Five Ways Our Wayfinding Solutions are Transforming Academic Spaces
Over the past 10 years, IDS has established itself as a premier architectural fabrication firm for academic environments. We consistently produce high-quality wayfinding sign elements, keeping budgetary considerations in mind for K-12 schools and college campuses in both the publicly funded and private education markets.
Here are five areas where we excel in interior and exterior academic wayfinding signage projects.
#1. Permitting, Stakeholders and Strategy
IDS has successfully developed numerous local projects, with extensive community involvement in review and strategy. Early in the project, we create a coordination plan with the entire team to ensure all stakeholders understand the project goals and approach.
A notable example of this strategy’s success is our work with Syracuse University. We have completed multiple projects for the school, fostering strong relationships with internal stakeholders, including planners and architects EDR and experiential designers Entro, as well as the local community. For our work at SUNY Morrisville we worked with architects SWBR. These relationships are crucial to our continued project successes.

#2. Advanced Visualization for Every Project
Whether for a small elementary school or a sprawling college campus, there is a demand for comprehensive visual approaches. We have developed an exceptional three-part visual process that we apply to every project. This includes three-dimensional visualizations, sign families, and photo montages.
This approach allows our clients to view a project as both a cohesive system and as individual interventions. For instance, our work with Alfred University, which has band on a new brand identity, utilized this combination of visual elements to develop a large-scale system, including day/night studies to provide a complete picture for the client.

#3. Extensive Budget Engineering through Samples and Prototypes
Many of the school districts we work with have extremely tight budgets. IDS has consistently met these strict budgets through two key approaches: providing a range of material samples for clients to allocate their resources effectively, and creating prototypes to test complete connections and systems.
This methodology has proven successful in numerous academic wayfinding signage projects at the Rochester Institute of Technology and Spencerport CSD. For each project, we extensively test systems for scale, materiality, and level of finish.
#4. In-House Exterior and Interior Modular Fabrication
For our school campus projects, we have moved most of our fabrication capabilities in-house for both exterior, digital and interior signage. This approach was successfully implemented with the Gates Chili School District. A thorough review of materials with the client resulted in a budget-oriented strategy. All signs were developed at the IDS manufacturing center according to modular guidelines established by IDS, achieving significant cost savings.
When large-scale programs are required over a short timeline, our Project Management team work carefully to manage an installation schedule closely linked to our Production facilities output, this ‘Just in Time’ approach has proved to be very successful.

#5. Guidelines for Ongoing Development
It’s no surprise that we have worked with some of the same schools for years. By developing comprehensive guidelines for signage projects, we streamline future work, making it more cost-effective and efficient when managing change. The overall effective is an ever increasing ROI on the campus management budget.
This strategy has positioned IDS as a leading fabricator for colleges with ongoing signage extension needs, including SUNY Oswego, Alfred University, and the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Sign Family Guidelines
Sign family guidelines are crucial for schools with future campus expansion plans. By focusing on strategy, visualization, budget engineering, in-house fabrication, and long-term development planning, our commitment to quality and stakeholder collaboration ensures that we continue to provide innovative, cost-effective solutions for our customers. Whether for K-12 schools or university campuses, IDS is dedicated to delivering academic wayfinding signage projects that enrich the educational environment.

Choose ID Signsystems to design and build your next school campus sign project.
Connect with us for a consultation. Let’s discuss how we can help create a school signage program that suits your school’s environment and best represents your community.
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