Google Map Bradley University image

Find­ing Your Way at Col­lege: How Sig­nage Helped Bradley University

Imag­ine your child is a senior in high school, and you’re head­ed to your first col­lege tour. As you get clos­er to cam­pus that excite­ment turns to frus­tra­tion. Google maps insist ​“You have arrived,” but you don’t see a sign. See how col­lab­o­ra­tion with sig­nage experts solved this prob­lem for Bradley University.

Wel­come to College

Bradley Uni­ver­si­ty Rebrands Cam­pus with New Exte­ri­or Signage

Imag­ine your child is a senior in high school, and you’re head­ed to your first col­lege tour. You plug in ​“Bradley Uni­ver­si­ty” into your nav­i­ga­tion sys­tem, and you’re on your way. There’s an anx­ious buzz of excite­ment in the air as you chat about their future. 

As you get clos­er to cam­pus that excite­ment turns to frus­tra­tion. Google maps insists ​“You have arrived,” but you don’t see a sign for Bradley Uni­ver­si­ty any­where. Should you con­tin­ue going for­ward? Turn right? What time is that admis­sions appoint­ment again?

Wayfind­ing Signage

Bradley U Wayfinding Main 500

Dur­ing a major rebrand of the cam­pus, Bradley Uni­ver­si­ty in Peo­ria, Illi­nois, reached out to our sig­nage experts in Cen­tral Illi­nois for help with exte­ri­or sig­nage and wayfind­ing.

“We quick­ly real­ized that Google Maps was lead­ing peo­ple to cam­pus from a cer­tain direc­tion, and there was no sign on that cor­ner to direct them where they need­ed to go,” says Tom Wilcox­en, Cen­tral Illi­nois Sig­nage Expert.

The team uncov­ered that the audi­ence most unfa­mil­iar with cam­pus, and rely­ing on GPS direc­tions, were usu­al­ly prospec­tive stu­dents and their fam­i­lies look­ing for the admis­sions office or event-goers look­ing for the Renais­sance Col­i­se­um, and they were all look­ing for vis­i­tor parking. 

A new illu­mi­nat­ed exte­ri­or wayfind­ing sign, which stands more than 9 feet tall, was installed on the cor­ner of Bradley University’s cam­pus where Google Maps leads visitors. 

“Before we final­ized the designs, I took pic­tures of the cor­ner from every angle of that inter­sec­tion,” Wilcox­en says. ​“I want­ed to make sure that any­one sit­ting in their car at the stop­light could eas­i­ly see the sign and know where they need­ed to go.”

Bradley U Before After Wayfinding

This team did great work on our signage project, the signs look fabulous and they were a pleasure to work with. Tom Wilcoxen and Dan Van Woert were both extremely responsive, helpful, and made excellent partners in making this campus transformation a reality.

Renée B. Richardson, Associate Vice President | Office of Marketing and Communications, Bradley University

Exte­ri­or Signage

Walk­ing around cam­pus, stu­dents and vis­i­tors are greet­ed by updat­ed exte­ri­or sig­nage for build­ings. ​“The old build­ing iden­ti­fi­ca­tion signs were weath­ered and didn’t fit with the school’s col­ors,” Wilcox­en says. ​“And there were some wayfind­ing signs that need­ed to be updat­ed with bet­ter directions.”

Bradley U Post Panel Building ID
Bradley U Post Panel Building ID1

Now the cam­pus boasts exte­ri­or wayfind­ing sig­nage with Bradley University’s sig­na­ture red and crenu­lat­ed design that mim­ics the icon­ic archi­tec­ture of Bradley Hall. 

“The new exte­ri­or sig­nage real­ly uplifts the Bradley Uni­ver­si­ty brand, mak­ing the entire cam­pus feel cohe­sive,” Wilcox­en says. ​“And the updates make it eas­i­er for every­one to find the build­ing they’re look­ing for.” 

If you’re inter­est­ed in an exte­ri­or sig­nage pack­age that ele­vates your brand and improves wayfind­ing, reach out to Tom Wilcox­en or any of our sig­nage experts.

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