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Static signage will always have its place. Yet apps, kiosks and digital displays are all becoming more popular in churches to help people better navigate facilities, says Randy Cooper, president of Atlanta-based design-build firm Cooper Signage & Graphics Inc. In addition, these signs and displays help church members and visitors to see the information the church wants them to see.
“Interactive mapping is [a very popular digital choice right now], where someone can access it from their laptaps or phones.”Michael Sawyer, Marketing Manager, 3:5-6 Maps, Knoxville, TN.
“Things churches need to consider are who has exposure to [the signage], who is reading it, and what’s the payback, because some of these options aren’t cheap,” Cooper says. Architect Nathan C. Daniel, principal at LS3P’s Charlotte, N.C., office, reports that signage also affects people’s comfort levels and how they get around a facility. He notes that the success of a church is often tied to the congregation’s understanding of where to go, with the viability of signage and wayfinding as a big part of that.
Multisite considerations
A trend in signage of late concerns the way it’s used for multi-campus churches and those with satellite locations. To better establish their connection with one another, similar signage is recommended.
“We are finding that churches are looking to maintain some type of brand, even if [their] satellite locations are unique themselves, so there’s a familiarity,” Daniel says. Michael Sawyer, marketing manager for Med Maps of Knoxville, Tenn., concurs that a level of consistency in signage is paramount. “Whatever the image or entity that they have, be it their logo, colors or whatever, needs to be consistent to show they are connected,” he says. “The reason it is important is that the logo sits in people’s minds and they understand the continuity from one [site] to the next.” While the tried and true static signage is still being used, according to the sign experts, efforts to highlight the wording with bolder colors and clearer images is a trend.
“They have to be larger because people can’t see them,” Sawyer says. “There has to be legibility from the size of the font to colors to placement. These are simple things but important in the overall scheme of things.” Cooper agrees that a mix of static and digital is the best way to go, and the larger the campuses get, the more they need to incorporate clusters of communications targeted at individuals.
That means digital signage might be utilized for large groups but static might be best for an older population.“ Overall brand building is important. You wouldn’t want the East-side location and the North-side location to have completely different looks,” he says. “They may have some nuances that are different, but you have to deal with terminology as well, and all of that has to filter through online, apps, and staff that greet you. Signage and the communication has to be flexible for all of this.”
The digital world
Sawyer notes that what church clients tend to be interested in these days is digital. Typical parameters include scalability, ease to update and aesthetics (ties closely to desired visual impact/impression).“Hard copy mapping signage is still popular but people tend to want more digital choices,” says Sawyer. “[For example,] mapping that can go on a website, or a large digital board inside the facility. Interactive mapping is [a very popular digital choice right now], where someone can access it from their laptaps or phones.” Still, he says, a mixture of both digital and static signage is necessary. “There’s a dichotomy there between exterior signage and interior signage, which is critically important, but then there’s one between mapping—either hard-copy or digital,” Sawyer says.Cooper says that age of the target audience of the signage helps determine which form and what content signage will take. “Let’s say the target is youth group for students. Then, you know you have a more computer-friendly, app-friendly environment,” he says. “People are using GPS and Google, and the first contact of the church is often at the web. That’s where they can see which church is closer to them and they can see if they like the style.”
Mobile apps
Larger churches have started experimenting more with mobile apps to complement their signage and wayfinding efforts, so that people can easily find the information they are looking for and better find their way around church campuses.
GPS-like apps, with step-by-step, turn-by-turn directions for the church are another option in signage. Cooper says these apps become very useful when someone is in the lobby, looking to go to the children’s area, which may be on a different level or in a different building, and mobile apps can map the twists and turns for churchgoers to find their way. These apps are available at the $30,000-$50,000 high end, and for churches that don’t have visitor maps, this may be a savvy investment, especially for a church that hosts a number of concerts and special events on their campuses.
The rise of LED
While LED lights have been prevalent in churches for some time, more recently this have technology has made its way into signage. And this is something that church designers and architects must consider when planning signage for worship spaces.
“The color-changing LED is a huge trend in signs,” Daniel says. “I think [churches] like the flexibility and, as they grow and rebrand, they’re not locked into just a blue backlit sign. They now have the option of creating multiple experiences with it.”LED signage also requires less maintenance and affords greater energy savings, so the initial higher cost for using LEDs is absorbed over the years.Sawyer says that the LEDs used in signage may also make them more legible.“It makes it more readily identifiable, as well,” he says. “This has been a huge change in the industry and one that most facilities will eventually go to.”
Signage for security
An increase in wayfinding tools, such as fire evacuation maps and other security measures, are also gaining traction in 2017.“I think that’s driven by jurisdiction, but we are always submitting evacuation plans to the contractor and owner to implement in their overall wayfinding package,” Daniel says. “Some of the larger facilities are definitely looking more into these.”Sawyer has seen more and more churches having to address the issue of fire evacuation maps in recent years. For example, one church Med Maps recently worked with came to the company because the local fire department discovered it didn’t have any of these warning signs up.“ Every municipality has [its] own statutes about that sort of thing, but it’s becoming more and more recognizable,” he says. “I will bring it up to churches I work with so we can do something about it before there’s a problem.”
