Signage is a very tricky thing to get right. If you get it wrong, you risk sending out a completely wrong image to your customers. The way your sign looks should reflect what you do – for instance if you are a firm of lawyers then you’ll need to come across as conservative and trustworthy so a light-hearted cartoon-effect sign will look completely wrong. Getting your signage right is really important as once you design the logo and style, it will be replicated on your shop front, your fleet of company vehicles, your advertising and your online presence…the list is endless. Here is our guide to getting the perfect sign for your business:

Appoint a Designer

Don’t labor under the misconception that anybody can design a sign – they can’t. Even if you see yourself as pretty artistic, you will still benefit from the expertise of somebody that does it for a living. Finding a good designer is easy – just look around town at the signs you like and find out who designed them. Once you have found your designer, you’ll need to sit down and discuss your requirements and provide them with a detailed brief. They will ask you how you want to come across, what the demographic of your customer base is, and all sorts of other questions, so be ready with the answers.

The designer will go away and come up with several different ideas for you to choose from. Don’t agree to anything you don’t like – now is the time to make the changes. The process will take a while and there will be loads of proofs flying backwards and forwards, but sooner or later you will end up with a design that you are happy with. You’ll be asked to sign off the final proof before it goes to print, but before you do…

…Get It Proof Read

It’s vital that you show the final proof to a couple of people and ask them to check for errors. If a web address is wrong or a telephone number is a digit out you’ll kick yourself forever! Getting a fresh eye on the proof is a good idea because you will have looked at it so many times you may miss the smaller details. All of the spelling and punctuation should be perfect so make sure you show it to somebody that has a penchant for pedantry! Only when you are 100% satisfied that the sign is completely error-free should you give the go ahead.

Have It Made Up!

Your final step is to send the proof to a sign-writer or printer and ask them to make the sign up for you. There are many different methods of doing this, but they will advise you on the best one for you.

Once the sign is finished, the exciting job of putting it up at your premises is about to begin! Make a special occasion of it and have some staff and friends around to help you unveil it. You could even invite the local press!

Today’s feature writer, Frank Reid, is a part of the team at Vivid Signs and Graphics, a company specializing in an array of custom signs in Toronto. His hobbies include painting and calligraphy. Log on to vividsignsandgraphics.com to know more about his work.