“Customer Appreciation Day” shouldn’t be the only day of the year that your company shows appreciation for its customer base. A business thrives because of consistent customer support, especially when purchasing products or services. Without them, you wouldn’t have a business! So why wouldn’t you always try to make your customers feel important? One of the easiest ways for your company to show its appreciation daily is through environmental design. The environmental design process incorporates elements of the area’s environment to create a pleasing atmosphere. In doing so, your clients will feel welcomed and valued by your company and quickly understand your brand’s message and how it could relate to them.

What is Environmental Design?

Think of empty office space as a blank canvas. When customers walk in, they’ll not sense the space’s purpose and likely feel uncomfortable about its atmosphere. Environmental design works to combat this by taking the blank canvas and creating an environment that psychologically connects a person. Environmental design directs a customer’s attention to your products/services or brand image, helping them understand your company as soon as they walk in the door.

In addition to high customer satisfaction, companies have seen a significant increase in sales, employee retention rates, and brand recognition after incorporating the environmental design. Creating a plan that accommodates your company’s atmosphere helps customers better interact with and enjoy what your company has to offer.

Turning from “Traditional” to “Timeless”

Although customers for long-established companies tend to understand the company’s services and brand values, there can be a disconnect for new and incoming customers. This especially rang true for the apartment complexes at Dwell at McEwen. For this iconic Simpson Housing location, it was essential to update the existing signage and help give locals a new perspective on how they wanted to convey their brand image. This project tackled multiple new signage installations, from heat-set vinyl graphics on textured surfaces to new outdoor architectural signage. In addition, the new entrance signage made the Dwell lofts and apartments easily recognizable curbside, sharing their brand with hundreds of passersby.

Creating a Cohesive Experiential Branding Experience

A work environment can either make or break a person’s productivity and work experience, especially for the customers at e|spaces. Created to assist those needing short-term office space rentals, e|spaces found that those who work from home need a specific work atmosphere that thrives on comfort and creativity. In their new environmental design, 12-Point SignWorks focused on combining history and local landmarks within common, neutral spaces. So while working, customers can feel at ease and find inspiration from the surrounding walls. The area reflected the e|spaces logo through dimensional signage and custom privacy vinyl to assist with their brand story. These paired perfectly with the brand colors of yellow and gray, creating a relaxing environment while also sharing the brand story.

Graphics Bring a New Life

Environmental design can set the tone for how a company wants to portray its graphics and how it wants its company to be perceived. At Neches Federal Credit Union, our environmental designers created a history wall demonstrating how the company has grown and changed since its creation. A history wall is a great way to encourage interaction with customers because it shows the hard work that the company puts in to help connect with the community. The signage here creates a visual impact and doesn’t leave the brand’s values up to question.

Creating environmental design is an intricate and tedious process, making it important to partner with qualified marketing agencies and design firms to get the job done correctly. Here at 12-Point SignWorks, our experienced fabricators have collaborated with many innovative companies to create a branding experience customers will love and associate with for years to come.

If you have any questions about our services or would like to begin working on your next environmental design project, contact 12-Point today. We can’t wait to help you create a brand experience your customers will never forget!