NARRABEEN & NEWPORT · SYDNEY'S NORTHERN BEACHES
Wayfinding & Safety Signs
Good wayfinding signage is the kind of thing nobody notices when it's working. People simply find the bathroom, locate the fire exit, or walk straight to reception without a second thought.
MTM Signage produces wayfinding and safety signage for businesses, workplaces, and facilities across Sydney's Northern Beaches, all from our production workshop in Newport.
WHY IT MATTERS
1. Why wayfinding signage matters
Why does your building need wayfinding signage?
Wayfinding signage exists to answer a handful of questions before a visitor has to ask them out loud: where am I, where do I need to go, and how do I get there. In any building more complex than a single room, people rely on visual cues to navigate — and when those cues are missing or unclear, the result is frustration, wasted time, and a poor first impression of your business or facility.
For businesses with regular visitors, contractors, or staff who aren't yet familiar with the layout, wayfinding signage reduces the number of times someone has to stop and ask for directions. Good wayfinding signage handles that quietly in the background.
Directional signage and first impressions
Confusing navigation reflects on your brand, even when the confusion has nothing to do with your product or service. A visitor who wanders a car park looking for the entrance, or stands in a foyer unsure which way to go, forms an impression of disorganisation before they've even reached reception. Clear directional signage removes that friction and lets your business make a better first impression from the moment someone arrives.
Our shopfront signage service for street-facing entry and directional signage →
GOOD DESIGN
2. What makes good wayfinding signage
The key principles
Good wayfinding signage follows a handful of consistent principles, regardless of building size or type:
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Consistency — same colours, fonts, icons and placement logic throughout
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Logical sequencing — signs at every decision point, not just the start
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Clear hierarchy — destination reads first, supporting detail second
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Appropriate scale — text and icons sized for actual viewing distance
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Accessible design — colour contrast, mounting height, tactile elements where relevant
Common directional sign mistakes that confuse customers usually come back to one of these being skipped — a sign placed too late, inconsistent terminology, or icons that aren't immediately recognisable.
Choosing the right colours for directional signs
Choosing colours comes down to contrast and consistency rather than personal preference. High-contrast combinations read fastest from a distance and under varying light. Beyond legibility, colour can be functional: a consistent colour for all directional signage, a distinct colour reserved for safety signage, and brand colours used sparingly so they don't compete with the navigational function.
SAFETY SIGNAGE
3. Safety signage: what you actually need
What safety signs do I actually need for my business?
It depends on your specific workplace, but most NSW businesses need a core set covering fire safety (exit signs, extinguisher and fire blanket locations, fire action notices), first aid station location, and any hazard-specific signage relevant to your operation. Workplaces with public access also typically need accessible exit signage and clear emergency evacuation information.
Safe Work Australia — workplace safety sign requirements and hazard signage guidance
The five standard categories:
Prohibition
Red circle + line
Mandatory
Blue circle
Warning
Yellow triangle
Fire
Red
Choosing the right sign starts with correctly identifying which category the hazard or instruction falls into — using the wrong colour or shape convention isn't just a style choice, it can genuinely confuse people in an emergency when they're relying on pattern recognition rather than reading carefully.
The most popular safety signs and when to use them
Across the workplaces we sign, a handful come up again and again: fire exit signs, fire extinguisher location signs, first aid signs, and "Authorised Personnel Only" signs for restricted areas. For workplaces with vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the same space — warehouses, loading docks, car parks — pedestrian crossing and vehicle movement signage is also commonly required.
MATERIALS
4. Materials and installation
Durable wayfinding signage for outdoor and high-traffic use
For outdoor and exposed locations on the Northern Beaches, we specify materials rated for UV exposure, coastal humidity, and general weathering — typically aluminium composite panel (ACP) or rigid PVC, with UV-stable inks and laminates on printed graphics. Indoor signage in high-traffic areas also benefits from a more robust substrate than standard paper-based signs, given the wear from regular contact and cleaning.
For safety signs specifically, durability isn't just about appearance — a faded or damaged safety sign that's become illegible is a genuine compliance issue, not just a cosmetic one.
Mounting, placement, and accessibility
Accessible wayfinding design involves mounting height that works for both standing adults and wheelchair users, sufficient colour contrast for people with low vision, and for some public and healthcare facilities, tactile or Braille signage at key decision points like building entries, lift lobbies, and accessible bathroom doors.
Placement at the right decision points matters as much as the sign content itself. A sign mounted too high, hidden behind an open door, or placed after the point someone needed to turn, fails regardless of how well-designed it is. We talk through placement as part of any wayfinding project, not just hand over finished signs.
LARGER FACILITIES
5. Wayfinding for larger and specialised facilities
Shopping centres and multi-tenant buildings
Effective shopping centre wayfinding involves a layered system: large-format directory and "you are here" maps at key entries, mid-level directional signage at major intersections and escalators, and close-range tenancy signage at the shop level itself. Consistency becomes even more important at this scale, since visitors are often unfamiliar with the building and rely entirely on the signage system to navigate confidently.
Healthcare and high-traffic facility principles
Healthcare wayfinding carries extra weight — visitors are often stressed, unfamiliar with the building, and need to find their way reliably under pressure. The same core principles apply, but the margin for error is smaller, with extremely high legibility, strong colour-coding by department or zone, and signage that holds up to constant cleaning and high traffic.
As a local, hands-on business, we're at our best on projects we can give real personal attention to — offices, clinics, consulting suites, and similar facilities where we can work closely with you from first measure to final install. For something at major hospital or large shopping centre scale, get in touch and we'll have an honest chat about whether we're the right fit, or point you in a good direction.
PRICING
6. Getting started: process and pricing
Every wayfinding project is different
Wayfinding signage pricing depends on the number and type of signs needed, materials specified, whether a full directional system or a handful of safety signs is required, and installation complexity. We don't publish set prices because a quote without understanding your space and requirements wouldn't be accurate.
Wayfinding and safety signage quietly prevents problems — confused visitors, frustrated staff, and genuine compliance risk. Getting it right once, properly, tends to be more cost-effective than patching gaps as they're noticed.
What affects the cost
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Number and type of signs — safety, directional, or a full coordinated system
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Materials — standard indoor vs outdoor-rated ACP
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Design — full system from scratch vs an existing scheme to follow
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Installation — number of locations, mounting type, site access
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Compliance requirements — specific safety categories for your industry
Getting a quote
The best way to get an accurate price is to contact us with a description of your building or workplace, what you currently have, and what's prompting the enquiry — a new fit-out, an upcoming inspection, or overdue signage. Photos of your current space are always helpful. We'll come back within one business day, and for larger jobs we'll arrange a site visit before quoting.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know before getting in touch.
Wayfinding signage answers the basic navigational questions visitors and staff have the moment they arrive: where am I, where do I need to go, and how do I get there. Without it, people waste time, interrupt staff to ask for directions, and form a less favourable first impression. Even relatively small or simple buildings benefit from clear wayfinding, particularly with regular visitors, contractors, or new staff unfamiliar with the layout. Good wayfinding signage works quietly in the background, and you tend to only notice it when it's missing.
Why does my building need wayfinding signage?
How much does professional wayfinding signage cost?
Pricing depends heavily on the number and type of signs, materials required, and whether you need a full coordinated system or a handful of specific signs. A small office needing basic safety and directional signage is a very different cost to a full system for a multi-tenant building. We don't publish set prices because a quote without understanding your space wouldn't be accurate. Contact us with details of your building and we'll come back with a clear, itemised quote within one business day.
What safety signs do I actually need for my business?
Most NSW businesses need a core set covering fire safety, first aid station location, and any hazard-specific signage relevant to your operation. The exact requirements depend on your industry, workplace size, and the hazards identified in your risk assessment. Safe Work Australia and NSW work health and safety regulations set out specific requirements, and your risk assessment is usually the best starting point for identifying exactly what you need.
What are the key principles for good wayfinding signage?
Five principles consistently separate effective wayfinding from confusing wayfinding: consistency in colours, fonts and icons throughout the building; signs at every decision point rather than just the start; clear information hierarchy with the destination reading first; appropriate scale for actual viewing distance; and accessible design including colour contrast and mounting height. These principles apply at any scale, from a small office to a shopping centre.
What colours should I use for directional and safety signage?
For directional signage, the priority is contrast and consistency. For safety signage, colour isn't a design choice but a defined standard: red for prohibition and fire signage, blue for mandatory actions, yellow for warnings, and green for emergency information and escape routes. Using the correct standard colour and shape convention matters for genuine safety reasons, since people often rely on quick visual recognition rather than reading text carefully, especially in an emergency.
Do you design wayfinding systems for shopping centres or hospitals?
We're a small, local signage business based in Newport, and we're upfront that a full hospital-wide or major shopping centre rollout is a larger scale than what we're set up to deliver. Where we add genuine value is in smaller-scale settings — offices, clinics, consulting suites, retail premises — where the same principles apply and clear, compliant signage matters just as much. If you have a smaller project within a larger facility, get in touch and we can talk through whether it's a good fit.
How do I design accessible wayfinding signage for public spaces?
Accessible wayfinding starts with sufficient colour contrast and legible text sized for the viewing distance, and extends to mounting height that works for standing adults and wheelchair users. For some public and healthcare facilities, tactile or Braille signage is required at key decision points like building entries and lift lobbies. The Disability Standards for Access to Premises set out specific requirements depending on your building type, worth checking if your facility has public access obligations.
Where can I get durable wayfinding signage for outdoor use?
For outdoor and exposed locations, the sign substrate matters as much as the design. We specify materials rated for UV exposure, coastal humidity, and general weathering — typically aluminium composite panel or rigid PVC, with UV-stable inks and laminates. This matters particularly on the Northern Beaches, where coastal conditions are harder on standard materials. A degraded sign isn't just an appearance issue either — for safety signage, illegibility is a genuine compliance problem.