Photo caption: Engaging learning environments enhance the student experience.
While summer brings to mind images of travel, beaches and BBQs for many, school administrators use their summers to prepare educational institutions for teachers and students who will be returning in the coming school year. Whether it’s budgeting or purchasing educational materials for classrooms, this time of year is necessary for administrators to plan for a successful school year.
The impact of high-quality visuals in creating a sense of belonging and enhancing the learning experience can often be underestimated. A well-organised and comprehensive visual solution for a school can enhance and transform a campus into a place students will enjoy learning.
Here are three ways custom signs and graphics can help create more positive learning environments.
Signs Enhance Campus Branding
Signs and graphics play an integral role in displaying school pride and branding everything by using school colours and logos. Displays in a gym give some pep to the facilities, while a focal point logo can help brand a college department. Such branding is just one way for primary schools, high schools and colleges to put their best foot forward for prospective students and visitors, fostering a sense of community.
Custom signs that highlight your school brand:
- Monument Signs: Freestanding visuals at the school entrance create an impactful first impression while highlighting the school’s identity.
- Wall Murals: Large graphics can transform boring walls into inspiring displays. They can highlight everything from values to school history in an immersive environment.
- Banners and Flags: Strategically placed with foot traffic in mind, this versatile type of sign can highlight events, awards and school pride.
- Window and Floor Graphics: These applications reinforce branding in effective ways. Visuals across windows can feature a school logo or saying, and floor graphics direct people while enhancing the school’s visual identity.
Discover How a Shakespeare School Transformed Their Building
Signs Create Better Engagement
In the world of education, a strong focus, and rightfully so, is placed on the student experience, and schools can prioritise the satisfaction of student engagement through creating welcoming learning spaces. In an effort to inspire the next generation of scientists, artists and mathematicians, school leaders can enhance the student experience by including impactful visuals into classroom design, creating an environment that encourages creativity and real-world problem solving.
Why Create a More Engaging Learning Environment?
According to Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news group covering school improvement for children, academic success and student learning environments are directly linked. Decorative displays such as wall graphics or the transformation of school vehicles can actually help motivate students to enjoy the process of learning. Incorporating vibrant visual displays throughout a learning space can elevate engagement for young minds. Below are a few benefits of building engaging educational spaces.
Photo caption: Shakespeare School prioritises the value of reading books with transformative wall graphics.
Increases Student Creativity
When senses are engaged in an environment, creativity can thrive. One method of engaging the senses is through biophilic design, the concept of bringing the outdoors in. Greenery walls and visuals that include natural elements within a learning space deliver positive impacts on students. In fact, test scores increase 25% with classrooms that include daylight. Lighting can also greatly affect a student’s focusing ability, and poor lighting can cut down on the brain’s effectiveness in gathering data.
Provides Accessibility for All Students
Universal Design for Learning continues to grow in relevance in 2025. These are buildings with engaging environments that consider every student’s needs. One way this is applied is through the use of sensory spaces for self-regulation for neurodiverse learners. These types of spaces are also beneficial for neurotypical students as they promote well-being. Here is one FASTSIGNS centre in Pennsylvania, USA that assisted with a sensory space for Warren County School District. Through a supportively built environment, students can more easily self-regulate, a process that allows them to manage behaviour and emotions in response to stimuli.
Photo Caption: Sensory rooms provide a location for students to self-regulate during their day.
Offers Greater Potential for Learning
A variety of factors such as noise, colour, clutter and comfort have been proven to impact a student’s ability to learn in their environment. An article by Edutopia on classroom design notes that “Good classrooms should be ‘designed to make attending school an interesting and pleasurable experience’.” The same article also highlighted that such design elements in a classroom setting resulted in a 16% variation in academic progress for students. Not only can intentional design and custom signage create a greater learning capacity, but it can also promote a sense of belonging, communicate a positive message, enhance confidence, foster positive emotions and contribute to better student mental health.
Photo caption: Wall graphics provide visually stimulating focal points for students, teachers and visitors.
A Case Study: How Transformative Visuals Revitalised ACS International Schools' Multiple Campuses
FASTSIGNS partnered with ACS International Schools to revitalise three campuses during a six-week summer break. A detailed project timeline and strategic planning were crucial. New wayfinding signage at the Cobham campus helped navigate a 128-acre site and a school relocation. At the Egham campus, large profile-cut graphics and decorative vinyls were installed on a new amphitheatre and science block. The Hillingdon campus received wall graphics and signage for its new sports hall. This comprehensive signage update successfully enhanced the campuses' appearance and impression, making a tangible difference for students, parents, and prospective families.
Photo caption: Wall graphics promote ACS School’s Core Values
Signs Lead to Simplified School Navigation
Concise and easy to understand directional signage in and around your school helps guide students, teachers and parents to their desired destination. In addition to guiding people, these types of signage can also include cohesive branding elements. Whether it’s a young nursery learning their way around a new school or parents volunteering for the day, wayfinding signs help avoid confusion, reduce stress, and enable people to have a better experience on your school premises.
Graphics that help you point the way:
- Directional and Building Signs: Guide students and visitors to classrooms, offices and facilities with ease.
- Smart Wayfinding System: Include digital directories and room identification signs to streamline navigation.
- Parking Signs: Clearly mark parking areas for students, staff and visitors to minimise confusion.
- Interactive Kiosks: Offer real-time directions and information at key campus locations.
- Large Built-Up Letters: Ensure your buildings are easily identifiable from a distance with bold, dimensional letters.
Photo caption: Wayfinding and directional signs create a campus that is easy to navigate.
Customise Your School’s Visual Solutions with FASTSIGNS
There are a million and one possibilities to visually transform your school or campus. The versatility of custom signs allows for unique solutions, whether you manage a preschool, a middle school or a college campus. FASTSIGNS can help you create a tailored school signage program to do more than you ever thought possible.
Contact FASTSIGNS today for a campus assessment and learn more about the many custom signage options available for education facilities.