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Originally Posted On: School Signage Audit: Can School Signs Improve Visitor Experience? (corporatesignindustries.com.au)

 

There are more than 9,000 schools open across Australia. The appearance of your school can set the standard for anyone attending, visiting, or working in it.
For example, school signs that are poorly maintained don’t give off a great first impression. This is why staying on top of your school’s signage is extremely important.
Getting a school signage audit can help you to identify issues with your school signage. So what does this involve and why is it important?
If your school signage needs a refresh, read on to find out more.

What is a School Signage Audit?

A school signage audit is an appraisal of all of the signs that are placed around your school. This involves a signage auditor coming to your school and assessing the state of any signs that you have.
At the end of the audit, you will receive a report on your school signs, including information about:

• Signs that are in need of maintenance
• Signs that no longer look like they’re in good condition
• Signs that are out of date
• Signs that contain incorrect information about the school
• Areas within your school campus that are lacking signs

Auditors will also make recommendations on school branding and your signage design.

So why do you need a school signage audit? Well, to understand that, you need to understand how signs can improve visitors’ experiences of your school.

School Signs Are Important for Wayfinding

First and foremost, your signs make it easy for people to find their way around your school. As a case in point, every year more than 1.7 million young Australians move to secondary schools around the country.

That’s an awful lot of students who could need help with finding their way around a new section of the school campus or possibly even a new school. On top of this, you may have new staff or visitors who would need assistance navigating your campus.

Relevant signs around your school immediately make it easier to navigate and save people time when moving around the school campus.

School Signage Promotes Your Branding

Having signage around your school campus is a great way to promote your school to anyone who visits it. For this to work, all of your signs should contain consistent branding designs.

Having your school logo around your campus will make it more memorable for any visitors. For example, parents often visit a lot of schools before deciding where to send their child and the campuses can all blur into one. Seeing school branding on their visit can help your school stand out from the crowd.

Your branding can also jog a visitor’s memory about things they might have read or heard about your school.

For example, let’s say a local paper has recently published an article about your new sports facilities. This article will, most likely, include some of your school’s branding. So when someone spots this on campus, they will immediately make the link between the two.

Whenever you update your school’s branding, it is a good idea to get a signage audit. That way you can be sure that all of your signs are up-to-date, which leads us to our next point.

An Out-of-Date School Sign Looks Bad

Poorly maintained signage might not seem like the worst thing in the world, but it says a lot about your school. After all, your campus acts as a visual representation of how much you care.

Your signs will look bad if:

• They present information that isn’t correct
• They contain outdated branding
• They are faded or weather-damaged
• They have graffiti on them
• They promote events that happened a long time ago
• They do not match up with the current layout of your campus

Your campus maintenance also tells visitors a lot about your resources and how you use them. Sign maintenance shouldn’t cost the earth, and a school that can’t afford it might not be able to offer its students other valuable resources.

On top of this, a run-down school does not set the best example for any students that attend it. This won’t exactly be a favourable environment for learning, and this could put parents off sending their children to your school.

Tips for Making the Most of Your Signage

If you have just had a signage audit and are looking to refresh your design or invest in some new signs, it is worth putting some time into your signage design process.

When it comes to your signage design, you may want to stick with your original branding or you might want to try something new. If you do, here are some tips for creating a sign that will stand out for all the right reasons:

• Choose easy-to-read fonts
• Go for a uniform look
• Don’t make your signs too busy or overcrowded
• Make sure you always include your school’s logo
• Use colours that complement each other

When putting your signs up, make sure they are easily visible.

It is always worth thinking about accessibility when designing your signs. This means making sure that they are visible from all heights. You also might want to consider using Braille on some of your signage.

Improve Your School With a School Signage Audit

When it comes to your school signs, they can tell people a lot about your school’s appearance. If you aren’t sure where to start, it is worth getting a school signage audit.

Get in touch today to speak to our audit team about arranging your school sign audit. We’re here to help!