Don’t Treat People Like Cattle – Surefire Tips For Better Event Signage
No one like to be treated like cattle, but that’s what poorly designed event signage does. Make sure your signage treats people like VIPs and not part of a herd. Here’s how to make better event signage that’s clear, effective and gets people where they’re supposed to go.
Break Away From The Herd
Event signs are the first things an audience needs and usually the last thing on the production priority list. Put yourself in the attendee’s shoes. You are in an unfamiliar place, you are pressured by both an agenda and time … and you are confused and lost. Doesn’t sound like a recipe for satisfaction. The solution is to develop a clear visual communications plan and design easy-to-understand signage.
Great Signs Are Like A Great Brand
The goals for event signage are the same as the goals for a brand.
• Attract attention
• Stand out in a crowd
• Be memorable
• Motivate people to take a specific action
Very few people complain that signs are too big and too easy to read and understand. But, don’t have enough signage in the right places and you’ll have enough complains to last a year. It takes some extra strategy and planning to “own” the facility and make sure your guests and attendees get to where they need to go.
Visual Communications Plan
A visual communications plan is a combination of the key locations in a facility, the most efficient routes between them and where to place signage to make travel easy and convenient. Instead of trying to map out the entire event, do it day-by day.
The biggest rule is “Don’t make people wonder where to go and feel like they have to search for their destination.”
Confused people are easy to spot. In the middle of a river of attendees they stop. One or two people are normal. If everyone is standing around, asking each other if they know where to go, you may be facing major issue. That’s why your visual communications plan is so valuable.
The Cheapest Insurance You Can Buy
Signs aren’t sexy. They aren’t cheap and it’s very tempting to use as few as absolutely possible. Still they’re the cheapest insurance you can buy because all the planning and production is worthless if the audience can find the locations. Down through the years I’ve learned a few tricks of the trade so here are the basics.
Be clear, bold and obvious – Think about four seconds. That’s the amount of time you have to capture attention before the person walks away. It’s the visual equivalent of yelling, “Hey you!”
Keep them simple – People are reading signs while walking. Making them have to stop defeats the whole purpose. Just have a consistent design. Match your main event color scheme and that’s all. You don’t need to add patterns, giant logos and large branding. People won’t search for the message.
Let them do only one or two things – Signs are there to direct and not lecture. Keep them to a maximum 5-7 words.
Have more signs than you think you need – Have signs for every room. Have signs at every intersection. Identify what’s there and point people in the right direction. Don’t make them guess. Too many signs are a lot better than not having enough.
The High/Low Rule
Match the sign height to its function. To identify an important location hang signs as high as possible. Attendees need to see them at a distance. Signs at eye-level can’t be seen from a distance. Once people are in the key areas use eye-level signs to direct them to the specific rooms or locations.
The key to the High/Low Rule is – The more people who need to see a sign … the higher you hang it.
Answers To The Big Questions
What font size do I use?
This is always a big debate so I checked with The United States Sign Council for some guidelines. Yep, we have an official signage council. Here’s a simple rule of thumb.
Letter Height Readability Distance
1” letter 10 feet
2” letter 20 feet
3” letter 30 feet
4” letter 40 feet
I bet you’ve figured out the magic formula.
Do all my signs have to be rectangles?
Oh heck no! People are always scanning the world around them. Different and unusual shapes and sizes attract their attention. Think beyond easels and 24×36 signs from FedEx Office. There are lots of new signage options out there so you have more ways to match the sign to the need.
How can I do more with fewer signs?
I love pull-up banners. They’re like upside-down window shades with a sturdy base. You can use them for directional signage, decoration and even create a stage set. Even better, you can use them to reduce your total number of signs.
Here’s the Big Idea. Design the banners with your logo or key words at the top and then leave the rest of the banner blank. Print smaller directional signs or even arrows on foam core. Then use Velcro to attach them to the banner. Now you can customize the pull-up banners and use them over and over.
The Most Effective Signs
“You Are Here” maps are magic – that’s why airports and shopping malls use them. They may be one of the most effective ways to help move your attendees. But don’t just put a big one at the entrance unless it’s the central hub of the event. Use lots of them and make smaller maps of the area that focus on the locations the attendees need to find right now.
Eliminate Signs Altogether
There are a few things we can learn from herding cattle.
• You can’t herd or direct the movement from behind
• Keep all the noses pointing in the same direction
• Eliminate the opportunities to stray
• Always push and point in the direction you want them to go
The best way to do all those things is with people – human signs. Put your people in the right places and have them talk to attendees, address the crowd and direct traffic. It’s human nature to assume that the person in front of you knows where to go. Get the leaders pointed in the right direction and the group will follow. I’ve seen events where five people directed 1000 people across a conference center in 15 minutes. The moment the group made a turn the “human signs” would move around to get ahead and be ready at the next intersection. Sure it took some planning and got a little “aerobic” but it was extremely efficient. Plus it saved over $1000 in signs.
Head Them Up & Move Them Out
Moving people from one place to another is a major challenge whether you’re doing a conference or a wedding. People need to feel comfortable, confident and in control. That’s what your visual communications plan does for you. It let’s you keep things moving quickly – literally. Remember you aren’t herding cattle – you’re escorting guests.
