Must-Have Reception Signs for Your Office

JULY 22, 2021| SpeedPro

What Are Reception Signs?

Reception signs come in many forms, but their primary purpose is to welcome customers and clients when they walk into your lobby. These signs can also serve several other functions, such as branding your organization and providing visitors with critical information.

Why Is Professional Reception Signage Important?

Whenever you’re thinking about making changes to your office’s appearance, you want to be sure the change is worth the investment. One of the best investments you can make for your business is professional reception signage. These signs can help you make a great first impression, showcase your creativity, establish your authority and highlight your brand. Due to the many ways professional reception signage can benefit your organization, you may want to use it to earn more business and raise your reputation.

Here are some of the ways reception signs can help your company:

1. Make a Great First Impression

When people first walk into your office, the first thing they’ll see is your reception area. As they approach your reception desk, they’ll be making judgments, consciously or unconsciously, about your organization. Exceptional signage on the wall behind the reception desk can make or break that first impression and get customers to trust your company before they even interact with a staff member.

A unique, eye-catching sign makes an excellent first impression because it immediately tells the viewer that they’ve come to the right place. A fantastic-looking sign also showcases your professionalism and sends the message that your company takes pride in what you do.

2. Highlight Your Brand

Establishing a brand is essential to any organization looking to bring in new customers and clients. If more people know what your company is and what you stand for, they’re more likely to turn to you for their needs. Additionally, adding your brand’s color, logo and design to your reception area signage can help you highlight your brand and ensure people remember your organization, even if they don’t initially use your services.

Well-branded reception signage also makes a statement about your company’s identity and communicates that message to anyone who sees it. By having a strong identity, you can raise your company’s brand awareness and grow your reputation as a major player in your industry. Alongside making a statement to visitors, reception signage can improve your company’s visibility, helping visitors recognize your brand logo and name instantly in other contexts.

3. Showcase Your Creativity

If you work in a creative industry or one where innovation is critical, your marketing materials and overall interior design should reflect your ability to create fresh and exciting products. Reception signs offer an excellent opportunity for your business, as you can place creative designs and slogans on them to catch visitors’ eyes. If your reception area signs are attractive and innovative, they send the message to visitors that anything you produce will match that same level of quality.

With reception and office signs, you have an almost limitless amount of design choices to play with until you find the perfect match for your company. With so many options, you have plenty of ways you can show off just how creative your company is. For example, many companies enjoy using reception area signage to tell a story about their brand and get people excited to become a part of that story.

4. Establish Your Authority

Your organization is likely competing with other businesses offering similar services or products. Sometimes, these rival businesses are only a short walk down the street. As a result, it’s crucial to establish your authority in your field as soon a customer walks through your doors. One way to let potential customers and clients know that your company is a leader in your field is with reception and lobby signs.

When your office’s reception area stands out with attractive signage, you send the message you’re different from the competition and can provide unique value to your consumer base. Attractive professional signage can position your company as an expert in your field. Due to the authority signage can give your organization, you can build trust right from the beginning and make it more likely consumers choose your organization for their needs.

5. Provide Directions to Visitors

When people first walk through your doors, they’re often already looking for something in particular, and the receptionist can usually help them find what they want. At times, however, your front desk staff may be tied up on a call or speaking to another client. Reception desk signs can help do the job of a receptionist by quickly offering directions to visitors.

Signage with text and imagery on it describing key locations in your building, such as particular departments or offices, will streamline a visitor’s experience. Instead of waiting for a receptionist to give them directions, visitors can instantly see where they need to go by looking at the reception signage. These easy-to-follow instructions can improve a visitor’s view of your organization and start them off on the right foot, without any frustration at not knowing where to go.

6. Help Visitors Social Distance

Another way reception signs can help your organization is their ability to assist with social distancing. Even as more people get vaccinated, the future of COVID-19 is still uncertain. Many businesses still want visitors to social distance or wear masks, and reception signage can help communicate whatever rules you have in place.

With office reception signs, you can immediately relate your expectations to visitors. For example, this signage can include information about mask-wearing requirements or the need to stay 6 feet apart from others. These signs also help visitors safely navigate your office and follow your safety rules.

Top Types of Reception Area Signs

Because there are so many ways professional reception signage can benefit your company, you might want to know more about the different kinds of reception area signage. By knowing more about the main types of reception signs, you can find the best option for your brand image and functional needs. Some of the most common lobby and reception sign styles include backlit graphics, digital signage, environmental graphics and contour-cut signage.

1. Backlit Graphics

Backlit graphics are some of the most popular types of reception area signs and for good reason. These signs use LED lighting, exchangeable fabric overlays and frames to deliver an unmatched signage experience. The LED lights in these signs brighten up your graphics and bring more attention to them.

When a visitor first comes into your building, these illuminated office signs will instantly draw viewers to them. Since backlit reception signs excel at delivering unmatched visibility, you can expect to put your visitors’ minds at ease, as they’ll immediately know they’re in the right location. Additionally, these graphics can better brand your company, as they’re very attractive and tend to make a long-lasting impression.

2. Digital Signage

Companies regularly use digital signs in their office reception areas. Unlike traditional signage, these signs utilize monitors to display digital graphics and text. With digital signs, you can quickly update messages and other designs, swapping out images with just a few keystrokes on a computer. Digital signs also give your space a high-tech look and can be used to showcase eye-catching graphics.

Digital signage is especially useful if you need to swap out information daily. For example, if you have continuously changing health standards and regulations you need to communicate, a digital sign allows you to change those instructions at a moment’s notice. Digital signs are also very useful for highlighting your employee of the month or switching out specials and other time-sensitive promotions.

3. Environmental Graphics

Environmental graphics are another fantastic way to differentiate your reception area and give it a unique appearance. Environmental graphics are large signs made to alter the look of a space in a significant way. Often, these graphics are applied via adhesive to walls, floors, ceilings, windows or doors to improve a space’s appearance. Environmental graphics can be a good choice to complement your reception area, as they can give the lobby a specific feel and look.

Since you can install environmental graphics on nearly any surface of your reception area, you have plenty of options to upgrade your lobby’s appearance. Instead of using them as your primary reception area sign, you can place them around the lobby as accents, subtly drawing in visitors to your particular aesthetic. Since environmental graphics can help decorate your lobby and create a unique environment, these office lobby signs are also perfect for reinforcing your brand.

4. Contour-Cut Signage

When you want exceptional precision in your reception area signs, contour-cut signage is a great choice. Rather than being a simple rectangle, this form of sign cuts along the contour, or edge, of a design to help a complex design stand out. Typically, these signs don’t feature a border, with most taking the shape of a logo, custom shape or company name.

If you want a minimalist modern look, contour-cut signage can be an excellent option. This method can allow you to cut intricate shapes out of signage material and then place that material onto whatever background you require. Since the types of cuts you can make are almost limitless, you can easily use contour cut signage in your reception area to display your company logo, slogan or name.

5. Dimensional Signage

Dimensional signs are signs that pop out from the wall or background where they are installed. These signs feature a three-dimensional appearance, with text and other key designs bumped out from the background. Generally, they’re constructed out of individually cut lettering or logo that projects out from the background surface. These signs can also come on printed, flat surfaces designed to hang from a wall and jut outwards.

You often see dimensional signs placed behind an office’s reception area, as these signs tend to look good and draw enough attention to themselves that they quickly showcase what organization they’re representing. Since these signs have a three-dimensional appearance, they can do a better job of jumping out to viewers and being as visible as possible.

6. ADA Signage

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lays out a few laws that make it illegal to discriminate against or unfairly treat individuals with disabilities. The government often requires companies to have ADA signage to ensure they meet the ADA’s rules and accommodate people with disabilities. If your facility has any ADA requirements, you may want to place some ADA signs in your reception area to ensure you’re complying with these regulations.

You can find several types of ADA signs, such as overhead signs, wayfinding graphics, information signs and identification graphics. All of these signs can help you better serve those with disabilities. For example, a reception sign with Braille can help people with visual impairment know they’re in the right location. Additionally, you can use ADA signs with Braille to give directions to emergency exits and other rooms.

7. Wayfinding Signage

If you have a large office, you might want to consider adding wayfinding signage to your reception area and throughout the rest of your facility. Companies use wayfinding signage to give customers directions to key locations, such as particular offices, restrooms, fire exits, elevators and stairs. With this signage in your reception area, you can better serve visitors, as they’ll immediately know where they need to go.

Directional signs and graphics show visitors where they need to go, which can be especially appealing to visitors who don’t feel comfortable asking people for directions. While directional signage’s primary purpose is functional, you can also outfit them with attractive graphics and designs to complement the rest of your office lobby signs. As a result, you can place branded graphics and colors on them to make your office space more attractive.

8. Smart Signs

Smart signs are some of the most cutting-edge kinds of office reception signs available today. These signs differentiate themselves from others by giving users the option to interact with them and receive more information. A smart sign contains a near field communication (NFC) chip, and visitors can hold their phones up to the sign and have information transmitted right to their screen.

While NFC chips are often associated with restaurants, they’re also a good choice for busy offices or times when you need to reduce contact between people. With smart signs throughout your reception area, you can give visitors key information without having to interact with them directly. Since smart signs rely on NFC chips, they also brand your company as forward-thinking and able to use the latest in technology.

Creative Reception Sign Ideas

With all of the many office reception signs to choose from, you can use them in several creative ways to make your reception area as inviting and memorable as possible. Since you likely want to make your reception area stand out and reflect your brand, you may be interested in some designs you can use to attract attention. Some of the most effective office signs include fluid, minimalist, desk-centric or contrasting color designs.

If you’re looking for some ideas for your reception signage, check out some of the top design ideas for office reception signs:

Living walls: You can often pair your reception signage with a living wall. These walls feature plants growing off their sides, making your space more natural-looking and associating your company with the environment. You can mount your signage in the center of one of these walls, drawing attention to it and giving your reception area a unique style.
Fluid design: If you’re a company that wants to brand itself as modern and a leader in your industry, a reception sign featuring a fluid design can be an exceptional option. Graphics with glowing graphics are very stylish, and you can pair them with a fluid-looking front desk for a truly modern look.
Minimalist look: Minimalist signage can give your reception area a beautiful appearance. Operating on the principle that less is more, these signs can give an office a more laid-back, calm look and put customers at ease the moment they walk through a door. All you need for this type of sign is your company name and a simple background.
Contrasting colors: If you want to make your sign’s text really stand out and showcase your company name, use a contrasting color for its background. The contrast will bring more attention to your sign’s letters and make them pop. For example, you could install metal lettering over a blue backdrop to get this effect.
Desk-centric: One of the best places you can install your reception signs is on the reception desk itself. If you prefer to keep your walls simple or have artwork on them, you can place a lobby sign on your reception desk. These types of signs still stand out and help visitors know they’re in the right place.
Wall murals: Many companies enjoy placing creative wall murals on the walls behind their reception desk. A wall mural looks very creative and can set the tone for your entire reception area. Since you have an entire wall to work with, you have plenty of space to add attractive graphics, showcase your company’s story and welcome visitors into your office.

Choose SpeedPro for Your Office Reception Signs

SpeedPro is the only nationwide network of imaging studios focusing on large-format graphics, and we can help you get the best reception area signage possible. Once you partner with us, we’ll work with you to find the most beautiful and effective signage for your office. Since we’re a one-stop shop for all your printing needs, we can also provide signage for your office’s exterior and throughout your interior. You can trust our signs and graphics to last a long time and give you the appealing office space you want.

Learn more about our selection of reception signs today. If you’re ready to outfit your office with reception signs, find your local SpeedPro and receive a free quote fast.

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