SIGNS OF THE TIMES – FLOOR GRAPHICS

Are Floor Graphics the New Kid on the Block?

Well, not really. Floor graphics have been around for a while. But it’s fair to say that they have really come into their own during the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of their key benefits is their versatility as a temporary sign solution in high traffic areas. Let’s face it, we often find ourselves looking down way more than we look up! Anamorphic graphics are also increasingly popular – read more below.

Floor graphics are popular in shopping centres, conventions, airports and other high traffic areas such as cafes and waiting rooms. They are great for brand awareness, wayfinding, safety signs and promotions. During this COVID-19 era they are very popular to assist with social distancing in queues and waiting areas. It is not always easy to work out 1.5 metres, especially when distracted by other factors.

Uses for Floor Graphics

Our team can assist with a range of floor graphics to suit your need. Because they are temporary in nature – floor graphics are ideal for promoting an event. See example above on Scarborough pavements that advertise the fringe arts events.

At Signs & Lines we recently used floor graphics to mark out the pedestrian walkways and safe zones in our factory. And in this way our visitors and non-manufacturing staff are kept away from machinery.

Floor graphics are typically printed in full digital colour onto a removable self-adhesive vinyl. There are optional extras such as anti-slip and scuff resistant laminate on top. The vinyl used will depend on the intended lifespan of the graphic. This maybe a month or a year. There are a couple of extra finishes, such as UV or grafitti protection, that may be required depending on the environment.

The graphics can be die-cut to any custom size or shape. This is only limited by your imagination!

Surface preparation is key. As a result of good prep and ideally the floor should be a smooth sealed surface, like painted concrete, tiles or laminated floors. The better the floor preparation, the better results that will be achieved.

Anamorphic Graphics

What is anamorphic art?

Put simply, anamorphic art is a warped projection of an image. It is designed in such a way that it only becomes recognisable from a certain viewing perspective or angle.

An optical illusion is created where the two-dimensional image is processed in the brain as a three-dimensional image.

Floor graphics and artworks are most commonly used for the anamorphic medium. The image options are endless. Typically there will be an ‘interactive’ place where people pose for photos to see the perspectives at their best.

In 2019 we completed a series of anamorphic graphics for City of Stirling’s ‘illegal dumping’ campaign. Illegal dumping costs the City of Stirling more than $500,000 every financial year so the campaign was designed to focus residents on better waste management options.

The objective of the campaign was to encourage residents to dispose of their mattresses, white goods, PCs and e-waste using the City’s proper waste facilities. A series of floor graphics were designed by our team and carefully installed across footpaths, pavements and high footfall locations. The graphics extended to 3 metres long and were die-cut to shape. Extensive prototyping was required to find the perspective ‘sweet spot’!

A photographic ‘spot’ was installed to encourage people to take photos. As a result, people could post to social media platforms such as Facebook.

Getting Floor Graphics into Perspective

Our in-house design team did their due diligence to ensure realistic anamorphic designs. This is a painstaking process involving trial and error. As a result of the sample process the perfect image emerged. Some of the factors that influenced the final designs included:-

Type of Image – in this case popular images of fridges, freezers, PCs and mattresses!;
Image contouring – the way the image lent itself to the anamorphic design from the viewing spot;
Image scale – for pavements and footpaths the scale of the image needed to elongate into the space available;
Floor graphic size – relative to the viewing angles;
Type of floor surface – ie concrete, pavers, stone, brick.

Your Next Floor Graphic Project

Now’s the time to invest in Covid-19 social distancing floor graphics. So, whether you are looking for custom floor prints or an anamorphic design, our team can help! Contact us today for a price on any of our floor graphic kits.