1. Think from the perspective of a first-time guest
When figuring out signs for churches, first evaluate the general flow of the space to identify what are the problem areas in the church complex. Think from the point-of-view of someone entering your church for the first time – is there visual clarity? Can someone figure out where to go and what to do once inside the church? Think about how you can work towards making newcomers feel more welcome and comfortable.
With outdoor church signs, you can inform visitors where they should park their vehicles and which door is the entrance of the church. Also, digital church signs are a good option for guiding visitors once inside the church complex. For example, where the mass is taking place, where children should be dropped off, the location of restrooms, location of any meetings taking place, and so on.
According to research, first time visitors to your church will decide within the first 15 minutes of being within the church complex as to whether they are going to come back to the same church. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to be able to make visitors feel welcome, comfortable and safe as soon as they enter the premises. This will give you an upper hand on increasing the probability of re-visits.
2. Tell a story with signage
While we are aware about the functional benefits of custom LED signs in a church, you can use a combination of good branding and design to create a story of your church and how it came into being. A story-telling perspective always works well in attracting an audience. Convey your church’s personality and authenticity with good digital church signs, and at the same time, let your signage be a powerful tool for guiding people and communicating the values of your church.
In order to successfully tell your story, you need to first understand the importance of your church, and what your mission is. Only then will you be able to create a visual story that will tell people what to expect at your church. Consistency in your signage is also important, particularly for churches that are established at multiple locations. It is important that your church brand conveys the same story across all geographical branches.
3. Subtle and simple signage is effective
Although it may sound simple to make an advertisement for a digital sign, it actually is quite complex because you have to cater to several generations that comprise your target market. Certain factors such as style and font can impact the look and feel of a church, hence with church signage, the design must be looked into with utmost care. The objective should be to come up with content and design that is fun, yet sophisticated and youthful, yet not childish. Striking the right balance will ensure your signage is subtle, and yet allows the viewers to process your message and know where they should go.
4. Prioritize a budget for signage
In many cases, churches don’t give the necessary priority to budgeting for digital signage. Electronic signs for churches are often considered as a secondary or optional design element. The authorities often find it difficult to spend money on something that feels like it is not giving anything in return to the church. In reality though, proper signage and branding for your church is not a bluff. It helps in strategically administering people to find a comfortable space in your church.
When people visit your church and have a good experience there, they will return. Once they become regulars at church events, they come with great opportunity to seek salvation and be a part of your congregation. This group will then be more than happy to contribute towards to the maintenance and physical development of your church. Hence it is important to bring the signage budget to the top of a church investment as in the long run, it reaps great returns indeed.
5. Prioritize what type of signage to spend on
If custom LED signs are too much to invest in for all signage within your church, think about which ones are more important and work towards digitizing those first and then gradually move towards the other sections. Start with wayfinding as this is the most critical part of signs for churches. If they don’t understand where to go or they lose their way in getting back to their kids, they will be disappointed and will not provide ears for anything your church wants to convey in the future.
Once your wayfinding signage is digitized, focus on other key areas and add graphics and visuals to branding and theming and so on to completely transform your church experience and impress visitors. Your logo, church name and mission statement should be reinforced within the minds of those moving in and around your church. With word-of-mouth, first time visitors will soon bring in a larger congregation when they’ve been impressed with the experience at your church.
Conclusion
After reading these essentials about church signage, take a minute to think about whether these things have been on your mind for the development of your church? What is missing? Do you need more visual cues to allow newcomers to navigate within your facility? Can you think of any simple solutions to improve wayfinding? Is the branding prominent enough within your church or more like an afterthought? How well is your story being told? Answers to these questions will guide you towards successful digital signage for your church.
