Environmental Interpretation Panels

Welcome to Shelley Signs. We are a leading supplier of external signs and panels with a particular expertise in Environmental Interpretation panels. For a chat about the options phone Robert Shelley on 01743 460996 or to request more details complete this Enquiry Form

Shelley Signs offer a full service for Interpretation Signs – please follow these links for more information about our in-house design,  submitting your own artwork, Framing Options, materials and general guidance about Interpretive Boards. Guidance on maps and popular styles can be found at the Maps link.

Interpretation signs or panels are an important way to help not only inform the general public about places of interest but educate them on the significance of the area. 

These types of signs are normally located outside, in areas such as nature reserves, rural open spaces and country parks. In some cases, they can also be found in certain urban areas where there are Better Welcome projects. A Better Welcome project is designed to help encourage visitors to stay longer and spend more whilst also and more importantly increasing visitor satisfaction. 

At Shelley Signs, our skilled and dedicated design team understand that high-quality graphic design is a key component when striving to produce attractive and inviting environmental interpretation panels. These types of panels should consist of no more than 150-200 words, contain clear themes and are well written. 

Environmental interpretation panels usually provide information for families with children, the panels should be inviting and exciting whilst conveying messages quickly, if more information is required this can be found in leaflets or on websites. The illustrations and maps shown on the panels are an extremely important part of the design; most signs of this type include watercolour illustrations and photographs. 

If our clients already have the print artwork we can just provide the Environmental Interpretation Signs. Our clients can rest assured that all our signs are manufactured to the highest standards to ensure that they are weather, UV and vandalism resistant and will the colours will not fade. 

Illustrations for Environmental Interpretive signs vary depending on the location of the sign; a sign can illustrate an individual species right the way through to collages of woodlands, ponds or meadows. A majority of our clients prefer watercolour illustrations although if provided by our client we can work with photographs. Photographs can be expensive but there are a variety of freelance photographers that can provide striking collections of images within a reasonable and realistic price range. 

Through our many years of experience, we have discovered the key to a well-received and used interpretation panel in the style of a map. There are a variety of maps you can choose from, starting with a simple flat map right the way through to a highly complex bird’s eye view map. Those visitors who have little or no experience in map reading find a bird’s eye view map the easiest to read and understand whilst also finding it the most attractive. 

The surrounding frame structure is also key to producing a high-quality interpretive panel. There are a variety of framing styles we have to offer including lectern or vertical post mounted frames made of Oak, softwood or steel. For those interpretative signs for rural and environmental locations, these signs can be mounted on stone cairns or bollards if our client chooses. These signs are a low impact on the environment whilst still looking inviting and providing the necessary information. All our signs are fully encapsulated, this is to ensure there are no water leaks and no pealing of the graphics occurs.