I am writing this post on the fly because of this sign, this confusing, laughter enducing, excuse for a sign that is outside of a hotel in the Chicago area…..
Takes a couple of times to read it to actually understand it, if you ever actually understand it.
Misprints, misspellings, wrong way arrows, wrong pictures or old logos are all little things that can make or break an attendee experience.
Imagine, a conference going perfect until 30 attendees walk to the wrong end of a resort hotel for a meeting only to find out that the arrow was pointing in the wrong direction. They are now late for the keynote, late for their education session or late for a luncheon all because you did not double check.
A couple of things you can do to avoid bad “sign-you-sight-us”…..
- Have two or three people proof signs before they are printed or go to the printer, check for spelling and your wording
- Lay out signs on a property map so you know that all of the arrows are facing the right direction
- Create and keep a master sign list
- Have the hotel, conference center or venue put the signs out the night before if possible. This will give you a chance to walk through and check them calmly before attendees see them in the morning
Checking and proofing your signage also helps you avoid those stupid looking fixes you are going to want to apply. You know, the hastily cut out arrow that is taped over the wrong way arrow, the speakers name changed in sharpie or awful looking logo printed on the crappy travel printer that John will be applying with a dried out glue stick…..
What are your signage ideas? Planners would love to know!
