Creating a Signage System for Large Buildings

In a large building, every sign is part of one conversation. When the signs disagree, visitors stop trusting all of them.

A wayfinding signage system for a large building is planned as one family of signs, not a series of separate orders. Hospitals, schools, corporate campuses and office towers, like the medical and university campuses that need New Brunswick campus signs and Camden wayfinding signs, have too many floors, wings and destinations for visitors to work out alone, and the signs have to agree with each other from the parking garage to the last room.

This guide explains how to structure the system, the signs the codes require, and how to keep it accurate as the building changes. For smaller properties, our guide to planning customer wayfinding covers the simpler route from street to suite.

Build the System From Sign Families

Each family gets a set design, size and mounting height, so visitors learn the pattern quickly. A directional sign should look like every other directional sign in the building, wherever it hangs.

Fix the Names and Numbers First

Most wayfinding problems in large buildings are naming problems. Before any sign is designed, agree one name for every destination and a numbering scheme that lets people predict where they are. A common approach puts the floor first, so room 412 is on the fourth floor, and numbers rooms in order along each corridor.

The same names must appear on the directory, the directional signs, the door, the website and the appointment letters. A department called “Imaging” on one sign and “Radiology” on the next sends visitors back to the front desk.

Plan Outside In

1. Arrival: campus or property signs, parking garage levels and the main entrance.
2. Lobby: the main directory, information desk and elevator bank signs.
3. Vertical movement: floor numbers at elevator landings and in stairways.
4. Floors: a floor directory facing the elevators, then directional signs at each corridor split.
5. Destination: room and suite identification at the door.

Place directional signs before the turn, not after it, and add confirmation signs on long corridors so visitors know they are still on the right path. Check the return journey too, because people leaving a clinic or meeting need to find the elevator and the exit.

The Signs the Codes Require

Several sign types in a large building are set by code, and they work best when they are designed into the same family.

• Stair identification: the building code requires a sign at each floor landing in exit stairs that connect more than three stories, showing the floor level, the top and bottom of the stair and the stair’s name, plus a tactile floor sign beside the door. The rules are in chapter 10 of the International Building Code, which New Jersey adopts through its Uniform Construction Code.
• Elevator emergency signs: a sign beside each elevator call station telling occupants to use the stairs in a fire, unless the elevator is designed for evacuation.
• Room identification: tactile characters and braille on permanent rooms, under the ADA Standards. The Access Board’s guide to signs explains the details.
• Evacuation maps: floor plans showing exits and the route from that point, which many building owners and fire officials expect near elevators and stairs.

See our Floor Number Signs and Egress Maps pages for compliant options.

Design for Reading on the Move

Large buildings mix visitors who are rushed, older, unwell or reading in a second language. Use a plain, open typeface, short destination names, strong contrast and pictograms people already know, such as restrooms, elevators and stairs. Color coding by wing or floor can help, as long as the words still carry the meaning, because some visitors cannot tell colors apart. The Society for Experiential Graphic Design publishes good practice for wayfinding in complex buildings.

Keep It Current

Departments move and tenants change, so the system has to be easy to update. Changeable directory inserts, modular directional panels and a single sign schedule listing every sign, its location and its wording let a facilities team order a correction without starting over. Our guide on multi location signage best practices explains how a written standard keeps replacements consistent.

Test Before You Install Everything

Before ordering the full package, walk the planned routes with people who do not know the building, using temporary paper signs at the decision points. Watch where they hesitate, then adjust the wording or position. It is far cheaper to change a printed mockup than a finished sign.

Common Questions About Large Building Wayfinding