Yes. We make bilingual school signs in NZ for early learning centres, kura, schools and tertiary campuses. Every macron is checked before anything is made, and we check the typeface displays macrons properly, because some fonts don’t. The wording needs to come from the right people. At Te Matapihi we worked with Tihei Māori and Extended Whānau throughout, and every macron was signed off before any vinyl went up.

For your site, that usually means working from wording signed off by your reo teachers, kaumātua, mana whenua or your institution’s Māori advisors. Bilingual signs are also now a common sight in schools and Universities.

See more bilingual and te reo Māori work on our Education Signage  page.

Yes. We make braille signs for schools, early learning centres, universities and polytechnics, using UV printed braille and raised lettering for room and facility signs.

We also laser cut accessible icons and make accessible parking and wayfinding signs. Tactile signs go at 1200mm to 1600mm so students, staff and visitors who are blind or have low vision can reach and read them.

See our braille and accessible signs alongside the rest of our  Education Signage range.

Good school sign design comes down to short words, strong contrast and one or two plain typefaces. Aim for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 between text and background, and choose matte finishes so lights don’t cause glare. As a guide, allow about 25mm of letter height for every 3 metres of viewing distance. That is about 50mm for a sign read from 6 metres, and about 100mm from 12 metres.

Children who can’t read yet need a picture or symbol as well as the words, and symbols also help international students and visitors on tertiary campuses. Don’t rely on colour alone. Colour coded zones only work for everyone if each zone also has a name, letter or icon, which also helps people who are colour blind.

For neurodivergent students, keep the wording direct, the layout the same from sign to sign, and the sign uncluttered. Tell people what to do, for example “Visitors, please sign in at reception”.

See some examples of and inspiration on designing and make signs for schools on our Education Signage  page.

Campus wayfinding signs work best where someone has to make a choice: the gate, the front door, corridor intersections, stairwells, car parks and the edge of the drop-off area. A sign that confirms the way at each of these points does more than a dozen signs in between.

Start with the route every visitor takes, from the gate to reception. Mount signs at adult eye level, keep braille and tactile signs between 1200mm and 1600mm so they can be reached and read by touch, and add picture signs at a child’s eye height in early learning and junior areas.

On larger campuses, put maps at every main arrival point, including bus stops and car parks, and make building names or numbers big enough to read from across the quad. Keep signs clear of doorways and door swings, and use the same format everywhere so it feels familiar.

Find out nore about  wayfinding for a education facilities on our education signage page.

School signage requirements in NZ start with two legal ones. Schools and early learning centres must display no smoking and no vaping notices at or immediately inside every entrance, and at the outer entrance to every building or enclosed area on site. Buildings covered by the Building Code also need exit signs, which can be externally lit, internally lit or photoluminescent.

Beyond that, most sites need an entrance sign, directions to reception or the front office, a site or campus map, room and building signs, car park and drop-off signs, and evacuation and assembly point signs. Universities and polytechnics set their own smokefree policies, and usually need more wayfinding because people arrive through many entrances, not one.

Requirements vary from site to site. We check what applies to yours at the site check, and your building consultant or council can confirm the rest.

See the full range on our education signage page, from entrance signs to room signs with braille.