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THE SIGN BLOG: 5 IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS WHEN CHOOSING YOUR SIGN SUPPLIER (Part 2)

23/4/2013

5 Comments

 
Picture
"design matters"
As initial conversation starters here on the Sign Blog, I’m focusing on 5 important considerations when choosing a sign supplier: Reputation, Design, Capability, Price and Service.  This is the second part of the conversation:

Let’s talk about DESIGN...


Yes, I agree (to a point): Great design, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. 

Apparently researchers have discovered that those of us who have partners view them extremely favourably in the ‘looks’ department, overlooking beer bellies, wonky noses and third eyes (OK, I admit it, I made that last one up).  Consequently, we believe our other halves are better looking than they actually appear to everyone else.  If this research is true, I for one am extremely grateful that my wife is under its influence!

When it comes to great sign design, however, we at the Sign Blog think there are other aspects to consider; cosmetic and otherwise:

Cosmetically, there’s colour.  Red, for example, represents strength, power and determination.  Yellow:  wisdom, warmth and energy.  Blue: trustworthiness, reliability and integrity.  Black: authority, formality… and death (fine if you’re a funeral director, but a no-no for a medical centre, don’t you think!).   What values are your signs communicating to your clients through your brand’s colours? 

In terms of layout, there’s the sign’s function to consider.  For example, if you want to communicate a message from a sign that’s going to be positioned 50 metres from the freeway, there’s absolutely no point including 50mm high text (unless you’re handing out free binoculars as part of a promotion!).  Note: I hope to share more about the distance viewing of signs in a later article.

Finally (for now), in terms of the sign’s structure there’s the material question (a subject I will definitely return to!).  Perth gets hot.  And yet I’m staggered how regularly I see signs made from materials that clearly aren't fit for purpose and – surprise, surprise – warp in the heat.  In my opinion there should be a law against such miss-selling of product – but perhaps I’m biased!

So, how important is a sign supplier’s ability to understand all of these design-related matters on your behalf?  Does it matter, or is a sign ‘just’ a sign at the end of the day? 

I look forward to discussing this with you here on the Sign Blog.

Darrel

5 Comments
Deacon link
23/4/2013 01:20:54 pm

Sign design is critical. A majority of sign shops I've consulted with still take pride in their work and have their team sign the signs (inside) as they go through production out to completed/finished install. These are signs that are crafted and take a lot of skill from concept (with the designer) through to completion (cutting, welding, paint, vinyl, power/lighting and installation).

It's surprising (and a little sad) how often sign companies barely skim by on a job and often take a loss on the big projects (just to keep busy) and people still shout about how expensive the sign is; this is crazy when they think about how that expensive sign will last the business 15+ years, compared to the signs which need to be replaced every five (or fewer) years, the expense doesn't seem like much)..

Glad to see others out there working to educate the public on what makes a good sign.

Reply
Darrel link
7/5/2013 02:41:38 am

Deacon, thanks for your comments. The difficulty is convincing the buyer to spend more on the sign. Not easy in today's disposable world! For those of us in sales, the necessity to promote a product's USPs is perhaps greater than ever. In defence of the buyer (yes, really!), perhaps it is inevitable that he or she will choose the cheapest option if the USPs of all the products aren't clearly outlined?

Reply
Josie Simmonds link
23/4/2013 02:55:38 pm

I find the amazing thing about the 'beauty in the beholder' concept you raise Darrel, is that whilst it applies to 'partners', it rarely applies to oneself! When looking in the mirror my personal experience (and that of many of my friends) is that people generally dislike what they see looking back at them.

So, using this analogy, does the same apply to sign design? Are we overly critical of our own designs yet only see merit in others? Personally I don’t think the parallel sticks – most of us can quickly judge those signs that are littered with way too much information or over-designed for example, whether from within our own organisations or not. I agree with Deacon that the skill is in the crafting, and design as a craft is equally as important (arguably more so) than production. If the design isn’t right, no matter how amazing the sign ends up it will still be a sub-standard result.

After all that pontificating what’s the bottom line … employ experienced sign designers who DO care what a sign looks like … simple eh?!

Reply
D. Erich Fenton
26/4/2013 11:08:36 am

A sign is the greatest advocate for your business to the local public.

Reply
Custom Furniture link
17/5/2013 10:44:19 am

We should target the local client's as well as Global Clients. This is the great idea to determine the growth of the business..

Reply



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