Church signs are the cornerstone of church awareness. Appropriate branding and signage are essential for a significant church encounter, particularly for beginners or first-time guests.
Consider this. How could you simply roam around a huge hospital or airport without the help of area signs? It is definitely would be a dreadful experience.
With churches reopening for in-person service, your first-time or new visitors may have to re-learn how and where to navigate your facility. This is the time to take a fresh glance at your church’s signs and navigation!
A couple of focus groups were taken to various religious organizations in conjunction with the Making Space for Millennials project.
They noted that when they walked into each place, they immediately asked, “Where am I? What should I do after this? What must I achieve? They were all looking for clarity of vision.
This also applies to new members of the organization. Their initial encounter must be simple and relaxing. The goal for new attendees is to fit in and be at ease while navigating an unfamiliar building. They should not need to talk to a stranger to navigate their way around.
When a place becomes familiar to you, you lose awareness of the languages the building uses to communicate with those who are entering for the very first time.
Empathy for individuals who have not been there for a while is lost. You have a crucial opportunity in this initial point of contact to mold a person—to start them on a path toward more in-depth religious development.
Church signage should not be too hard to find. Below are five effective strategies to use clear signs to assist people in advancing their discipleship and relationship with God at your church:
1. Put yourself in the position of a new visitor
When sign makers work with different churches, they first assess the area for its overall structure and identify any trouble spots in the building.
Put yourself in the position of a new visitor. If you were visiting the church building for the first time, how would you feel? How can you greet and welcome guests better?
Your church’s signs should provide directions on how to get there, where to park their car, how to enter, how to access the restrooms, and where to leave the kids.
According to studies, individuals decide whether or not they will return to your church within the initial 15 minutes of their visit. The more influence and opportunities you will have to communicate with them, the quicker you can let them feel at home, secure, and at ease.
Explore the interior of your church. Is the vision clear? Can individuals easily understand how to proceed and where to go?
2. Tell the history of your church via signage
Aside from serving a practical purpose, signage may help you tell your church’s story through effective branding and design. The secret to effective signage is to show off your church’s character and uniqueness.
Signage is one of the most effective tools for directing traffic and letting people know what the church is all about.
Your church signs may assist in conveying a visual tale that informs people what to anticipate at your institution when you are aware of what is significant to the church as well as what its mission is.
For churches with several sites, consistent branding and signage are even more crucial. Maintaining consistency and clarity in the narrative is crucial when your brand is present in several locations.
3. Keep signage basic yet charming
Since you need to try to reach out to all ages, signage design can be quite difficult.
Style and font choices can help or hinder the overall mood and image of the church signs. The objective is to establish a blend between design that is playful and chic, young but not naive.
Excellent signage is subtle, but your mind can nevertheless comprehend it and adhere to the instructions without difficulty.
4. Spend money on signage upfront
Churches frequently see signage as an extra or supplemental design element. Investing money in something that does not seem to be providing you with any value might be challenging to justify.
The right branding and signs are not just for show; they are a calculated strategy to preach to individuals and help them find a home in your church.
Signage should not be considered an unnecessary expense, but rather an asset that benefits the kingdom.
More individuals will come back to your church as long as they have a positive experience there. Additionally, once these folks start attending church every Sunday, they have a great chance to encounter the Lord, receive salvation, and feel a sense of belongingness in your congregation.
5. Plan your spending on signs
Put a priority on your signs if you are aware that you cannot pay a professional to do all of the branding, staging, and signage all at once. Consider navigation first, then all other signs, in such order.
The most important aspect of navigation is wayfinding because it keeps people from being distracted if they don’t know how to get somewhere or how to return around where their children are. They won’t pay attention to anything you have to share.
Concentrate your expenditures on a few crucial spots after wayfinding signs to add artwork or anything that creates visual impact, such as your logo, the name of your church, or your vision and mission.
Conclusion
Take a moment to consider whether these points have crossed your thoughts as your church has grown after reading these principles concerning church signage. What is lacking? Do you require more visual hints to help visitors find their way around your facility?
Do you have any ideas for straightforward ways to enhance wayfinding? Is the branding apparent enough or more of an afterthought in your church? How successfully is your tale being communicated? Your church’s signage will be successful if you can answer these questions.
