Richard Poyant
Signage plays a key role in keeping your retail property’s brand image relevant and up to date – especially in a time when e-commerce is becoming more popular and preferred among today’s shoppers. It is important to maintain a vibrant, fresh, and inviting environment for your shopping center to retain your existing customer base and attract new customers to your door.
Reviving outdated signage can be a major step towards bettering your brand image and keeping your retail destination top of mind among consumers.
There are multiple factors to consider when developing a new signage or branding package, including:
• Keep it Consistent, Visible and Legible – Your “streetscape” is your “first impression” and must project and maintain the powerful image you want the public to have of your center.
• Tell Your Own Unique Story – Consider what your tenants, visitors, and customers will value about your location, tenant mix and unique property features upon reviving your existing property or opening something new. Determine what they will like about the products and services that you offer and leverage those characteristics in the design. This will help to maintain your strong and successful brand for years to come.
• Design – One of the most important factors for a brand is the design development. Your design must make a commanding statement. A design that can be read and understood with a quick glance will create the most effective sign. Keep it simple. If you are creating new signage for an existing property, it is important not to stray too far from your existing retail center’s design as not to confuse your current customers. Think of this as a “refresh.”
A well-researched and well-engineered branding program promotes a better visitor experience, improves traffic patterns to your location, and reflects your overall brand image.
When Wrentham Village Premium Outlets in Wrentham, Mass. began their renovation project, this popular retail destination knew they would need an updated signage package. Poyant worked directly with Joshua MacDonald, project manager for Simon, and David Granger, project designer for 3D/STUDIO LLC on several aspects of this project. This included permitting, design construction and engineering, working with 3D/STUDIO to develop their conceptual designs into construction. This work helped to develop their new brand standards, which are apparent in all aspects of the signage package.
Poyant’s team of signage and branding experts collaborated to meet the following goals for this project:
• Provide ease of navigation throughout the shopping center through a detailed wayfinding program.
• Boost customer experience by providing a fresh, new look that shoppers can appreciate when visiting the property.
• Revitalize Wrentham Village Premium Outlet’s branding through a new signage package, maintaining top of mind brand awareness as the largest retail outlet destination in Massachusetts.
Focusing on these goals, the Poyant team began work on a comprehensive signage package that would be visible throughout the outlet center. One of the major renovations was upgrading three exterior tower signs, changing from external up lighting illumination to internal LED illumination. In addition, Poyant rebranded signage for the new Welcome Center, Guest Services and Management Offices, including interior and exterior dimensional graphics and vinyl. Other branding elements include renovating five restrooms to include new wayfinding/identification and ADA signage and new exterior court identity signage. Overall, this signage comes together to deliver an inviting new design that allows shoppers to enjoy the retail experience.
Poyant was proud to have partnered with Simon and 3D/STUDIO on the renovation for Wrentham Village Premium Outlets. Our singular focus is and always has been…Building Your Brand, Building Your Success.
Richard Poyant is the president of Poyant Signs, New Bedford, Mass.