Would you be surprised to hear that our approach to designing creative wayfinding signage has a lot in common with an ancient Roman poet named Horace?  We wouldn’t blame you — at first glance, that seems ridiculous. What does an ancient Roman have to say about wayfinding signage? Well, maybe not much, in those exact terms. But some of his thoughts on poetry actually sum up the purpose of creative wayfinding signage pretty well.

You see, Horace believed that poetry should both “instruct and delight”. In other words, it should tell its readers something and it should also be enjoyable to read. With that in mind, perhaps it’s easier to see how Horace’s thoughts could apply to wayfinding signs. Of course those signs need to instruct people — telling people where they are and where they need to go is their main function.

But with a creative wayfinding sign, you get the opportunity to delight somebody as well.

Ways to Create Unique Wayfinding Signs

Because so many wayfinding signs only focus on the instruction part, you get a lot of wayfinding signage that looks…bland. Any effort to personalize your signs will automatically make them stand out.

People often overlook wayfinding signs’ potential to support a company’s branding. When you do use them that way, then, they become especially effective.

There are many ways to brand your wayfinding signage:  using your brand colors, using a specific font, adding extra graphic elements besides just names or room numbers. Our customers from Fullerton Tool Company, for instance, added silhouettes of the tools they make to their wayfinding signs.

How Creative Wayfinding Signs Support Your Branding

Whichever method you use, though, the purpose of your creative wayfinding signage remains the same. It makes your space memorable and unique, adding some personality to what’s usually forgettable. It tells your customers that you care about the little details and exercise creativity in everything you do.

Creative wayfinding signs also work together with the rest of a branded office environment to attract people to your space. As we’ve discussed before, most employees want to work someplace distinctive. An office that reflects your distinctive culture through its appearance is one way to encourage them to choose you.

If you’re looking for inspiration for some creative wayfinding signs, we’ve written another article with several examples.