Imagine going to a restaurant and noticing that their sign is full of bird nests.  Makes you wonder what else they are not maintaining, doesn’t it? If the sign is covered in dust and dirt, or broken, or missing pieces, will the customers have confidence in your business?

There are many new materials coming on the market today that have excellent weatherability.  Some manufacturers today are guaranteeing for life their plastics against fading or cracking.

The new LEDs are much longer-lasting than neon. LEDs also use less power.

While a great sign will bring customers, a poorly maintained sign will drive them away.  Make sure the materials to used in your new sign will last as long as you need them to.

When you have signs, inspect them regularly for cleanliness, aging and operability.  Don’t put off ordering a new sign if the old one makes you look bad.

There are at least two sets of criteria to be aware of.

Special Rules for Special Areas

Often business parks, historical areas and other developments will have their own sign criteria that are stricter than the city’s.  Be sure to check with your property manager or the city itself to find out if there is a sign criteria or “architectural overlay” before relying strictly on the city’s requirements.  Part of the approval exercise may include signoff by your landlord or property manager.

City Rules

The second item is the city itself.  You can avoid a lot of time and frustration by calling their planning department in advance and find out what is required.  You have the option of appealing the local sign code, called a “variance,” but be prepared for long waits and lots of work and frustration.

If there is one best area to plan ahead, this is it.  Cities are getting stricter about what sort of signs they will allow outside.  It is best to find out what they will accept early in the process of creating your signage.

Sure, you want to stand out from the crowd. But be sure to temper your enthusiasm by maintaining harmony with your sign’s setting.  You don’t want to look like a pair of brown shoes in a tuxedo store!

Consider the other signs near your business.  Some of the beach communities prefer sand-blasted wood signs.  Some areas featuring lots of restaurants will be predominated by lighted dimensional signs.  Often you can stand out by having a simple but elegant sign, a great design or materials no one else is using.

Select a design that reflects the key strength of your company that your customers most value.  An outside designer or good sign company to help you achieve this balance.

TMM - Too Many Messages

When you want a sign for your business, you need to avoid two major problems:

TMM – Too Many Messages

We are barraged by thousands of messages daily.  Not only have we become good at absorbing lots of data, we are good at tuning out obnoxious messages.  Often a good, crisp presentation is best.

TMI – Too Much Information

You don’t need to inform your clientele of everything you can do. You just want to capture their interest to the point that they come in.  Maximum should be three to five words.  Leave 30 – 40% of your sign area blank.

Remember, distill your message to where you make your point with as few words as possible.  If you can’t fit your message on a bumper sticker, you have too many words.

If they can't see your sign, it isn't there.

Your business’s external outdoor signs should be of sufficient height and size without being obscured by objects such as trees, lampposts and so on.

Its content, both text and logo, must be legible.  It must stand out from its background.

If you hope that drivers and passengers in cars will see your sign, refer to this chart when selecting the size of your sign(s):

A sign has less than two seconds to capture a consumer’s attention. Remember these tips:

• simple message
• direct message
• highly visible letters
• easy-to-read type styles
• illumination
• contrasting colors
• The most readable background colors are white and yellow
• The most readable letters are black, dark blue and red
• a border can help your viewer absorb your information 26% faster

If you customers can’t see your sign, all is lost. Make sure your sign stands out and shows up!

We at Sign Clemente like to  take a look at why some outdoor signs fail so we can ensure that yours don’t.  Take a look at the photo.  These letters are what is called in the industry, “foam and plex”, meaning that they are made of acrylic (“plex”) laminated to foam.   We make lots and lots of outdoor signs out of these materials.   It is hard to say what ruined  these outdoor sign letters, it could have been the weather, but in Southern California, it is doubtful.   Birds like to peck at foam sometimes, and that is the more likely scenario .
What can be done to prevent this?  We like to add a stucco finish to the edges of the foam on outdoor signs.   Stucco finishes are really just thick paint that has been mixed with sand.  The rough edges give the letters a creative-looking texture, but more importantly, the coating provides a great deal more protection against hostile elements than paint alone.  Birds don’t enjoy pecking at stucco, and the thicker coating is just more durable.

Metal Letters and Outdoor Signs

Another way to prevent sign failure with outdoor signs is by going with metal letters.  Sure they do cost more, but they last a lifetime.  The industry used to incur failures when metal letters were made of sheet metal.   Sheet metal is a soft alloy that usually has a galvanized coating.  However, it is primarily a ferrous metal and can rust even with the best paint job when used for outdoor signs.  Sometimes you see rusting letters with streaks of rust running down the wall.  Not a pretty sight!  That sign owner would be better off without outdoor signs, because a failing sign like that represents a failing business in the mind of a would-be customer.

The best prevention of  rusty  outdoor signs is aluminum.  Sign Clemente rarely uses sheet metal these days, relying on aluminum.  This metal is more expensive, especially because its manufacture is so labor intensive.  However, paint sets up well on aluminum and it will never rust.  And speaking of paint, we like to use automotive-grade enamels that look great and last for years and years on outdoor signs.
Another failing that we all see often is when  neon outdoor signs becomes defective.  Sometimes the entire sign goes completely dark, but more often you see some of the letters lit, and some out.  When you see a neon sign partially out for weeks and week, you have to wonder how well the sign owner manages its business.  The cause can be several things:  detoriorating wiring, broken or cracked neon or just a transformer that has finally failed.   It often takes a sign installer hours to repair a neon sign by the time he diagnoses the problem and runs off to secure the replacement parts and reinstall.

Who Turned Out The Lights in Those Outdoor Signs?

The remedy for neon failure is LED lighting.  We rarely use neon either.  Not only do LEDs require about 1/10th the power, but they are much more reliable when used for outdoor signs.  You can expect to have problems with your neon sign in about three to five years.  However, LEDs are usually rated for at least 100,000 hours.  Even if one or two LEDs go out, there are enough LEDs in a letter to disguise the fact that one has failed.

Having great-looking and long-lasting outdoor signs requires a little planning and sometimes a bit more investment up front.  But the payback is outdoor signs that keep on selling for you day in and day out for years to come.

Postscript:  You just might get a kick out of this blog from Signs of the Times Magazine:

It’s Better Outdoors | Signs of the times

For years, I’ve been driving past this sign that appears to be in the process of being swallowed by the tree it’s nailed to. Finally today I stopped to take a photo, and I discovered there are at least three of the  outdoor signs.

Publish Date: 02/28/2012 22:08

http://blogs.ldnews.com/outdoors/2012/02/29/signs-of-the-times/

Why?  Consider these facts:  Since 1997, a group of 488 Southern California businesses collectively polled their 7,200 first-time customers asking how they found out about them.

Here are the results:

• Your  Outdoor Signs -  46%
• Word of Mouth  -  38%
• Newspaper Ads  – 7%
• Yellow Pages – 6%
• Radio Commercial – 2%
• Television Commercial – 1%

Clearly two conclusions about outdoor signs jump out:

1. Their outdoor signs were effectively speaking to potential customers.
2. Signs are the most effective form of advertising for the small and independent businessperson who has a public store or office.

When buying outdoor signs, don’t be too concerned about how much you can save on outdoor signs. Be more concerned about how you can bring in more paying customers. If you do that, the signage will pay for itself many times over.

What’s more, outdoor signs work for you 24/7, never need a break, never get sick and rarely need maintenance.  If you amortize the cost of a sign over its ten year useful life, you find that outdoors signs are a bargain indeed!

*Signtronix Survey, 2003

See what others are writing about outdoor signs:

The Differences between LED Outdoor Signs and Indoor Signs …

The Differences between LED Outdoor Signs and Indoor Signs There is a vast array of.

Publish Date: 02/17/2012 3:45

http://source4signs.com/myblog/?p=1321

Orange County Signs on the Cheap?

Often businesspeople buy signs as an afterthought.  They wait until their budget is nearly cleaned out and attempt to get away with buying the cheapest Orange County signs they can get away with.  These are signs you can’t afford.  If you are not confident that your new sign will pay for itself, then your wasting your money.

The purpose of Orange County signs is to attract new customers, brand your location in the minds of consumers and create impulse sales.  A sign is often the only visible cue that a business exists!  Therefore, it should be to predominant feature of your building.

Consider the case of Frenchy’s Bistro, opened by a husband and wife in the mid-1990’s.  It is located on a four-lane road with lots of traffic in Southern California.  After healthy growth, revenues leveled off at $250 thousand and wouldn’t budge.  They attracted a local clientele from the immediate neighborhood and were known as “that restaurant next to the paint store.”  Their signage was so poor, that they were not bringing in hungry passing motorists.

A friend suggested a better sign.  They selected a V-shaped sign, internally illuminated,  to mount to the side of their building.

Great Success with Great Orange County Signs

The result?  Their sales grew 16% in the first year.  Sales in the second year increased to 32%.  By the fourth year, they expanded into a space next door and grew a total of 322% or over $823,000.

The Hot Tip with Orange County Signs

Tip: Spend time and money to ensure you have Orange County signs that make a positive impression on your marketplace. Your Orange County signs should be conspicuous, reflective of your company’s look and feel, and remain easy for your customer to recall.

 And take a look: Terrible Restaurant Signs –

Terrible Restaurant Signs. In: Fun. 9 Feb 2012. Share. Whether it’s getting lost in translation or due to an overall lack of intelligence, the following restaurants failed when it came to Orange County Signs…

Publish Date: 02/09/2012 8:29

http://www.antaresonline.com/2012/02/09/terrible-restaurant-signs/

And that’s it for Orange County Signs!

What are those Irvine Signs?

 Spectrum has three new Irvine signs.  The photo shows non-illluminated acrylic on foam that rises above their entrance.  A proud and exquisite look!  The other two Irvine signs face the freeway.  Both are lighted  Irvine signs using power saving white LED’s.  One is for Spectrum Wine Auctions, the other is for Spectrum International.

Shining Irvine Signs

Lots of studies show that Irvine signs can be the best marketing investment a company can make.  Think of the thousands of pairs of eyes that will see those shining Irvine signs as they travel up the freeway.   These  signs will be invaluable for years to come for establishing market presence.  Survey after survey shows that business report getting more new customers from their signs than radio, print advertising, television or direct mail.  Further, the cost per contact, which is defined as each time someone sees your message, is absolutely the least expensive of all.

See our guest blog on another Irvine sign:

Irvine Signs | Irvine Signage

An article about lighted signs in Irvine CA for OC Bumper & Body.

Publish Date: 01/02/2012 12:44

http://cityscoop.us/lakeforestca-signage/2012/01/02/new-lighted-irvine-sign-oc-bumper-body/

Honeywell International bought out Sperian Safety Products which required the latter to need new signs: specifically lobbys signs.  So who did Honeywell turn to when they needed new signs?  Why Sign Clemente of course.  Honeywell’s lobby signs are fairly simple, although they are fairly specific as to their color matching.  For Honeywell’s lobby signs, we went with 1/2″ thick PVC sheeting enameled white.  Then we used acrylic for the letters for their lobby signs.

Add Dimension to Your Lobby Signs

Adding thickness to lobby signs elements adds dimension and makes the the sign more interesting.  A back panel like the one you see in the photo adds the right background color instead of relying on whatever the color of the wall happens to be.  In this case, a clean white background provides the most pop for their lobby signs.  The letters are 3/4″ thick for these lobby signs making the name “Honeywell” prominent.  Because the letters “Safey Products” are smaller, we went with 1/4″ thick letters.  One thing about dimension and lobby signs:  if letters are too thick, they become difficult to read from an angle.

The Right Materials for the Right Lobby Signs

The right materials can mean the difference between great lobby signs and mediocre lobby signs.  We like acrylic because of its durability, its clean edge when cut from a router, and the way enamel paints look.  For lobby signs, we call acrylic the “king of the plastics”.   For the back panel, PVC works well for lobby signs.  Because PVC sheeting is injected with air, it weighs less than other materials, so the entire sign is lighter and the danger of the sign weighing too heavily on the wall is not a factor.   Receptionists often worry about the lobby signs right behind them coming down during an earthquake!

Read a little history about Honeywell….  Interesting how much their products touch our lives.

And read what our friends in San Jose are writing about lobby signs:

What kind of Lobby Sign? Lobby signs- Revisited

http://www.esanjosesigns.com/blog/bid/46802/What-kind-of-Lobby-Sign-Lobby-signs-Revisited

Office Lobby Signs

Now take a look at some great looking lobby signs.  See one that you would like in your office or lobby?  Give Sign Clemente a call!

Thanks for reading about our lobby signs!