Several years ago we found that we were no longer ‘making signs’ but rather using business signs as one of the elements that create a branded environment. Design companies like to think that a branded environment is a new concept. Yet, the concept has actually been around for quite some time.
What Is a Branded Environment?
A branded environment extends a company’s brand identity to their physical building. In other words, the logo, typography, colors, and images used to define a brand become part of their building structure. This happens through the use of environmental graphics, wayfinding signs, and interior and exterior signs. Specialty signs such as donor walls just add another chapter to the company’s story.
Branded space incorporates other things besides signs. The architecture, lighting, and landscaping also play an important role in creating a branded environment.
Our friends at Lovio George, a Detroit-based boutique communications and design agency contacted us to help brand their client’s new office. Custom signage incorporated the company logo and also reflected the upscale design of the firm’s architectural elements.
For another example of how a building’s architecture and its signage can work together, let’s take a look at Kirk in the Hills Church.
Church leaders contacted Ideation to help create a more comfortable guest experience using wayfinding signage that complemented the original architecture and also more recently updated spaces.
Branded Environments Leave an Impression
A branded environment or branded space creates a long-lasting impression on your visitors. Consider the Biltmore Hotel. Known for its opulence and decor, it’s important that wayfinding signs complement the brand. Signs guide people through the estate. However, the last thing you would want them to do is to detract from the architecture, which is the draw.
You visitor’s physical experience often invokes emotions that become associated with your location. For a vacation destination, these positive feelings can mean returning patrons and word-of-mouth advertising. Branded environments reach people across multiple channels and through different sensory inputs.
How to Meld Your Brand Identity and Your Building
Determining what you need and where it should go depends on a building’s architecture, ADA requirements, sight lines, traffic patterns, local sign codes, and interior design.
If you own a business in Metro Detroit, Birmingham, Lansing, or the surrounding area, Ideation Signs can help you create a plan for your branded environment. Call 248.399.4332 to find out more.
