To that end, we’re sharing 12 critical factors when choosing outdoor signs for businesses.
You may be visualizing illuminated business signs rising high off the ground with brilliant LED displays visible 24/7 from over 500 feet down the road in both directions. But is it permitted by your local municipality? And, once approved, does it comply with the rules put forth by the property management company of your building?
As noted in our FAQs on signs:
“Restrictions for signs differ between cities. Allowable square footage, mounting height and method, color and material, or timing of electronic changeable message signs are common parameters that need to be accounted for.”
Make sure the sign installation professionals you’re working with will facilitate such tasks as code research, ordinance and zoning requirements, and permit procurement. Ask if they will attend mandatory plan review meetings to ensure your sign meets all requirements.
View the sign codes and regulations section on the International Signs Association's (ISA) website to learn more about requirements.
As part of Lemberg’s 11-step sign selection process, a thorough code review is conducted by our sign professionals following the initial consultation and site survey. This ensures that what is envisioned will conform to all requirements and be permitted before sign design.
Outdoor business signs can serve multiple purposes. They serve as branding tools to attract new business. They also help facilitate impulse sales or guide customers to where you want them to go. Understanding the potential purpose of your sign and your customer's needs will help you discover what type of sign is best suited for your business and its location.
Signage budgets will vary based on elements specific to your brand, sign location and purpose including the type of sign, size, design, materials, fabrication, installation, mounting, and illumination. Other factors to consider for your overall budget planning include permitting, maintenance, repair, and service programs.
A well-planned and thought-out sign budget will help you avoid any surprises and ensure you achieve an excellent ROI on your investment for years to come.
Business signs fall under two categories: primary and secondary.
A primary sign is typically used for branding and displaying your company name and logo so potential customers can find and recognize you.
A secondary sign provides additional detail to help inform or guide external or internal audiences to the specific location, products, or services they’re looking for. This can include wayfinding or directional signage and may need to follow American With Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines.
The primary and secondary types of signs can then be displayed across various forms, including:
While choosing the type and form of sign for your purpose, you will also want to consider lighting and placement options that will enhance your signs and message.
Illuminating your signage will enhance the viewers ability to quickly consume its design and message. There are many ways to this end. Trust your sign professional to help you find the lighting that will best work with your brand. Here are a few popular trends for illumination:
Learn more about the types, applications, and illumination options of outdoor signs for businesses by downloading our free e-book: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing and Maintaining Business Signs.
Many factors influence the ideal placement for your business sign. Consider the following while scoping out the perfect placement for your outdoor sign:
Rely upon a professional sign company to help you find the ideal location and placement for your outdoor business sign. They will conduct a site survey early on in the process to ensure your sign installation meets all the above factors and necessary criteria.
Outdoor signs for businesses come in various shapes and sizes. The visibility and readability of your sign are, in part, determined by the sign area, which contains copy and other identifying elements, such as a logo and other distinguishing symbols. The letters and characters within the gross area of the sign must also be sized for optimal viewing by a potential customer who may be in transit.
Your sign professionals can help determine the proper size, type, and placement of your signage based upon the calculated potential viewing time while passing. For example, a sign viewer will travel 80 feet per second when moving at 55 miles per hour. Your sign professional can help you calculate the number of seconds and at what starting distance it will take for your sign to be read and understood.
The maximum viewing distance will determine the font size for your sign. Calculate roughly one inch of letter height for every ten feet of distance. A sign that needs to be readable from 200 feet will need 20-inch high letters.
When determining the optimum sign dimensions, you must also consider zoning and municipal codes governing such elements as sign area and height. You can find out size and height restrictions for outdoor business signs by researching your municipality's sign regulations, which are usually found on their website.
For example, the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, offers guidance for the types and sizes of signs on their page about freestanding signs. A reputable sign professional can guide you through this process.
Typography is another crucial factor impacting the aesthetic appeal and readability of a sign. As we’ve already noted, font types should be sized to meet a high level of legibility from the viewing distance. A script font, for example, demands a larger size letter to be easily read and understood.
Here are four elements of typography that factor into the design of outdoor signs for businesses:
The custom design process considers the strategic and stylistic use of typography to create highly legible and visually appealing business signage. The best sign designers work to ensure the typography of your sign will not only be highly readable but that it will connect with your audience and motivate them to action.
Every sign must have a purpose. For example, a sign could be used to point potential customers to specific locations or used as advertising tools to list your products and services and lead to a sales transaction. These, however, are secondary uses for signs. While most businesses may benefit from informational and advertising signs, every company needs a business branding sign.
As one sign professional put it, "A business without a sign is the sign of no business." (Source: ISA: Buying a Sign.) The purpose of a business branding sign is first to attract your ideal audience and second to help them recognize your character—what you stand for and what you have to offer. Ultimately, your primary outdoor business branding sign, whether freestanding or mounted on your building, is designed to draw potential customers into your location.
Start by making sure you know your target demographic. In digital marketing, we talk about developing and using "buyer persona profiles." These profiles go beyond basic demographics. They also look at likes, dislikes, and behaviors.
We wrote about some of these factors in our article Know Thy Audience: Make Them Move and applied them to sign marketing. Ask yourself:
A professional sign designer can help align the knowledge of your target audience with the correct design elements and materials for your signs.
The design process takes into consideration multiple factors. These include location, municipal regulations, building requirements, sign type, desired purpose, target demographics, and budget. Finally, the materials to build, install, and illuminate the sign come into focus.
Keep in mind that all the above factors must work together to create a holistic sign design that will deliver results. The materials selected for sign construction, along with its bases and mounts for installation, plus illumination options, must all be considered.
Your sign may be constructed using plastics, Flexible Face, vinyl, aluminum, or stainless steel. Each of these has varying degrees of durability and weight that are considered in the sign design process. Your designer will recommend materials, bases, and mounts with the durability and strength to withstand wind, changes in seasons, and extreme weather.
Learn about architectural signage and how it can enhance your business in this blog post.
Every well-thought-out marketing initiative follows a cohesive plan design. The same goes for business signage.
Whether you're planning to erect a new business sign or looking to upgrade an existing one, it's to your advantage to work with trained sign experts who can guide the process from beginning to end. This will ensure all of the crucial factors are identified and considered so that the sign will authentically represent your business and resonate with your target audience.
If you want to know more about the sign design process, Lemberg has created the following two free resources:
Despite new advances in sign construction materials, inevitably, outdoor signs are adversely affected by the elements. Dirt collects, metal parts corrode, lights burn out, and sometimes they suffer damage from road traffic, animals, and insects.
To keep your signs looking their best, we recommend performing routine inspections and cleaning twice a year. Cold winters, wind, and salt can be particularly tough on outdoor signs, so it’s a good idea to perform maintenance tasks in both the fall and the spring..
You may also want to consider a sign maintenance and repair plan. Many professional sign companies offer service plans to take care of sign maintenance or outdoor repairs.
At Lemberg, we offer full-service commercial sign maintenance and repair for all types of exterior signage with 24x7 emergency service. Our plans can even be designed to include re-lamping, repairs, and conversions for LED digital signage. It's wise to budget for a sign maintenance and repair plan as part of the sign design process.
Finally, working through all the critical factors involved in choosing the right sign is made easier by selecting the right sign company. If you choose Lemberg, you can leverage our knowledge and expertise in custom sign design, lighting, fabrication, survey, permit, installation, maintenance, repair, and consulting services.
If you’re looking for a business sign in the Milwaukee area, look no further. We offer timely and trusted installation services and have been proudly serving Milwaukee-area businesses for nearly 100 years. We let our work speak for itself—check out our signs project gallery.
Contact us online or call us at (267) 781-1500.