We specialize in working with communities to design and plan unique wayfinding sign systems that are specifically tailored to the needs of each community. Our design process ensures each sign type is developed to adhere to all necessary regulations and meets the unique vision and values of each community we work with. Our wayfinding planning process enhances opportunities for community members and newcomers by ensuring safe, effective navigation through built environments.
Thoughtful wayfinding signage is more than a set of directional arrows and words—it signifies and promotes your community’s greatest assets, supports its visual branding identity and helps people move through your community with confidence. From parking decks to parks, downtown main streets to trail systems, wayfinding signage elevates your community’s brand and sense of place. It speaks your community’s values, shows visitors where they are and where they want to be, and supports the local economy all at once.
“Why Would I Want Wayfinding Signs?”
Newcomers can’t find
downtown parking.
Visitors keep missing
the trail entrance.
Residents are still confused about where to go.
Wayfinding signage is the solution.
A properly designed sign will help people navigate confidently, spend more time in your business districts, and make the most of your community’s assets. Thoughtfully planned signage systems also support economic growth by encouraging longer visits, return trips, and fewer frustrated travelers.
Done right, it’s more than just words and arrows on a panel—it’s an extension of your place-brand identity, and an investment in economic and community development.
At Destination by Design, our goal is to help you design wayfinding signs that you can’t wait to build and plan a location system that will support your long-term community goals. Every project starts with listening—to you, your residents, and stakeholders. Next, our planners, designers, and engineers craft a signage system tailored to your goals, built for functionality, and designed to strengthen your community’s place-brand story. Our role is to serve as an extension of your team, ensuring your vision comes to life with clarity and precision. Rely on our experience to help you craft branded navigation systems with clear strategies and cohesive visual language into your parks, downtowns, trailheads, visitor centers, and public spaces.
Why choose us? Our team works at the intersection of community branding, design, sign planning, tourism planning and outdoor recreation planning. That means your wayfinding signs aren’t just attractive—they will serve your residents and newcomers, further drive your economic development goals, and support your public infrastructure plans. Our offices are filled to the brim with driven, civic-minded creatives and problem-solvers. For that reason, we are the trusted partner that local governments rely on to turn ideas into action.
Who Needs Wayfinding Signage?
If you’re a civic leader, planner, or tourism director, this might sound familiar:
Parks & Recreation
You’ve invested in parks, trails, or a revitalized downtown, but visitors don’t know how to find these assets.
Sense of Place
Your community branding looks great online, but there’s no physical presence on the streets or in your community.
Local Businesses
Local businesses say tourists often miss them due to confusing or missing signage.
Branding & Consistency
Your current signs are not unified; they are mismatched, outdated, or full of competing styles.
If any of this rings true, you’re not alone—and you’re exactly who we serve.
Our clients are county managers, city planners, downtown development directors, parks and recreation leaders, and tourism professionals—people who care deeply about creating great places to live and visit.
Our Core Services Include:
Sign Design and Wayfinding Location Planning
Thoughtful, attractive systems that help residents and visitors get around while reinforcing a sense of place.
Community Branding
A full visual identity and logo system for your town or region, crafted through research, engagement, and storytelling.
Tourism Development & Destination Marketing
Campaigns and strategies that increase visitation and generate local revenue.
Economic Development Strategy
Targeted plans that grow small businesses, attract investment, and support local entrepreneurs.
Park and Trail Planning
Designs and master plans for public parks and spaces that encourage recreation, wellness, and community vitality.
Public Engagement
Effective, meaningful outreach to include your community every step of the way.
What’s Included in Our Services?
Here’s what you get when you partner with Destination by Design for Wayfinding Sign Design and Planning:
DbD will audit your sign inventory, evaluate traffic flow, and identify ways to enhance your existing system. No wayfinding signs yet? We’ll assess your goals and develop a comprehensive plan from the ground up.
We ensure a clear connection between signage and your community’s identity. We align the design of each sign type with your branding elements—colors, typography, logos, and messaging—creating a cohesive system that enhances visibility and strengthens local character. Whether you are improving the design of existing signs or developing a new wayfinding sign family, it will all reinforce your brand and tell a consistent story.
Our team creates fully custom sign families tailored to your community brand – from vibrant streets and lively sidewalks to scenic parks and winding trails, our wayfinding signs do more than guide. They ground people in the unique character of your community. Every placement, design, and detail reinforces a sense of place, ensuring visitors and locals alike feel connected to their surroundings.
We bring your community into the process through public meetings, focus groups, and surveys—utilizing local voices will help shape design and planning, while creating an opportunity for people to actively contribute. This will foster a sense of ownership and connection to the final the project.
We help ensure each sign type in your sign family is correctly scaled and compliant with local, state and federal government regulation. We work directly with DOT to develop an effective location plan that will benefit all users.
Time to bring your design to life! We can further develop your sign concept into precise, design intent drawings, ensuring every detail is ready for contractors to bid on. You’ll receive a bid-ready design package to hand off to fabricators, or let our team manage construction oversight for you.
With extensive experience in public procurement, DbD will streamline your projects bidding process, acting as a trusted extension of your team. Our expertise in contractor communication and sign design allows us to navigate complexities with precision, ensuring transparency, efficiency, and the best possible outcome. Once the project is awarded, DbD can take charge of contract administration—ensuring compliance, mitigating risks, and driving timely execution from start to finish.
What sets us apart?
We’re Planners and Place-Makers First
We’ll make sure that your wayfinding location plan and sign design will fit within your broader infrastructure and economic development strategy.
We Do Everything In-House
Planning, branding, design, contract oversight, and public engagement all happen under one roof.
We Exclusively Serve Government Clients
We understand how communities function and how visitors interact with your local economy.
We Think Long-Term
Your signage systems will be built to scale, grow, and develop with your town.
We Care About Public Trust
Your community will drive the design and plan. We are just a tool to help you make it all work and look the best it possibly can.
Who We Serve
We work with public sector leaders who want to make a lasting difference in their communities. Our clients are doers and change-makers who know that a well-planned project can drive long-term impact.
Our typical partners include:
- Economic Development Directors
- City and County Planners
- Main Street Managers
- Downtown Development Directors
- Tourism and Destination Marketing Organizations
- Parks and Recreation Departments
- Regional Planning Councils
From rural counties to growing metro regions, we’re proud to help civic leaders design with purpose and build with clarity.
Why Destination by Design?
We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all planning. Every place is different, so we listen first, research deeply, and involve the public in shaping solutions that actually work.
Turnkey Approach
We handle everything from strategy to final design. No need to juggle vendors.
Community-Centered
We build buy-in through public engagement that’s real.
Design-Driven
Our creative team brings your brand and signage to life in a way that looks great and functions well.
Rooted in Impact
Everything we do is focused on results: more visitors, stronger local identity, and better places to live and visit.
When it comes to transforming communities, our job is to make your job easier.
FAQs
We work with cities, counties, regional partnerships, state agencies, and tourism organizations of all sizes.
Yes. We frequently assist clients in identifying grants and building out capital investment strategies.
It typically includes research, stakeholder engagement, visual identity development, and a full brand style guide with logo files and messaging.
Every community is different, but most projects take between 4–8 months from planning through final design.
We provide both planning and implementation. We design with construction in mind and can guide your team through installation and rollout phases.
Looking for something specific?
Here’s how we can help:
- Strategic Planning for Parks, Trails & Downtowns
- Custom Wayfinding Signage Systems
- Place-Based Economic Development Plans
- Community and Regional Branding Packages
- Tourism Development & Marketing Support
FAQs
Timelines vary by size and complexity, but most projects can take 6–18 months from branding and strategy, through design and construction.
Yes. While our in-house team of landscape architects and engineers handle the design and construction documents, we work with trusted fabrication partners to take your project all the way to completion with construction oversight services. We offer a turn-key solution.
Absolutely. If you already have branding, we’ll incorporate it. If not, we specialize in developing fully custom and unique community brands. From there, we implement your new or existing brand into our sign design process. This is how your brand comes to life in the built environment.
Any sign in a wayfinding sign family we’ve done it: vehicular, pedestrian, downtown signage kiosks and maps park signage, including trailhead markers, trail signage and confidence markers, interpretive signage, gateway monuments, and more.
Yes—we often begin projects by reviewing and assessing existing signage to understand what’s working and what’s not. This helps avoid reinventing the wheel.
Let’s Build Something That Lasts
Your community has potential. We help you unlock it.
If you’re ready to take the next step—whether it’s a trail system that connects your town or a brand that finally reflects who you are—we’d love to talk.
