How to define the objectives of a design signage for a head office and a company (orientation, brand, visitor experience)?

Defining the objectives of a design signage for a head office and a company means answering a simple question: what should your building allow, feel and prove, from the very first minutes?
Successful signage is not an addition of signs. It’s a system of landmarks (visual, spatial, behavioral) that makes the place obvious, coherent, fluid — and that elegantly embodies the brand.

In a head office, signage is at the crossroads of three issues:

1. Orientation / Signage : help everyone find without stress, without asking, without wandering.
2. Brand : translate the identity (tone, values, culture) without “advertising”.
3. Visitor experience : make the tour a proof of quality (welcome, expectations, transitions, signature moments).

And above all: premium signage does not live alone. It must be in harmony with:

• window stickers (confidentiality, glazing safety, graphic continuity): vitrophanie.art
• Wall decoration and frescoes (emotional cues, atmosphere, narration): www.metamorphoze.art
• Furniture and layout (reception, waiting areas, circulation, comfort): Approach & method
• and of course signage as a system (audit, information hierarchy, design, manufacturing, installation): www.signaletique.art

Advice from Franck Blériot : “High-end signage is not first seen: it can be felt. If people stop hesitating, if the courses become natural, then the place becomes premium. »

1) Definition: what is “design signage” in head office?

A design signage is an orientation and identification system that combines:

• an information architecture (what to say, where, to whom, in what order),
• a design of landmarks (color codes, typography, pictograms, material),
• a spatial layout (decision points, distances, heights),
• controlled manufacturing/installation (durability, maintenance, consistency).

The difference with “standard” signage:

• The standard answers mainly to “put panels”,
• The design responds to “making the place obvious, desirable and coherent”.

In a head office, it is ideally integrated into a broader project of identity of place: reception, path, materials, windows, walls, furniture. This is precisely the 360° logic of Atelier Métamorphoze: creation of places, wall art, layout and coherence of supports. Discover: metamorphoze.art and Decoration offices & head office.

2) Trap n°1: defining “vague” objectives

Many briefs start with:

• “We want to modernise”
• “We want design”
• “We want something more premium”
• “We want to improve the experience”

These are intentions, not objectives. A useful objective must be:

• observable (as can be seen),
• measurable (even approximately),
• located (in a specific area),
• Prioritized (top 3, not top 15).

Advice from Franck Blériot : “If you don’t write down what success looks like, you’ll receive proposals that are impossible to compare.”

3) The 3 families of objectives to be formalized

A) Orientation objectives: “find without asking”

The goal: to make the building legible for a first-time visitor.

Questions to turn into objectives:

• Where do visitors get lost today?
• Which areas create hesitation (elevators, crossings, floors, wings)?
• How many times does the reception answer “where is…?” per day?

Examples of well-formulated goals:

• “A visitor must reach meeting room X in less than 3 minutes after the reception, without asking for directions.”
• “The ‘reception → the elevators → floor 4 → management pole’ course must be understandable in a maximum of 2 decision points.”
• “Deliveries must access the logistics point without crossing the visitor flows.”

Simple indicators (even without a complex study):

• number of requests at the reception desk,
• average time to find a room,
• Rate of course errors (observations over 1 day).

➡️ For a dedicated “signage” approach, see: signaletique.art

B) Brand objectives: “to make people feel who we are”

The brand in a head office is not limited to the logo. It can be read in:

• the coherence of the choices (subjects, tone, vocabulary),
• the quality of the details,
• the narration of the place.

Examples of objectives:

• “Translating a sober and demanding brand: minimalist typography, sustainable materials, discreet but perfectly legible signage.”
• “To stage a culture of innovation: rhythmic visitor journeys, ‘signature’ areas, visual cues consistent with the identity.”
• “Inscription le patrimoine: telling the story and the trades without museification.”

➡️ The “concept & experience” approach (very useful for aligning brand and space):
Concept, journey & experience

C) Visitor experience objectives: “making the journey a proof”

A head office is a choreography: arrival, reception, waiting, meeting, circulation, departure.
Design signage has a huge role in the experience, because it reduces:

• stress,
• hesitation,
• feeling of being “too much”.

Examples of objectives:

• “Create a premium visitor journey from the car park to the meeting room, with continuous landmarks.”
• “Make waiting more peaceful: clear landmarks + atmosphere + breathing zones.”
• “Manage flows: visitors vs. employees vs. service providers, without friction.”

➡️ To link experience and development:
Turnkey & co-built
Development & works

4) Successful signage is a harmonized signage with window stickers, frescoes, furniture

Why harmony is a goal in its own right

In a head office, the “top of the range” rarely comes from an isolated element. It comes from a coherent language :

• the same graphic tone,
• Stable color codes
• aligned materials,
• and a logic of path.

If the signage says “minimal”, but the windows are saturated with uncoordinated patterns, the place loses its coherence.
If the frescoes tell a story, but the signage is generic and coldly standardized, the experience breaks.

➡️ This is where the 360° approach of Métamorphoze is an advantage: frescoes, décor, coherence of space, and articulation with signage / window displays.
Discover: metamorphoze.art
See a “company & head office” logic: Office / head office decoration

Window stickers: confidentiality + benchmarks + continuity

Head offices are often very glazed:

• meeting rooms,
• executive offices,
• corridors.

Window stickers are used to:

• protect confidentiality,
• secure the glazing,
• and extend the graphic language of signage.

➡️ Point of entry: vitrophanie.art

Advice from Franck Blériot : “Window stickers are an opportunity: it is an immense medium that can become a marker, a filter, and a signature — without blocking the light.”

Frescoes & wall décor: emotional cues + identity

In a premium head office, murals and wall decorations can:

• create “signature zones”,
• making the corridors more humane,
• strengthen identity without over-branding,
• and support orientation (e.g. “blue pole”, “garden corridor”).

➡️ Discover the world of wall art: metamorphoze.art
➡️ Explore Achievements: Achievements

Furniture & fittings: signage must “stick” to the uses

Signage is not just a graphic design: it lives on supports, at heights, in lighting.
If the reception area has been rearranged (bank, seats, queue), the signage must be naturally integrated (map, landmark, areas).

➡️ Fit-out process: Process
➡️ Coordination of works: Development & works

5) 7-step method for setting goals

Step 1 — Map audiences (minimum 3 profiles)

• External visitor (first time)
• Employee (daily)
• Service provider / delivery (specific access)

For each profile, note:

• port of entry,
• frequent destination,
• moments of stress,
• necessary information.

Step 2 — Describe key pathways (5 standard pathways)

Examples:

1. Parking → Reception → Meeting room
2. Main Entrance → Elevator → Floor X → Direction
3. Delivery → Dock/Logistics → Technical Area
4. Visitor→ Sanitary facilities → Return to meeting room
5. New employee → HR → reception → Open space

Each course = 3 to 6 decision points (ideally less).

Step 3 — List the decision points (the places where you are hesitating)

• intersections
• Elevators/stairs
• Elevator exits
• Access to wings
• Floor/Building Changes

The objective: to reduce hesitancy in these places.

Step 4 — Write a “Definition of Success” by Area

Examples:

• Hall : “We understand where to go in 10 seconds”
• Corridors : “we find our way around without reading 10 signs”
• Floors : “we immediately know where we are”
• Rooms : “clear, consistent, premium identification”

Step 5 — Translate the brand into principles (not slogans)

Instead of “innovative”, write:

• Contrast / Rhythm / Color
• Typography / Pictograms
• Material / Finish
• Level of presence (discreet vs. signature)

Step 6 — Define the constraints (they are part of the objectives)

• Occupied site (phasing)
• Cleaning (anti-fingerprint)
• Security (issues)
• Accessibility (readability)
• Budget and Timeline (Scenarios)

Step 7 — Prioritize (otherwise everything contradicts each other)

Top 3 objectives:

1. Stress-free orientation
2. Premium visitor experience
3. Brand/material consistency

Only then: aesthetics, storytelling, “instagrammable”.

6) How to formulate your objectives in a specification (ready-to-copy template)

“Objective” model

Objective n°X: [verb + result]
Target audience: visitors / employees / service providers
Area: lobby / floors / corridors / rooms
Definition of success: observable sentence
Indicator: time / number of questions / errors
Constraints: occupied site / cleaning / budget / deadlines

Example completed:
Objective n°1: reduce errors in the journey to meeting rooms
Audience: External visitors
Area: hall + elevator core + floor 3
Success: a visitor reaches room A301 without asking, in less than 3 minutes
Indicator: 50% decrease in requests at the reception desk in “room A301”
Constraints: occupied site; Installation at staggered hours

7) Deliverables to be required so that “objectives become reality”

Once the objectives are written, requires deliverables that make them testable:

For orientation (signage)

• Flow audit + decision points
• Information architecture (hierarchy, naming)
• Site plan (where to put what)
  ➡️ signaletique.art

For the brand (design system)

• Color coded by zones/floors
• typographies, pictograms, composition rules
• Materials + Finishes (Premium, Durable)
  ➡️ metamorphoze.art

For the experiment (prototypes)

• Photo simulations
• Pilot area (1 floor / 1 corridor / 1 reception)
• Readability tests (distance, actual lighting)

For consistency with glass and walls

• window plan (confidentiality + benchmarks)
• Set/fresco integration (signature zones)
  ➡️ vitrophanie.art
  ➡️ Metamorphoze Achievements

Advice from Franck Blériot : “A space charter is only useful if it can be adapted: walls, windows, plaques, plans, and even the furniture must tell the same story.”

8) Why ask Metamorphoze for a study before launching the consultation

Setting goals is often the hardest part, because you have to balance:

• real estate (building constraints),
• communication (branding),
• operation (maintenance),
• Reception (recurring questions),
• and experience (emotion, journey).

An upstream study makes it possible to:

• clarify pathways and decision points,
• write comparable and prioritized objectives,
• framing deliverables (to compare offers),
• harmoniously integrate window stickers + wall decoration + furniture,
• and secure planning/budget.

➡️ Entry point for a study: Contact Métamorphoze
➡️ Global vision: metamorphoze.art
➡️ If the topic is “wayfinding/panels” first: signaletique.art
➡️ If the subject is “glazing / confidentiality / continuity”: vitrophanie.art

9) “Objectives” checklist (to be used in a 45-minute internal workshop)

A. Orientation

• What are the 5 most frequent routes?
• Where do people hesitate?
• What questions does the reception receive the most?
• Which areas are “at risk” (intersections, elevators, fenders)?

B. Brand

• What tone? (sober, bold, institutional, warm)
• What 3 values should be felt in the place?
• What level of graphic presence? (discreet / signature)
• Which subjects already dominate? (wood, concrete, metal, glass)

C. Visitor Experience

• Where is premium printing created? (hall, waiting, corridors)
• Where is the stress at its highest? (waiting, searching, delays)
• Where should we reassure? (Reception, Transitions)

D. Overall harmony (often forgotten)

• Glazing: necessary confidentiality where?
• Walls: areas that can become landmarks (fresco/décor)?
• Furniture: reception, seating, queues — the signage is integrated into it?

➡️ To think about “place” and not just “signs”, explore:
Headquarters decoration
Process (method)

10) Common mistakes (and how to avoid them)

Mistake 1: Confusing Brand Goals with Orientation Goals

Symptom: beautiful but ineffective signs.
Correction: info hierarchy first, design second.

Mistake 2: Aiming for “premium” without tying to materials/maintenance

Symptom: marked, worn, inconsistent signage in 6 months.
Correction: choice of finish + maintenance guide.

Mistake 3: forgetting window stickers and glazing

Symptom: patchwork of stickers or failed privacy.
Correction: integrate window stickers into the system from the brief: vitrophanie.art

Mistake 4: Not driving a test area

Symptom: error repeated everywhere.
Fixed: Pilot on one floor/corridor.

Mistake 5: Too many goals, no referee

Symptom: lukewarm compromise.
Correction: top 3 objectives + validation governance.

11) FAQs (questions that decision-makers really ask)

What is the difference between signage and wayfinding?
Wayfinding is the orientation strategy (pathway, decision points). Signage is the set of media that materialize this strategy.

How do we know if our goals are good?
If you can write a phrase “observable success” (e.g. “find without asking”), you are on the right track.

Should window stickers be integrated into the signage?
Yes, when the building is glazed: confidentiality + landmarks + glazing security. See: vitrophanie.art

Can a fresco help with orientation?
Yes, if it becomes an area marker (pole, wing, floor) and integrates into the system. See the approach: metamorphoze.art

How long does a redesign take?
Generally: audit + concept + validation (several weeks), then manufacturing/installation depending on volume. A pilot zone speeds up the decision.

How to avoid the “logo everywhere”?
By translating the brand through palette, wefts, typography, material, and storytelling — rather than through logo repetition.

How do you launch without making a mistake?
Through an upstream study (diagnosis + objectives + deliverables), then consultation. Start here: Contact Metamorphoze

The best way to set goals

For a head office, the objectives of a design signage must be written as a contract of experience :

1. Orientation : “you find without asking”
2. Brand : “we feel who you are”
3. Experience : “the course is proof of quality”
4. Harmony : “walls, windows, furniture, landmarks speak the same language”

And if you want a premium result, make sure that the signage is not an isolated project. Align it with window displays, wall décor, murals, and layout — exactly what a 360° approach can orchestrate.

➡️ Request a free study & quote : metamorphoze.art/contact
➡️ Explore the big picture: www.metamorphoze.art
➡️ Signage approach: www.signaletique.art
➡️ Window Display: vitrophanie.art