When you combine sleek interior décor with professional functionality in wayfinding, the outcome should be a customized office directory that informs and beautifies your space at the same time. Although you could purchase a generic directory setup at the big box office supply warehouse, doing so robs you of the opportunity to brand your company or office building. The professionals at Starfish Signs & Graphics routinely work with office building managers, leasing companies, and business management teams to put together office directory signs in San Clemente, CA, that hit all the right notes. What are your options?
Think Through the Professional Presentation First
How do you want to approach clients who are visiting you for the first time? In the case of the Bently Reserve, the welcome takes place on the outside, where an elegant plaque greets passersby in search of the right company address. In this setting, it makes sense to present with an exterior sign that introduces the names of the firms that are doing business out of your location.
For the Irvine Company, welcoming clients is something that is best done inside the building’s lobby. This sign is designed to fit into the décor scheme and requires a wall cutout to complement the upscale interior look. For Olen, the directory becomes part of the lobby’s wall and places functionality at the top of the priority list. The goal is to provide visitors the information they seek at a glance. Which presentation is right for you?
Putting Functionality First
No matter how elaborate the design of your directory might be, if it fails to make information readily visible to the client or buyer, the sign fails in its function. Moreover, from a building management point of view, the directory needs to be user-friendly and accommodate the occasional change of tenant names and suite numbers. For this reason, the majority of management companies favor a directory product that features inserting nameplates. These remove and turn over when a suite is no longer in use. When imprinted with a tenant’s name, they display the company name and the suite number.
In some cases, a dual directory makes the most sense. You frequently see this in medical office buildings when multiple professionals share an office but may be doing business under their individual names. Making it easy for patients to locate a particular physician can be as simple as searching for the office’s umbrella name or finding the doctor by the last name. In contrast, a dual directory may sometimes display an alphabetical name listing on one side and a numerical suite listing on the other. We have found that for a building we few offices, two-inch-tall nameplates with a header three times this size is sufficient.
Adding Style Elements
When you contact our graphic artists to discuss the commission of building directory signs for San Clemente, CA, we will offer you the option of including arrows as well as color-coding in the presentation. Although this is a fantastic option for smaller office directories, it may not work well when you have more than seven businesses to list. Call us today to learn more about your options and to discuss the specifics of your project.