Wayfinding & Directional Signs

Directional signage is essential for any public space or private business location. People need directional signs to help them navigate an area and learn important information. SpeedPro’s well-designed, adequately placed directional signage will help a person feel more comfortable and can reinforce your branding. 

SpeedPro’s nationwide visual-communication studios can print custom wayfinding and directional signage for retail and commercial operations. Find out what these specialty signs offer your space, brand, and customers through your local, full-service SpeedPro partner. 

Table of Contents

SpeedPro’s Wayfinding & Directional Signage Products

Opportunities to Use SpeedPro’s Wayfinding Signage

Using Directional Signs for Maximum Impact

Directional and Wayfinding Signage FAQs

SpeedPro’s Wayfinding & Directional Signage Products

Our custom directional signs are printed on various base substrates and are highly customizable to your needs. Businesses use wayfinding signs for four main applications: 

• To provide directions: Guide visitor foot traffic to and within your business using directional arrows and wayfinding signs. These clear signs employ bold arrow designs and clear instructions to point people in the direction they need to go. 
• To name rooms or buildings: Assign names and numbers to conference rooms, meeting spaces, offices, and event halls, where even first-time visitors can navigate rooms and buildings using signs intuitively. 
• To designate special zones or areas: Use identification signage to highlight parking lots, drive-through lanes, smoking areas, waiting rooms, terminals and similar “assigned” areas with specialty purposes. 
• To provide information: Take advantage of information signs to relay pertinent details through custom directional signs. Showcase parking rules, store hours, gate or entry prices, garbage and recycling bins, bathroom locations, device charging stations, customer service desks and more with custom signs offering specific instructions. 

SpeedPro provides three main directional and wayfinding signs — indoor, outdoor and digital. 

Indoor Directional Signage

Indoor Wayfinders are the most commonly used directional signage. Businesses employ them to relay essential information to visitors, including: 

• Entry and exit points 
• Wheelchair accessibility
• Departments 
• Room, office, or hall spaces 
• Restrooms 
• Cafeterias 
• Lounges 
• And much more 

Ordered to match the size, scale, color schemes and level of detail required by your ideal vision, custom wayfinding signs also operate in private and public settings as fire extinguisher signs, workplace safety signs and more. From grocery stores and warehouses to amusement parks, arenas and multistory condominium buildings, directional signage speedily and intuitively lets people know where to go when they are in your space. 

Request a Free Directional Signage Consultation from Your Local Studio

Some types of indoor directional signage include: 

• Banners: Banners are attention-getting displays that can help direct people and provide key information. You can hang banners or use banner stands to create freestanding displays. These banners work exceptionally well as directories in a lobby or entryway. This way, people feel welcomed and learn where they need to go. 
• Floor Decals: Floor graphics are an excellent option for wayfinding since they make it easy to point people in the right direction. Sometimes, arrows on an overhead sign can be a bit confusing. For example, an arrow pointing up may indicate a room is just ahead or up on the next floor. In contrast, arrow marks on the floor are never confusing and remain in people’s sightlines. 
• Temporary Signs: You can create temporary directional signs from materials like foam core, hanging or displaying them on easels. These signs look sharp and professional but are affordable enough to make them for a single event or a temporary need.  
• Elevator Wraps: Elevator wraps are an excellent option for multistory buildings. These displays are giant decals that turn an ordinary elevator into a large-scale visual display.  
• Wall Murals: Wall Murals are designed for impact, to showcase branding or other marketing messages. However, you can also create fantastic murals and help with wayfinding.  

Outdoor Custom Directional Signage

Outdoor wayfinding signs serve many of the same functions as indoor ones, only in external environments. Use outdoor directional signage to indicate: 

• Entryways and exit signs 
• Parking lot locations and hours 
• Store or office hours 
• Building designations 
• Terminal areas 
• Sales advertisements 
• New storefront openings 
• Trails and paths 
• Road signs 
• Traffic signs 
• And more 

Types of outdoor wayfinding signs include: 

• Mounted Signs: Permanent signs are essential for identifying your business, either on a monument-style base or mounted to your building.  
• A-frame Signs: A-frame signs are an easy and effective solution for temporary outdoor signage.  
• Floor Decals: Floor Decals also work outside on surfaces like asphalt and concrete, meaning you can install them on a parking lot or sidewalk to provide directions. If properly applied, these decals can last a long time.  
• Flags: Flags are another excellent option for outdoor signage, whether you want to boost your brand awareness or help with wayfinding. Flags have the advantage of being large and colorful.  
• Window Graphics: Window Graphics are decals or clings that can turn your storefront into a colorful and informative display. You can display essential information like store hours and direct people to enter and exit using the correct doors for wayfinding purposes.  

Digital Wayfinders

Digital mapping options provide a sleek, modern reimagining of traditional directional signs. 

Rather than printing signs on vinyl and glass, digital signage screens display your directions and information. Add branded imagery, or program a handful of serialized messages to maximize this unique medium and catch even more attention. 

Consider digital wayfinding and directional signs: 

• Outside of conference rooms and event spaces 
• Placed as “You Are Here” maps 
• Containing building directories 
• Showcasing maps to grounds or surrounding land 
• Displaying meeting room schedules 

Opportunities to Use SpeedPro’s Wayfinding Signage

Directional Signage for Restrooms, Parking Lots, Wheelchair Accessibility & Others 

Internationally familiar wayfinding signage is particularly crucial at public events and venues. Hotel lobbies, casinos, sports arenas, trade shows and transportation hubs require easy-to-spot and easier-to-understand directional signs that guests from anywhere can process. In some cases, signs denoting wheelchair accessibility, emergency exits, bathrooms and others are compliance mandated.  

Directional Signage For Retail Businesses 

Consider many of today’s most popular shopping environments, where clear directions and unique, business-specific designs help announce your storefront, then draw in and maintain foot traffic. Both temporary and permanent wayfinding signage have retail advantages: 

• Malls
• Strip malls
• Outlet stores
• Stores with off-street entrances

Custom Directional Signage for Events 

Specialty events call for specialty signs. Keep guests comfortable, reduce location confusion and decrease traffic congestion at significant events through wayfinding signage. Put your creative stamp on many of the following events:  

• Weddings 
• Birthday parties 
• Bridal or baby showers 
• Farmers markets 
• Fairs or carnivals 
• Fundraising events 

Directional Signage for Office Buildings 

Large and small office buildings alike require wayfinding signage for intuitive navigation. Allow employees to find designated meeting rooms, clients to make their way to conference gatherings, and guests to locate relevant waiting rooms. Office directional signage allows easy and natural guidance without visitors needing to stop passing strangers or employees and ask for directions. 

Use directional signage to indicate the locations of: 

• Various departments 
• Conference rooms 
• Waiting rooms or guest lobbies 
• Event gathering spaces 
• Recreation or break rooms 
• Private offices 
• Breakout pods or quiet workstations 

Directional Signage for Trade Shows 

Directional signage for trade shows comes in many sizes and varieties. Hang wayfinding signs overhead, mount directional materials on your booth walls, set wayfinding floor decals, or place standing directional signs to draw traffic — and attention — where you want it most. 

Consult your local SpeedPro studio on the wide range of signs, including:  

• Venu floor signs 
• Venue ceiling signs  
• Freestanding signs 
• Banner directional signage 

Directional Signage for Campuses 

University and corporate campuses contain dozens of buildings requiring a clear designation. Directional signage helps visitors find the correct building they need and how to navigate within them. 

Place wayfinding signs to help individuals locate: 

• Staff and faculty offices 
• Dorm buildings 
• Classrooms 
• Lecture halls 
• Media rooms 
• Cafeterias 
• Event spaces 
• Conference and board rooms 

Speak with your local SpeedPro Studio

Using Directional Signs for Maximum Impact

Boost your company’s branding with directional and wayfinding signage that welcomes, connects and informs whenever someone steps into your space. 

Directional and wayfinding signage is straightforward, but designing and installing this signage involves strategy and attention to detail. There are several best practices for indoor and outdoor directional signage, from determining the best placement and feature lighting to safe and compliant sign mounting. 

You will want to choose signs that make sense for the indoor or outdoor environment. 

Indoor signage: Indoor wayfinding signs are long-lasting and durable.   

Outdoor signage: UV-protecting coatings provide a buffer to keep outdoor directional signs solid and vivid. Choose signage laminates that match your sign’s perfect finished look and hold up to inclement weather. 

Digital signage: The sleek, contemporary digital signage makes walls and rooms stand out even further. 

SpeedPro Contact Your Studio For a Free Directional Signage Consultation

Wayfinding & Directional Signage FAQs