What’s the most critical part of getting the interior branding right in a brick-and-mortar space?
In our experience, it’s not the paint or tile type. It’s not the comfort of the seating or the number of available tables. It’s not even at the point of sale, nor is it capturing customer data through tablets and kiosks. For us, it’s all of that, or specifically, how your space tells a cohesive brand story and ultimately converts your visitor into a loyal guest.
For us, this happens solely through personality design and iconic signage, an approach that leverages your unique brand attributes to create functional and aesthetically pleasing interiors.
What is Personality Design?
Introducing Wonder and Whimsy to Brand Spaces
In any commercial or public space, there is a range of elements competing for customer attention: the sound of the crowd talking and shifting around, the call-to-action language inviting guests to do something, the products or merchandise on display, etc. So how do you unify your space in a way that effectively captures and inspires your visitors?
This is where personality design steps in. Personality design is the process of curating specific brand traits, values, or characteristics to define the “voice” and “look” of a space, achieved through messaging, visual components, and customer-to-brand interactions. This can be done in a few different ways (there’s no one method), but for us, it always starts with a Iconic Signage installed on a Brand Statement or Accent Wall.
The potential of iconic signage used in tandem with a brand accent wall is immense, creating:
- A lasting and memorable “first impression” or “first look” for new customers and clients
- A designated area to communicate brand values and visual identity
- A functional component that supports the customer journey
So how can a simple accent wall and some signage do the heavy lifting of communicating brand identity? Read more to explore our strategic approach.
Oat Foundry can customize flaps to include custom colors and logos, bringing your brand directly into the display’s design.
Making “Sensory” Iconic Signage The Signature of Your Space
You’ve probably walked into a space and seen a brand accent wall before. At local coffee shops, this can look like a wall of merchandise around a small letterboard. At a non-profit, it could be large chart or table showing donor progress.
At a university, brace for branding and university “artifacts” like pennants and framed jerseys. They all communicate components of a brand personality. However, all of these brand accent walls are missing one key thing…. signature, sensory iconic signage.
When choosing signature iconic signage, some brands will go for:
- A giant vinyl logo
- A brand statement or tagline appliquéd to the wall
- A neon sign (this is popular now) with the brand name or logo
These focal points aren’t inherently wrong, but they miss a key opportunity: to align all these components with the senses. This is where choosing iconic signage that is architectural and flexible is key.
Personality Design, Iconic Signage, and Brand Accent Walls
In our experience, iconic signage using a Split Flap, Picture Flap, or Chroma Flap from Oat Foundry is exactly the “lever pulling” feature that a modern commercial space or public area needs. Custom iconic signage using a mechanical board can communicate a lot of “brand personality” and values, using visual, symbolic, tactile, and auditory cues, such as:
- A commitment to quality and craftsmanship
- An investment in a calm or soothing environment, as our displays contribute to a subtle, soft soundscape
- Cohesive and curated branding, through vivid brand photography, brilliant color, or impactful messaging
Custom-created iconic signage from Oat Foundry can ultimately communicate a unique brand personality and identity that, depending on your approach, can communicate:
- Your brand’s interesting history or story behind your space
- Your brand values or ethos
- The people who make your brand “possible”
- Your brand colors, logo, typography, and symbols
- Brand achievements and milestones
- Your product customizations or your unique offering
Ultimately, an accent wall anchored with this iconic signage can turn your organization’s unique value proposition into the brand’s personality, sharing a compelling visual story and telling the story of your space.
Anchoring “Sensory” Iconic Signage
There are many “types” of accent walls, and not every one will work for your designated space. However, each one has its own unique style, especially when there is signature “sensory” iconic signage that ties it all together.
Here are a few examples of iconic signage anchored with an accent wall, and how we’ve seen work across different industries. (Along with the organizations we’d love to see implement them.)
Legacy Walls for Stadiums and Sports Teams
Echoing our work with stadiums and sports organizations ranging from Wrigley Field to Pass & Stow at Citizens Bank Park to the Toronto Blue Jays, we’d love to create a Legacy Wall for leading sports organizations in the NBA, MLB, or NFL. Stadiums are evolving rapidly, with food and beverage becoming experience drivers and aesthetics leaning towards place-based design and a hospitality-inspired approach. As a result, a flipbook-style image display at the center of a sports Legacy Wall could be perfect to tell a fascinating, sensory story of legendary teams such as the Chicago Bulls (from The Last Dance days through the current team).
Alternatively, iconic signage in the form of our Chroma Flap could rotate through a pixel-style Chicago Bull logo or basketball, trophy, and court illustrations. Set amid a concrete accent wall and vintage sports paraphernalia, this type of installation pairs nostalgic design with functional, modern luxury signage.
Company Walls for Retail Flagships
Retailtainment is no longer a trend: it’s an expectation. In brick-and-mortar spaces, brands must align modern technology with entertainment without losing accessibility and connection with their customers. For us, that’s a perfect fit with our sensory, three-dimensional iconic signage. Take a brand like Moleskine, for instance, which already provides a tactile medium.
A brand accent wall featuring one of our mechanical mediums, such as a rotating Picture Flap, could introduce new customers to an overview of Moleskine’s different notebook styles.
Alternatively, a dynamic branded Split Flap could also provide writing prompts through rhythmic rotations, with our companion Algorithm enabling customers to engage directly with the sensory display.
Color Walls for “Color” Brands
For brands like Pantone or Sherwin-Williams, color is the brand identity. So, outside of static mediums such as posters or paint, how do you communicate personality and display color in a vivid, tactile way that’s hard to achieve on screens? Chroma Flap, our all-color version of Split Flap, provides a seamless solution. With a 50-color palette, color-based brands can effectively showcase their most popular paint colors and swatches.
Best for an HQ or big retail flagship, a Chroma Flap (or a custom Split Flap with custom color flaps, such as the Nespresso installation) can create pixel-style logos and illustrations that truly bring the full possibilities of color and brand palettes to life. Picture Flap (pictured) is also a great form of custom iconic signage perfect for an expressive space.
Recognition Wall or Giving Wall for Nonprofits
A Giving Wall that invites visitors to join your charity, organization, or company’s mission and goals is a practical, fundamental use for a Picture Flap display. As seen at nonprofits such as Best Friends Animal Society, a iconic signage that flips on a Giving Wall can tell the unique story of your organization. From fundraising to charitable efforts, images and brand visuals can connect funds to progress.
This style of iconic signage is a great fit for a charity such as The Michael J. Fox Foundation. A Giving Wall at its New York City headquarters, with a Picture Flap iconic signage at the center, can tell the visual story of transforming awareness of Parkinson’s into action. It could also highlight the status of ongoing research efforts, with funding to date estimated at $2.5 billion.
Welcome Walls for Hospitality
An accent wall that isn’t only intended to provide “a look” but also to welcome and onboard visitors can be a great fit for hospitality spaces. Ideal behind a reception desk or concierge area, a welcome wall with Split Flap iconic signage at the center can be customized with logos, symbols, and a custom frame color. In practice, it can display WiFi access information, upcoming hotel events, weather, and outdoor conditions, while welcoming priority-tier guests — all without customers having to squint at screens.
Similar to the installation at Northstar Center in Minneapolis, a “welcome wall” with iconic signage fits perfectly in spaces looking to tap into the personality of mid-century modern design. This is what makes our iconic signage perfect for modern interiors and ideal for spaces relying on nostalgia design, such as the interiors of the new Pan Am hotels.
Feature Walls for Restaurants
We’ve already seen Feature Walls equipped with our analog displays succeed in cafes, restaurants, and bars. In environments that already engage so many senses, such as the food and beverage industry, our kinetic, text-based boards are the perfect personality piece. Often used as mechanical interactive menus, our Split Flaps communicate using movement and kinetic energy, with ADA-compliant text and visibility from 100 ft away.
At restaurants such as Yeppa & Co or The Irish Exit, the Split Flap boards vary in scale and size, but not in experience, as they rotate through specials, quotes, and events, as well as greetings for VIP guests and groups. On a grander scale, a full-on sensory display in an expansive space like Frankford Hall in Philly could add dimension with custom shelving and millwork, similar to Nolita Hall in San Diego. Restaurateurs like Stephen Starr or Ashley Christensen, picking up cues from our frequent collaborator Buck & Rider, can turn interactive Split Flap menus into a piece of their brand identity, with displays at multiple locations.
Community Walls for Town & Visitor Centers
Inspired by the iconic signage at the Austin Visitor Center, a Community Wall that reflects the local town or city can be the perfect branding and communication tool for residents or tourists alike. Tourist-heavy cities with designated centers can use an image-based Picture Flap installation with images of local sites and culture to anchor their space, similar to the flip display at Heritage Towers in Texas.
Alternatively, a space such as Yountville’s Town Center, which has already invested in modern, functional design, can further benefit from a mechanical message wall. Serving as a focal point for a dynamic Community Wall, a message board can share community events, activities, and updates, as well as communication that helps tie together the “voice” of the town.
Showroom Wall for Luxury Brands
In terms of personality, luxury brands want to be associated with traits such as prestige, value, and status. Challenging in an era where digital takes the lead, a great way for brands “layer” digital components is iconic signage like Picture Flap. (Seen in showrooms such as Vintage Modern (formerly Broncos), as well as Ralph Lauren).
Similar to this custom iconic signage, an Oat Foundry display designed to support a Showroom Wall can showcase available product patterns, colors, finishes, and features in an eye-catching way to engage customers as soon as they walk through the door.
Art Walls for Cultural Spaces & Transit Halls
In a similar fashion to the Community Walls example, Art Walls help further define a space’s visual identity and unique “personality”. In a time where minimal decor is popular, pops of personality design are needed, especially in cultural spaces and fast-paced transit halls. Emerging, reimagined spaces such as Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station (bring the Split Flap back!), which in recent years have prioritized the digital experience, are flipping backward (literally) to more tactile aesthetics.
Our latest innovation, Chroma Flap, provides a modern, yet nostalgic aesthetic with more motion, movement, and subtle sound than a digital screen or video wall (also, no broken pixels). Just like our other displays, Chroma Flap is sustainable, using a fraction of the power and heat of digital alternatives.
Nature Walls for Zoos and Aquariums
A nature wall is a great way to anchor a space rooted in sustainability. For an eco-space such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a nature wall can double as a lobby personality piece, welcoming guests from all over the globe. In practice, a wall could incorporate our iconic Picture Flap signage as a photo wall “flipbook” that guests can interact with using our companion technology, Algorithm.
Alternatively, a mechanical Split Flap message board can display upcoming aquarium events and sea-life stats or facts. We’ve also seen concepts for our all-color Chroma Flap reimagined for these vital spaces, where images of sweeping landscapes and animals can be visually “translated” into stunning, sensory pixel-style art.
Create Personality-Driven Iconic Signage
Ready to put your brand personality on display – literally? We’re available to help you explore the possibilities of implementing one of our mechanical mediums. Schedule a complimentary consultation with our Sales team if you’re ready to talk (book directly through our kinetic wall installation page) or take our Mechanical Matchmaker Quiz (quick and easy) to see which iconic signage best fits your space.