10 Clever and Functional Ideas for Directional Signage

At Target’s 2015 launch event in New York for its Lilly Pulitzer collaboration, guests entering the event space found directional signage promoting the #LillyforTarget hashtag—as well as providing directions to offerings such as a juice stand.

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in the Southern California desert of Indio has a massive footprint, so guests need clear instructions back to their cars and bikes in remote lots. Guests at this year's event in April found their way back by following long pathways that they could easily identify and remember by color.

The Bata Shoe Museum celebrated its 20th anniversary in Toronto last year. To encourage guests to explore various spaces within the museum, organizers used a maze theme: At the entrance, guests were given “clue cards” that encouraged them to find the answers to puzzles by entering different galleries. Maze-like markings in hot pink on the floor served as directional signage that led guests into various parts of the venue.

More than 320,000 people packed the streets of downtown Jacksonville, Florida, last year for One Spark, the world’s largest crowdfunding festival. Organizers overhauled the festival signage to emphasize interaction—with big results: At the end of the six-day event, attendees contributed more than $93,000 to creator projects, a 75 percent increase over the previous year.

The Golden Globe awards are known to bring a crush of parties all under the roof of the Beverly Hilton on one night. Directional signage on flatscreen monitors in the lobby during the 2014 events directed guests to the various parties, minimizing confusion and delays as well as the necessity for staff intervention.

At the inaugural Life Is Beautiful festival in Las Vegas in 2013—and at every incarnation since—the goal has been to facilitate a sense of inclusivity and positivity among festivalgoers. To that end, staffers held signs to show they were available to answer any questions, including directing guests to their destinations within the event that spanned 15 city blocks.

At the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic in Los Angeles in 2014, even directional signage leading guests to seating got an arty, rustic look in keeping with the rest of the event's chic decor.

Ford Motor Company’s display at the 2011 Model Central Florida International Auto Show in 2010 featured directional signage resembling road signs bearing the names of actual highways around Orlando.

Keep Memory Alive’s 16th annual “Power of Love Gala” took to MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas in 2012, celebrating Muhammad Ali’s 70th birthday and raising money for the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and the Muhammad Ali Center. Models dressed like ring girls held signage that directed guests to various areas of the expansive silent auction.

The Taste the Orange event celebrated 75 years of the Orange Bowl and the Bowl Championship Series national championship coming to Miami in 2009. There, directional signs bearing regional names helped guest navigate the event space, which measured in at a whopping 30,000 square feet.