Signage and wayfinding systems have been present in schools for decades, but sometimes these can be quite confusing or out of date. School signage can range from finger posts to digital screens and monolith signs to wayfinding systems.
People often think about signage in retail, hospitality and other sectors, but these systems are crucial for any educational institution. If you’re not sure how signage can help your school, college or university, we’ve created this guide to help you decide what you need to help pupils, staff and visitors.
What types of school signage ARE there?
There are many different variations of school signage to suit style and budget. Signs for schools are different from other businesses because they need to work for children as well as adults.
Internal school signage
Interior signage is a vital component of any school as it can provide a wayfinding system, message reinforcement and an inspirational environment. You can choose from; classroom door and wall signs, wall-mounted signs, window graphics and much more!
External school signage
External school signage can be as simple as a fingerpost, or as complex as a site-wide wayfinding scheme. Effective exterior school signage makes a big impression, with daily users of the site (staff, students, parents, supplier) able to simply navigate themselves around a planned route, and first-time visitors able to find their way from A to B.
School mapping
Whether you have a large 3D visualisation of your school premises at the main entrance or a smaller wall-mounted floor plan in the science block, school mapping ensures pupils, staff and visitors find their way with ease. Put simply, maps are a great value item to have at your disposal when documenting and explaining the multi-layered complexity and ongoing development of your site.
School window and wall graphics
Wall and window space in schools are prime real-estate on which to convey key messages to students, staff and visitors. Infographics, illustrations and word clouds are just three ways an educational institution can effectively use wall and window graphics (manifestation) to convey a variety of simple or complex messages.
Why do schools need signage?
Educational establishments have had signage and wayfinding systems in their buildings and grounds for decades. These simple yet effective products are essential to students, staff and visitors, but why exactly?
Build trust and reputation
There’s more to building and displaying trust than just choosing the right words to put on the school sign. As well as what you say on the sign, it’s also equally important to think about how you say it – font, colours, layout etc.
Having a sign that exudes everything your school, college or university stands for, means pupils, staff and visitors will have trust building from the moment they see it.
Inspiring and helping students
School-aged children are constantly learning and developing in a variety of environments, with school being one. All teachers know that pupils need inspiration to get the best out of them and having eye-grabbing signs and graphics will do exactly this.
Clear and concise messaging with inspirational imagery or typography will help students throughout their school journey from their first day where they don’t know where anything is, right to the final day of Year 11.
Clear information and navigation
Whether it’s the first day of a new school year and you have new children who don’t know their way around or have a new supply teacher trying to find the room their teaching in, signs and wayfinding systems are the perfect solutions to this problem.
If you’re looking to implement a wayfinding or signage system in your school, Penstripe can help. With decades of experience helping schools with their signage, planner and storage problems, we know what helps students thrive in an educational environment.
To discuss signage solutions for your school, get in contact with one of our experts who will be more than happy to help you with your requirements.
SCHOOL Signage
We believe that signs are just the product of a carefully considered school directional strategy that works for your whole site. It is important that your signs are intuitive and easy to follow for all users.
Olaf Surtees has been with Penstripe for ten years; what he doesn’t know about teacher planners, student planners, and lesson planners isn’t worth knowing! He’s in charge of creating our blog content, helping teachers and administrators with helpful hints and tips, as well as our socials — see the links below to find out more.
