Maximizing Impact with Floor Graphics: Tips for Retail and Public Spaces
Learn to choose the best materials to meet your space’s needs and challenges.
Floor graphics took center stage during the 2020 global pandemic. Social distancing measures brough floor graphics into the spotlight like never before, presenting unique challenges for retail and public spaces. Choosing floor graphic material for any purpose requires you to understand your specific challenges ensure the right balance between promotional goals and environmental requirements.
Floor Graphics Increase Awareness
Whether your goal is to increase customer engagement at a point of purchase, enhance your overall brand experience or directional assistance for smoother traffic flow, floor graphics are a major benefit in retail and public spaces alike. Well-designed floor graphics grab the attention of customers in ways that wall signs and displays may not. Adding visual interest keeps customers engaged, especially when an immersive experience is desired.
For directional assistance, floor graphics are a practical tool to guide foot traffic. They can reduce confusion and encourage consumers to explore unknown areas. Floor graphics can indicate one-way aisles, directional indicators to special holiday displays or funnel heavy foot traffic to the correct location, for example the correct areas within retail pharmacies.
Floor Graphics are Cost Effective Marketing Tools
Compared to other forms of display, floor graphics can be a cost-effective marketing tool. Floor graphics are easy to install and update, while requiring minimal maintenance. Since they are mainly used as a short to medium term graphic solution, retail and public locations can use them to promote events, holiday sales and other short-term promotions. This allows the location to maintain a fresh look without a large investment.
Understanding Challenges of Floor Graphics Related to Your Application
Once you’ve determined floor graphics are the promotional solution you need, it’s important to evaluate the challenges. Every promotional effort has overall challenges as well as those related to specific applications. Understanding the challenges and obstacles your application faces is key to using floor graphics successfully.
How Much Foot Traffic Comes Through the Area?
High volumes of foot traffic and the use of items like shopping carts can be a challenge to the longevity and durability of floor graphics. Wear and tear from these elements can cause graphics to quickly become scuffed, faded, or peel up in a short amount of time. Assessing your foot traffic volume and other types of activities in the area will help you match the graphic material to the durability and longevity requirements of your application.
Who will be Installing the Floor Graphics?
Along with matching the right floor graphic material for the environment and activity level, proper installation is a key element. Installation is another key element to determining the longevity and success of floor graphics. Whether professionally installed or self-installed by your staff, this decision will directly impact your material choice.
Proper installation means the floor graphics are installed without bubbles or wrinkles. Edge sealing may be recommended for specific applications. Difficulties can also be found when floor graphics are installed on uneven or cracked surfaces, tile or other textured floors. Understanding these details can help inform both the material choice and installation method.
What is Your Floor? Carpet, Terrazzo, Fine Marble, Wood, or Something Else?
Floor graphic materials should be carefully matched to the type of flooring they will be applied to. When dealing with surfaces beyond the standard hard flooring material, it’s important to explore specialized options.
Carpet presents its own challenges with floor graphics. The pile height (low, medium or high) must be considered and affects the choice of materials and adhesives. Highly sensitive materials like marble, terrazzo, granite and polished wood require adhesives specially formulated to protect their finish and still have a secure bond.
How Can I Ensure Safety for Floor Graphics?
Floor graphic materials all share one common trait. They must all carry a slip resistance rating that matches the environment in which they are installed. This ensures the safety of foot traffic traveling across them. Typically, this translates to a textured face film. The textured face film may have a printable base film of a one-step graphic material or added as a second production step as a textured overlaminate to the smooth, printable base film.
Proper installation is paramount to ensuring safe, long-lasting floor graphics. This includes proper floor cleaning and preparation before application, following all manufacturer handling and installation recommendations. Periodic inspection throughout the life of the graphic is important to ensuring safety. Oftentimes, slight peeling or wear can easily be addressed but can lead to hazards if left unchecked.
Floor graphics are a versatile tool for enhancing spaces, capturing attention and directional tool for guiding foot traffic. As the 2020 global pandemic showed, floor graphics effectively manage directional foot traffic and are impactful messaging tools. Floor graphics offer a cost-efficient way to highlight promotions in retail environments and be impactful navigational aids in public spaces like museums and events.
Ensuring success is key. It’s important to understand the challenges specific to floor graphics. Consider factors like intended application, foot traffic volume, flooring type, surface texture and installation requirements. These requirements will help guide you to choose the solution fit to your application. Collaborate closely with your graphic designer and printer to align these considerations with your goals, whether for brand awareness, customer engagement or directional campaigns.
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