Invest in a suitable interior and signage system to strengthen the brand
Adverts, TV adverts and banners come and go and they usually cost a lot of money every time they come and every time they go. This is a kind of marketing that is often important, but also very transient.
Stand out from the crowd with an efficient sign system
In a fragmented and unpredictable world, it may be worthwhile having some fixed points too, a few places where you can assert yourself over time. Places where you yourself are pulling the strings and can create the type of recognition you are looking for. The company's own website, Facebook pages etc. are digital surfaces that you can, to a great extent, control yourself, but, in the physical universe, it is interiors and signage in particularly that you can use to profile the company. If you use these opportunities for exposure creatively and in a well thought out manner in any case. It is not everyone who has gigantic surfaces to get exposure on along the lines of the OXO Tower in London or the post office building, Posthuset, in Oslo, previously known as Postgirobygget.
In this article, I will demonstrate how we have solved various problems for SiO - The Student Welfare Organisation of Oslo and Akershus - by means of a well thought out major signage programme by illustrating a project Mission carried out previously. So far in my career, there have only been a few clients who have asked the question: Should we have signs or not? But even if the clients see the importance of signage, there is often a big difference between creating a well thought out and good signage system and "slapping up" the logo here and there outside and inside the entrance. Go to the project here.
Normally the limitations are more prominent that the opportunities, so we need to try to create big and small miracles on small surfaces. Unfortunately, it is probably the case that quite a lot of companies content themselves with a simple logo or sign that does not utilise the potential of the location to the extent possible. If your exposure surfaces are treated unfairly, this will have an impact on your brand's profile. Even if signage can sometimes appear to be an expensive bit of fun, initially in any case, it is worth noting that it has greater endurance than the majority of other locations where you show your face.
There is not as great a focus on signage in the business to business segment, where we at Mission have the majority of our clients, but this does not mean that this is not important for this group. The problem is often that a client restricts himself at far too early a stage, without investigating the opportunities they have for exciting exposure at all. It may even be the case that you think that you need to put up a logo or sign with the name of the company and there is nothing wrong with that in itself. But this is where there is a big risk of missing out on something unique. If you have space and permission to make your mark on an external surface, it is a shame to miss out on the opportunity of being visible in the terrain.
It is not just the outward appearance that is important when it comes to profiling, also within the company's four (or forty-four) walls it is possible to think of the areas available to you as a perfect arena for continuing the company's identity. Therefore, it is also important to have a strategy for the location your company will find. An interior that is just nice of course also has value, but an interior that helps to tell the story of who you are is worth so much more. Your associations may come automatically when we mention materials such as oak, bronze, chrome or marble, colors such as neon green, purple, black or old pink or artists such as Bjarne Melgård, Keith Haring, Edvard Munch or Tiedemand og Gude.
It is never about smearing the company's logo and colours associated with this across the roof, floor and walls, inside and outside. It is about building a strong brand across the entire line. In this article, we discuss, among other things. In this article, you'll learn key considerations to make the most of signage and interior branding and how Mission helped Samskipnaden i Oslo og Akershus (SiO) brand its campus.
Let us say you have a brand that has just undergone an upgrade or redesign. A lot of work has been put into the strategy and redesign. The next step is the launch. How should this be expressed? The two clearest and most important bearers of a brand and identity are the website and the signs . These two elements are tied to each other and hit the target group in two completely different arenas.
The retail industry is, of course, extremely conscious of the use of good, clear signs and consistent interiors. Without signs, it is obviously more difficult to find your store. If customers can't find you, they won't be buying anything either. Shopping centres and shopping streets are good examples of where there is a great focus on this. If it had not been for restrictions imposed by municipalities and architects, there would probably been lively and rather chaotic competition between operators regarding who could have the very biggest and most flashy sign put up. Fortunately, they need to exercise discretion and stay within a number of boundaries, even if this sometimes appears just a bit unnecessarily strict.
Many of our clients work in the B2B segment, where there is not such great focus on signage in the proximity and many clients probably feel this is just something they need to have without thinking very much about how important it is. The interior is regarded as important but it is not very often that it is thought of as an extension to the company's identity. I'm not saying that you need to paint all (or any) of the walls in the company's logo colours but there should be some connection between identify and signage and interiors. If you want to build a strong brand, you must always have a holistic concept and vision behind everything you do. If you want the brand to appear serious and sober, the interior should have a completely different style than, for example, if your brand is called Google. There is no point having worn-out, run-down premises if you want to sell expensive jewels on 5th Avenue, and the same applies to your office premises.
Stand out from the crowd with an efficient sign system
As I previously discussed, signage and your website are the two clearest bearers of your brand. Think of signage as a very cost-effective form of marketing. A good signage system will ensure that you are visible in the neighbourhood and street environment. Advertisement posters at bus stops and other public places can cost a small fortune and have a relatively short lifespan. But a sign is a one-off expense (plus some electricity and possible maintenance) but it is, on the other hand, switched on all day, every day, all year round. When people drive or walk past, your brand is present. This creates recognition over time. You can think of it as a silent salesman just standing there shining. There is a greater chance of people buying from someone they know than someone they have never heard of. And, in this way, signage can contribute to lodging us in people's subconscious.
Who will you be trying to reach?
Will you be creating a sign for a hospital, a store, in a shopping centre or an office building? There are rather unique target groups to be reached and different needs to be covered. A convenience store, for example, will need maximum visibility, something that is further reinforced if they have a good location. If, on the other hand, you will be creating a signage system for a hospital, it is completely different criteria that apply. The façade must be marked in such a way that it is easier for people to find their way to the hospital. Once this task has been resolved, it is wayfinding that is the main task – you need to help users to find their way to the right ward or office.
Mission has carried out a number of different signage projects, for both big and small clients. Here, I would like to refer to one of our more extensive projects as an example of how you can implement the new profile for signage and navigation for users. In our project for SiO (Studentsamskipnaden i Oslo) we split the assignment into different zones. The signage needed to communicate with many different groups and on behalf of many different stakeholders. This is because SiO offers a great number of different social benefits to its members. For the many people who move to Oslo to study, SiO becomes their fixed point for everyday life. For those who have just moved to the capital in particular, it can be a challenge finding where you have to go. In addition, you must take account of the fact that not all the students speak Norwegian.
Outdoor signage – Planning and mapping in the cityscape
The planning phase of a signage project is half the job. This is where the parameters for the project are set. It is very important to get a general picture of the buildings to be signed. Which ones does it apply to? Where are they located? How are the building's located in relation to each other and to any other buildings and tenants? Most clients only have one building or just a few buildings to be signposted, but Studentsamskipnaden i Oslo has an extensive mass of buildings. Despite everything, they offer social benefits to 60,000 students in the form of everything from accommodation to exercise centres, study centres, canteens, doctor's surgeries, nurseries etc. So, it is obvious that there is an extensive number of buildings that SiO should profile itself on.
Checklist for outdoor signage: Follow these checklist items to fully understand the location and surface of the signage space
How are the buildings situated and what kind of buildings are they?
How do people move about, where do they come from? Mapping of roads and traffic in the vicinity.
Are there other tenants in the same building – do the signs need to work alongside others?
What rules and restrictions apply with regard to placement, materials, lighting etc?
The SiO symbol consists of an S at the centre of an O and it is very effective as a target and is very visible from a good distance. When we created the signage system, we split it into 3 different distance radiuses or zones:
Zone 1 – Distance marker
This is a sign that marks the building from a good distance. The symbol acts as a kind of direction sign or lighthouse. A large-sized sign positioned high up takes clear ownership of the building but it primarily communicates the message, "We are here". This helps the user find their way from a good distance in the city jungle. The student knows that he or she needs to go to an SiO building and can get his or her bearings by following the symbol.
The SiO symbol is a strong visual sign even from a distance. It also guides students in urban areas.
Zone 2 – Building name
Once you have located the actual building and come closer, you can read the name of the actual building. SiO has an individual name on each building, particularly the student accommodation buildings. Once you have found your way to the correct street, this sign will confirm (or deny) that you have found your way to the correct building. These signs are marked with black letters positioned in connection with the symbol a bit higher up on the building. They are often positioned at several ends of the building depending on what is necessary taking into account the route and access to the location. Here, the size and location are adapted to the user. They need to be easy to spot and be of assistance. SiO also has areas with many apartments located in the same area, so there will be a sign with a general map in this zone with signage.
Zone 3 - Entrance
Once you have found the right place, you need information at the entrance. The different buildings will have different needs, but most locations will have a smaller sign where the name of the building is repeated as well as a summary of who is on the inside. For example, on some of the more central buildings, there could be several service providers at the same address.
SiO owns many big buildings, and they therefore have a need of signage inside and outside.
Direction sign – where do you want to lead people once they have come to the correct building?
Many buildings may be big and contain many things so it is equally important to provide effective directions once you have come inside the entrance door. No one benefits from having many visitors and users roaming around the corridors trying to find where they're going to. This will only create irritation and a negative reputation.
A thought through concept strengthens the brand feeling everywhere.
In the case of SiO, most buildings have many floors and departments to navigate between. In accommodation buildings, there will mainly be a need for references to different floors, numbers and names on doors, in addition to different common rooms. Here, we have developed a series of icons that communicate across all languages so that it is easy to find your way to bike parking, laundry rooms, common kitchens etc.
Apart from being functional, signs may be part of the decor of buildings and interior.
In the more administrative buildings, the needs are a bit more extensive. Here, there are different sections located on different floors. At entrances, stairways, lift doors and corridors, it is necessary to have a summary that lists everything and also shows what floor and room they can be found in. Indoor signage is not just something that is necessary, it can also act as an identity bearer and décor. Here you have the opportunity to liven up an otherwise boring corridor or stairway. At the administration building at Domus, each single floor was marked with a gigantic number. The style of the numbers was in line with icons and the symbol and this was both clear and decorative.
Not just navigation
In addition to a necessary function such as navigation, it is important to think brand. In SiO's case, they communicate to a young and demanding target group. Although their training offer is the financially best for the students, there is also a desire to create more training joy and well-being on the premises. Competitors such as SATS / Elixia, Fresh and more, have large market budgets to attract customers, so the competition is fierce. Mission developed a strong image bank for SiO Athletica that was used on large selected areas inside the gyms. These images, combined with typography and icons, have helped build both well-being and a strong brand inside the gyms.
A student welfare organisation has limited budgets for marketing, but with this signage programme SiO has nevertheless been able to create excellent visibility in the cityscape over the past few years. With their focus on making everyday life easier for students, they have also developed increased knowledge of their brand by implementing their identity in a large signage programme.
