Channel Lettering – LED The Way to Go

There are several types of fascia signs (storefront signs) and some sub-categories, all of which have their place in the world of signs.  The type of business you are in usually dictates the type of sign and the budget for that sign.  High-end retail stores prefer top-of-the-line signage with big price tags.  They are often large channel letters internally lit by LED’s. It’s not hard to see who’s raking in the money!

At the other end of the spectrum is a small industrial shop which must  be identified but doesn’t need illumination or fancy designs.  Here we can suggest a face and frame sign which is similar to an illuminated sign box but without the box. It’s a professional looking sign without the expense of a fabricated box or electrical components.  At ICSigns, we can help you choose the right sign for your needs and your budget.

So, let’s start at the top of the scale – Channel letters.  Usually 5-6” deep with an  acrylic face and internally illuminated.  These used to be predominantly lit by Neon tubes but the expense of keeping Neon working has soured many people on that product.  Many manufacturers refuse to make Neon – lit signs any more because of the potential for damage before the sign is even installed.  LED is so much more reliable, durable and economical.  Like many things that are better for us, LD’s cost more to purchase but the cost savings in power and reduced maintenance costs far outweigh the additional up-front cost.  Power requirements are low as all the energy is turned into light, not heat, as is the case in incandescent or, to a lesser extent, fluorescent and Neon.

Channel letter bodies are usually metal, formed around a template and welded to complete the outline of the letter.  Then a back of metal or wood and a front of acrylic are applied to give it rigidity.  As an added attraction, some channel letters allow light to shine through the back of the letter creating a halo effect on the wall behind.  Another twist is the use of a translucent plastic body through which light shines to give another version of a halo effect.  All of these have their place according to the requirements of the customer.  As is usually the case, the fancier the lettering / lighting / layout, the more expensive the sign will be.  However, I would consider channel letters to be one of the most effective signs for a fascia sign.  The letters are bold and individually lit which makes for a most legible sign.

In future blogs, I’ll discuss other types of fascia signs.  In the meantime, I’d love to get your feedback. What kind of sign do you find most compelling?  Here on this blog, we offer comment luv. That’s great for all you bloggers out there.  When you leave a comment, you can add a link back to your own Blog! That’s great for Search Engine Optimization. But you don’t have to be a blogger to leave a comment. We want to hear from everyone!

Happy Signing,

Drew

ICSigns is a “Cut” Above

If you remember my last blog post, we talked about pylon signs and how their function is to stand out by the roadside and guide customers to your door.  Storefont (or Fascia) signs are the next step in guiding our customers to our place of business.   Once the prospect or client is on the property, the fascia signs now guide the customer to our door.  It can have a little more information than the pylon sign, as the potential customer is now a more ‘static’ audience than someone viewing the pylon sign.  However, if the fascia sign is the only means of attracting customers (for example no pylon sign exists) then my mantra `the best sign says the least` or KISS  – Keep it short and simple is the way to go.  I often think of a fascia sign as the headline on the front page of a newspaper.  At the top is the name of the newspaper in bold lettering and below is the day’s headline.  This is how your sign should look.

Let’s assume we already have a pylon sign and we are now designing our fascia sign.  What is the most important information we can put on it?  Certainly the name of the company is the most important and should dominate the available space.  If the product you sell is not incorporated in the company name, then certainly a one or two word description of your business is desirable.  For example, ‘Feckle Brothers’ could be the name of the business but if the products the Feckle Brothers sell is specialty hardware, then that should also be on the sign.

Phone numbers and/or a web address can also be added in case people are visiting outside your regular business hours.  Beyond this, any more information is just going to clutter the sign, reduce the space for more important information and reduce its over all effectiveness.  Here are two examples: One of a good fascia sign and the other one of a cluttered fascia sign.

Most leased properties have an existing fascia sign on which the lessee can put their graphic.  If the previous tenant had vinyl lettering on the sign, we can usually effectively remove the old lettering, clean up the acrylic and apply new lettering.  There are two advantages to this:

1. The cost of new acrylic is avoided (normally the cost of cleaning off old lettering is only an hour or so of  labour),
2. It keeps the acrylic out of the landfill – something we should all be concerned about in this age of recycling.

New fascia signs can be of several different varieties:

• Illuminated sign box
• Channel letter, illuminated or not
• Face & Frame
• Flat-cut metal or plastic letters

…to name but a few.  I will be elaborating more on the different type of Fascia signs in my next post.

Some landlords require that all fascia signs in a plaza be of a particular variety so that there is some uniformity throughout the plaza.  Typically, when a landlord dictates a type of signage, it is illuminated channel letters.  We’ve seen more of this lately and while it sometimes forces the tenant to re-think the sign budget, there is a definite benefit.  With all the signs being of a similar type, the quality of signage is usually higher and “budget” signage that could bring down the over-all image of the plaza is avoided. You can look forward to many years in a plaza with high standards.

In summary, Fascia signs are the “headline” above your place of business.  They should give a brief but effective hint as to what lies inside.  Keep it short and simple so that it can be recognized quickly.

We, at Instant Custom Signs, have been making fascia signs for over 17 years.  If you have a fascia sign project or a problem you would like to discuss, let me know.  I’ll be happy to pass on any useful  information .

Also, please feel free to leave comments and suggestions here on our blog.  And here on this blog, we offer comment luv. That’s great for all you bloggers out there.  When you leave a comment, you can add a link back to your own Blog! That’s great for Search Engine Optimization. But you don’t have to be a blogger to leave a comment. We want to hear from everyone!

Happy Signing,

Drew

Pylon Signs Help Drive Business To Your Door

That monument, ground or pylon sign standing outside your building should be a reflection of your image and brand.  I once read, “A business without a sign is a sign of no business”.  True enough.  Not many businesses can survive without a sign to direct traffic to their doors unless they are a web-based company that relies on other methods.  Not so the larger retail companies we recognize regularly.  Shell, Esso, MacDonalds as well as The Bay, Sears, Canadian Tire and other bastions of retail excellence.  Their pylon signs are not the only things that bring customers to their doors but it is an important part of the corporate strategy.  It reflects the brand and broadcasts for blocks, where you should turn in.

Not every company can afford a huge pylon sign like the major corporations.  But it still must be a part of the corporate strategy.  Many companies share space on a pylon sign with other tenants or condo owners.  While your space may be limited, don’t give up on making the most of what is available to you.  This means maximizing the available space.  Let’s say you are negotiating a lease for a building in which you share space on a pylon sign.  Try to negotiate with the landlord to increase the number of places or size of space available on the sign. If part of the sign is vacant, you might be able to negotiate using that space until the vacant space is required.  There are benefits to both parties here.  You gain extra signage for the beginning of the lease (when it is most important for customers to find you) and the landlord’s property will appear fully occupied (which benefits all the tenants since prosperity begets prosperity).  I remember my days in the gas station business when, if a station had no customers, we advised the managers to park a car or two at the pumps. You’d be surprised how this technique brought customers onto the lot!  An empty lot looks deserted and forbidding.  But a lot with cars on it attracts other customers.

How much information should go on a pylon sign?  As little as possible!  Remember my mantra: “The best sign says the least.”  Certainly the name and logo of the company must be the largest and most prominent items displayed.  After that, any further information will only detract from the main message.  The pylon sign is there to broadcast who you are and where you are, not give out a lot of information about your company.  There are other vehicles for that.

Let’s talk about the layout of the logo and company name on the pylon.  Sometimes, the configuration of the sign does not allow you to lay out the name and/or logo in the normal fashion.  Unless you are designing and building a pylon sign for your own purpose, be prepared to re-configure the layout to maximize the available space.  For example, your logo may quite square but the available space is long and thin.  If you don’t allow the designer to change the layout of the logo/name, it will be very small and very hard to see from a distance. That’s a short-sighted policy.  I’ve seen this happen in many instances where a corporation, with strict rules on how the name and logo can be displayed, moves into a rented property. The head office refuses to bend on the  layout of the sign.  The result is a smaller than expected presence on the sign and an ineffective sign.

Here at ICSigns, we can help you design and install a great pylon sign for your business. We have the expertise and experience to help you drive business to your door!

In summary:

• Be prepared to negotiate additional space for a short period of time
• Be flexible on the layout so that you maximize the space available
• Only put the essential information on the sign – name and logo

Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions here on our blog.  And here on this blog, we offer comment luv. That’s great for all you bloggers out there.  When you leave a comment, you can add a link back to your own Blog! That’s great for Search Engine Optimization. But you don’t have to be a blogger to leave a comment. We want to hear from everyone!

Happy Signing,

Drew

Signs, Signs, everywhere is signs…

Blocking out the scenery, breaking my mind…

And so the song goes.   Sure, signs can block out the scenery but they can also carry a message beneficial to the audience and hopefully, profitable for the advertiser.   Signs are a great way to advertise your product or service but, like anything else, if improperly executed, things can go horribly wrong.    Have you ever wondered what goes into a really great sign and how to get the biggest bang for your buck?

Hi, I’m Drew Brims.  Welcome to my blog! I am the owner of Instant Custom Signs in Brampton, Ontario.
IC Signs has been operating since 1992 and we are passionate about our business and our customers.  I look forward to sharing lots of ideas with you with respect to signage.

The way I see it, there are two basic categories of signs:

1. Signs that are designed to attract attention,
2. Signs that are designed to inform.

The first should be used to create or build brand awareness (perhaps a billboard), create interest in your product or service or draw attention to your location (as in a storefront sign). These signs are usually only able to catch the audience’s attention for a second or two.

The second category is located where the audience has more time to review and digest the information. This might be a menu of items on sale with price points or discounts, a Restaurant menu or perhaps a list of services available at a particular place of business.

Since the layout of the second category is not as critical as the first, let’s deal with the first – Attention grabbing signs. Any sign that does not convey the message it was designed to, is a waste of space and money.

Here are 3 helpful tips to remember when designing your sign!

Brevity :

TMI (Too Much Information) is not just part of the modern vernacular, it’s relevant to our discussion on signs. My mantra is, ‘the best sign says the least’.   If your audience is driving past your sign, how much time do people have to read and digest the information? A second or two? Ten seconds? Perhaps more if your sign is located where traffic is stopped for traffic lights or a stop sign.   If not, the main message of the sign should scream out one or two words at the  most:

The object of the sign is to get customers to visit your business in person or visit your website or call you on the phone), not to list products and services. That’s the job of sign category two.    Take a look up above at the Instant Custom Signs logo, you will see that ”SIGNS” is the largest word in the logo.  No confusion over what we sell.  It makes our job a lot easier when designing signs for ourselves.  We have the name, the logo and what we do all in one package, ready to go.

Clarity :

Some signs have such powerful background designs that the main message is overpowered and lost. Technology exists today that allows us to efficiently decorate a space on screen that looks very beautiful. Then we add the message (company name or product or service) and think we have a terrific-looking sign.   Beware!  What looks good on the screen does not always make for a readable sign.   Background colors and patterns can add zip to the sign but too much can overpower the message.  There has to be a balance.

Layout :

When sitting down to design a sign, rather than starting with the background, try starting with the message.    This is the most important information on the sign.  Remember – one or two words.   Brevity is our friend!  It should be the largest and most noticeable element on the sign.   After locating it in the most prominent position, we can add contact information, preferably only one. It can either be location, phone number or web address but definitely not all three.

Finally, we can add in the background.  It’s important to take a critical look at the entire sign to ensure it is balanced, conveys the message you want and can be read and digested in a very short period of time.

Of course, size matters.   The bigger the sign, the more effective the message and the wider the audience. In a future blogs, I will get into these items in more detail and talk about the visibility of different sizes of letters from a distance.

I’m looking forward to your feedback!