The Complete Guide to Choosing the Right Sign Type
Door signs, projecting signs, door decals, directional signs, and personalised signs each serve a distinct purpose. This comprehensive guide explains all five types, provides a decision matrix, and helps you plan a complete signage strategy for your care home.
A truly effective dementia-friendly wayfinding system uses multiple sign types working together. Each type addresses a different navigational challenge, and understanding when to deploy each one is the key to creating an environment where residents can move confidently and independently. This guide provides a complete overview of all five sign types, helping you make informed decisions about what your care home needs.
The Five Sign Types Explained#
Every DSDC-accredited wayfinding system draws on the same five fundamental sign types: door signs (flat-mounted beside the door frame for room identification), projecting signs (perpendicular to the wall for corridor-distance visibility), door decals (vinyl graphics on the door face for maximum impact), directional signs (arrow-based signs at decision points), and personalised signs (customisable signs for bedroom doors with paper inserts or personal imagery). Each type is manufactured from 5mm solid white acrylic with textured 3D print, and all carry DSDC 1A accreditation.
Decision matrix -- which sign type for which situation:
- Room identification at close range: Door sign
- Room identification from corridor distance: Projecting sign
- Maximum visual impact on door surface (especially toilets): Door decal
- Guiding residents between locations: Directional sign
- Resident bedroom personalisation: Personalised sign with paper insert
- T-junctions and corridor intersections: Directional sign + projecting sign
- En-suite bathroom within a bedroom: Door decal (small format)
- Communal rooms (dining, lounge): Door sign + projecting sign combination
Planning Your Signage System#
Start by conducting a wayfinding audit. Walk every route a resident might take, from their bedroom to the toilet, dining room, lounge, garden, and reception. At every door, ask: can the room be identified from a reasonable distance? At every junction, ask: is the correct direction obvious? Where the answer is no, a sign is needed. The type of sign depends on the specific challenge at that location.
Pro Tip
Create a simple spreadsheet listing every door and junction in your care home. For each location, note which sign types are already present and which are needed. This audit document becomes your procurement plan and can be shared with your signage supplier for an accurate quote.
Budget Planning for a Complete System#
A typical 40-bed care home requires approximately 50-70 door signs, 10-15 projecting signs, 5-10 directional signs, 10-15 door decals (primarily for toilets and bathrooms), and 40 personalised bedroom signs. The total investment is modest -- often comparable to a single month's agency staffing costs -- yet the return in terms of reduced wandering, fewer falls, lower incontinence rates, and improved inspection scores is substantial.
Many care homes phase their signage investment over two to three procurement cycles. Phase 1
door signs and toilet decals. Phase 2: projecting signs at key locations. Phase 3: directional signs and personalised bedroom signs. This approach spreads the cost while delivering immediate benefits at each phase.
Consistency Across Sign Types#
The most critical principle in a multi-sign-type system is visual consistency. Every sign in the building should use the same colour scheme, the same pictogram style, and the same typographic hierarchy. When a resident sees a blue toilet icon on a directional sign, it must match the blue toilet icon on the toilet door sign and the toilet door decal. This consistency builds a visual language that residents can learn and trust, even as their cognitive abilities decline.
"The biggest mistake we see in care homes is a patchwork of different sign styles accumulated over years. Replacing everything with a consistent, DSDC-accredited system transforms the environment overnight." -- DSDC Design Consultant
Recommended Products
Our complete range of DSDC 1A-accredited signs includes door signs, projecting signs, directional signs, and personalised signs, all manufactured from 5mm solid white acrylic with textured 3D print. Available in coordinated colour schemes so your entire signage system shares a consistent visual identity. Order a free sample to see the quality before you commit.
Choosing the right combination of sign types is not about spending the most -- it is about spending wisely. A well-planned system with the right sign at the right location will always outperform a larger number of poorly placed signs. Use this guide as your starting point, conduct a thorough wayfinding audit, and build your system one phase at a time.
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