be made to Office 205” or “Patients seeing Dr. Smith should go to waiting room B.” Much like direction signs, these instruction signs should be very clear and easy to read. They have one purpose: convey a message. If there are too many graphics or overly decorative fonts, it’s going to be more difficult for people to read them.
Other instructions could have to do with payments (“payment due upon services rendered”) or reminders such as “please have all documentation ready.” You may not want to have a sign for everything but do take a moment to think about what you need to convey to every single client who walks in the door. These basic directions may warrant a sign.
You may also need temporary signs for certain instructions. If you’re a doctor’s office and a doctor is out for a few weeks, you likely need to communicate that to your patients. For accountants, you may need to let customers know that you will have extended hours during tax season or that your office will be closed in early May so that everyone can take a well-deserved vacation. These signs may not need to be overly-branded, but again, a small logo or company name will help tie everything together.
Outdoor Signs
Of course, all businesses need some kind of identifying custom sign or banner on the outside of the building. Even if you don’t have customers visiting you, you may still need some kind of identifying sign for special guests such as potential employees coming in for an interview or a potential business partner visiting for negotiations. Since you don’t need to attract customers with this sign, it doesn’t necessarily have to be as large as you might have over a retail space. You could even limit it to a small sign in the window.
Again, it all depends on your specific needs. You might need a large banner on the exterior of your clinic so people know where you are, but you may not. In fact, some offices may not want people to know where they’re located. These companies might simply want a small sign on the door. Consider what your signage needs are before you begin designing your signs.
Specialty Signs
Every industry has its own specific needs. Healthcare offices may need specific signs for medical concerns such as those that most offices had during the Covid-19 pandemic. Lawyers may need a sign explaining their free initial consultation, while a company that develops software may need a sign reminding employees of the rules regarding personal devices.
Every office is unique, so be sure to think through what custom signs you might need. By thinking it through before you order, you’ll save yourself some money. You don’t want to design and order a nice sign only to realize you don’t really need it. You also don’t want to find that you should have designed and ordered a few signs you didn’t. Fortunately, it’s easy to correct that issue, but you could miss out on combined shipping with your other signs or other types of discounts.
What About Seasonal Signs?
Some retailers make use of seasonal signs to help drive holiday sales, introduce summer products, and move other time-specific products and sales. Offices may not necessarily need these signs, but they can add a little bit of flare to a space. A few signs for the holidays, for example, can add to the atmosphere. If your office is going to be closed for part of the month to give your employees time off, that sign could have some holiday graphics on it. However, you probably don’t need to change up any of your normal signs. Adding some holiday decorations to the office may be enough, if you even want to do that. Some offices don’t, and that’s okay.
Ready to Make Some Unique Custom Signs? Contact TNT Signs Today
Whether you need a large number of signs for your office or only a few, they need to look great. These signs contribute to the impression clients, vendors, and others have of your business. Signs that are poorly designed or are made using very low-quality materials are not going to give the impression that you’re a professional business that customers can trust.
Working with a professional sign company such as TNT Signs is one way to ensure that your custom signs, banners, and other items all look amazing. Our design team can help you nail down the final look. Whether you simply need a little help with the size of your graphics or aren’t sure where to start, you can count on us. Once the design is finalized, we’ll print it on high-quality materials that will last for years. You won’t have to worry about a sign falling apart or starting to fade for quite some time. Signs are an investment, and we want you to get a great return on that investment.
Want to know more about how we can help you create amazing custom signs, banners, stickers, displays, and more? Reach out to TNT Signs today to learn more about how we can help you design, print, and even install custom signs in your office.
