YOUR GUIDE TO CORONAVIRUS SIGNAGE PLACEMENT

SEPTEMBER 28, 2020| SpeedPro Towson

The novel strain of coronavirus has changed many aspects of our daily lives. For business owners, managers and facility owners, COVID-19 has necessitated some new practices and new signage to help employees and customers stay safe. SpeedPro is here to help businesses create coronavirus signage in a variety of forms for a variety of needs. In every case, we’ll help you create signs that engage and inform your audience.

Creating signs in only part of the process, though. You also need to position these signs in the right locations to maximize their effect. Let’s look at some popular types of COVID-19 signage and the best places to install these signs.

CAPACITY LIMIT SIGNAGE

If you are limiting your building’s capacity to promote social distancing inside, you need to track the number of people inside at any given time and let people know whether they are permitted to come in or whether you are at maximum capacity. A great option for keeping people updated on your building’s capacity status is digital signage placed at the entrance of your facility, either just outside or in the entryway. You can use digital signage to tell your customers exactly how many people are inside.

You can also create a printed sign that says you are at capacity and set that sign out, directly in the path of the entrance, only when it becomes relevant. This is smart if you want to eliminate unnecessary signage at your entrance when you are not at capacity since — as we’ll see — there are many signs you may need to place in this area.

Another place where capacity limits may be important is on elevators. Ordinarily, elevators are a place where social distancing is impossible. To keep people from crowding into elevators, you may want to create signage stating how many passengers can ride at once and place it immediately in front of your elevators. An elevator wrap is an ideal solution since it goes directly on the elevator itself, turning the elevator doors into an eye-catching display that also ensures people are aware of the capacity restriction.

HAND SANITIZER STATION SIGNAGE

Hand sanitizer stations are a smart addition to any facility, whether indoor or outdoor, to encourage a more hygienic environment. A bottle of hand sanitizer on a desk or counter is good, but to draw attention to these hand sanitizing stations, you need the proper signage. You can create tabletop signs to accompany bottles of hand sanitizer on reception desks or checkout counters, and you can create freestanding displays, like kiosks, to place throughout your facility.

Entrances are undoubtedly one of the best places to place hand sanitizing stations. If customers or employees sanitize their hands when they first enter your building, they will be less likely to transmit pathogens when they touch surfaces in your facility such as doorknobs or products on your shelves.

You can also add a few more hand sanitizing stations throughout your facility and include directional signs between them to point people toward the nearest station. Encouraging hand hygiene through vivid displays in high-visibility locations is an effective way to reduce the spread of germs in your facility.

HANDWASHING SIGNAGE

Another way to promote hand hygiene is through handwashing wherever you have sinks available. In office buildings, this may include a kitchen or break room. In nearly any facility, it includes restrooms. Hopefully, your employees and customers already wash their hands when necessary, but even those who do may not follow the necessary procedures to clean their hands fully.

Signs that include the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines for handwashing are an excellent resource to help people wash their hands more thoroughly. You should place these signs right next to or above sinks, at eye level, so people remember to wash their hands and will read the guidelines as they wash. You may want to create decal signs you can stick to mirrors above sinks where they will be easily visible.

You may also want to install a sign on the inside of restroom doors to serve as a final reminder in case someone forgot to wash their hands. For instance, the sign could read, “Wait! Did you remember to wash your hands? Clean hands save lives.” Make sure this sign is bright and bold so people can’t miss it on their way out the door.

FACE MASK SIGNAGE

If your business is located in a jurisdiction that requires masks, or if you have decided to require masks in your facility, you need signs informing people of this requirement. These signs should get people’s attention before they enter your building so you can avoid the awkward scenario of having to confront a customer to inform them they need to wear a mask or leave.

If you are requiring masks according to a city-, country- or state-wide mandate, then you can expect many of your customers to already be aware that they need to wear a mask. Still, you should place face mask signage on or near your door so people see it as they enter. Window decals are a great option since you can apply them directly to your storefront.

If your company has made an independent decision to require masks, then it is even more critical that you get the attention of customers or clients before they step inside, as they otherwise won’t know they need to wear a mask. In these instances, you may want to consider a freestanding sign, such as a retractable banner stand at your entrance — not where people will stumble over it but close enough that they are sure to see it.

SYMPTOM CHECK SIGNAGE

One of the most important ways people can keep public spaces safe is by staying home if they feel sick or if they have recently been exposed to someone with COVID-19. The responsibility is on individuals to assess whether they could pose a threat to others’ health, but you can help by installing signage that reminds people they should stay home if they could be sick.

These signs should be on your front door or in a prominent position in your entrance so people see it as they come in. Consider a freestanding display or a digital sign where you can get people’s attention with a video listing symptoms or reasons that should prompt a person to return home rather than go inside.

Some businesses are conducting temperature checks to catch possible cases of COVID-19 among their employees, customers or patients before they come in. If you’re conducting temperature checks as a prerequisite to entering your building, then you’ll need bold signage that is easily visible to someone approaching your building. The signage should direct people to exactly where they need to go to have their temperature checked.

DELIVERY AND CURBSIDE SERVICES SIGNAGE

Many consumers have turned to delivery and curbside pickup services as a safe alternative to shopping in stores or dining in restaurants. If your business offers these options for your customers, make sure you advertise these services. For delivery services, install a large-format corporate sign outside your business telling people you deliver, and outfit your delivery cars or vans with vehicle wraps with an ad for your delivery service and the website or number to call to order.

For curbside pickup, make it as convenient as possible with the right outdoor signage, placed strategically. You can install flags near the road advertising your curbside services. You should also place a sign at every entry point into your parking lot with an arrow pointing drivers toward the curbside pickup location. If they have a scheduled pickup, they’ll be looking for these signs so they know where to go. You don’t want customers to feel confused at any point if you can avoid it.

You also need to install at least one permanent outdoor sign at the point where customers should park for curbside pickup. If there are multiple parking spots, install a sign at each spot. If customers need to check in via an app or call a phone number to let you know they’re there, include that information on this sign so customers see it once they’ve parked.

SOCIAL DISTANCING SIGNAGE

The CDC recommends people practice social distancing, also called physical distancing, as a way to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in public spaces. This means maintaining a distance of 6 feet between people who don’t belong to the same household. Since most people are not used to keeping this sort of distance at all times, it’s easy to forget to practice social distancing. You can do your part to facilitate distancing by installing social distancing graphics throughout your facility.

Some of these signs are meant to serve as reminders. They might bear a message like, “Thank you for practicing social distancing,” or, “Please keep 6 feet of distance between you and others.” You should place these reminder signs throughout your facility, especially in high-traffic areas where people are likely to stand too close together. You can hang these signs from the ceiling, place them on stands or apply them to the floor. Just make sure they are within sightlines so people will notice them.

You can also use directional signs to help with social distancing. One of the best forms for these signs is floor graphics. Place decals 6 feet apart to show customers where to stand in line anywhere where lines may form, such as at a store checkout or in an office cafeteria. In stores, you may also want to place decals at the ends of each aisle with an arrow to encourage one-way foot traffic. This will keep people from crossing paths and is a good idea if you have narrow aisles.

OPEN AND CLOSED SIGNAGE

More than half of small businesses across the U.S. have had to close at some point due to the pandemic. Some stores found new ways to make their business a safer place to shop, dine or work and have reopened. Some businesses have reopened but have had to adjust their hours. With businesses in varying states of being opened or closed or open with limited hours, you need a large outdoor sign to let the public know the status of your business.

If you’re temporarily closing, create a sign with a message like, “Temporary closure – We look forward to serving you again soon!” and display this sign either on your storefront, near the road or both. For restaurants and coffee shops with drive-throughs, you may want to also place a sign over your drive-through menu. Without a sign, people may assume you are closed permanently.

If you have reopened your business or have managed to remain open, you need signage for that, too. People won’t assume you’re open, especially if you had to close previously. So create a large banner to place on your storefront, and add flags or other eye-catching signage by the road boldly declaring that you’re open. For updated hours, consider placing a window graphic on your front door listing the new hours. These graphics are easy to change out whenever your hours change again.

CLEANING SIGNAGE FOR EMPLOYEES

Another important role signage can play is instructing and reminding your employees of important new procedures. Nearly all businesses have had to reevaluate their cleaning practices and bolster these regimens to keep surfaces sanitized more regularly. It takes time to develop new habits, like wiping down a card reader PIN pad between customers or sanitizing your desk before you leave work. Signs can help employees remember to do these tasks, though.

At a checkout counter, create a sign reminding the cashier to sanitize, and post it in a location that faces the employee and not the customer. In an office, you could either place small tabletop signs on each desk, where you could also include other reminders for employees regarding health practices, or you could create large signs to hang on the wall or on a door where employees will see it before they leave for the day. These signs might read, “Wait! Did you remember to wipe down your desk?”

For new cleaning procedures in a restaurant, create a large sign with a step-by-step guide and post it prominently on the wall where employees can refer to it while they clean. You can also include these signs on restroom walls. It’s all right if customers see these signs even though they are not the intended audience. Knowing your business is taking cleaning measures seriously will instill confidence in your customers.

BOLD, INFORMATIVE COVID-19 SIGNAGE FROM SPEEDPRO

You need your coronavirus signs to be bold, attention-getting and informative. Now is the time to partner with SpeedPro, the nation’s leading printing and graphics franchise. We have studios all over the country, so you can find a studio near you and let the team know what types of signs you need to help make your store, restaurant, office, school or any other type of facility a safer place.

We’re here to help you create custom signage that instructs and informs, as well as enhances your branding and looks great, wherever you place it.