Our lives and our streets are full of visual clutter. Even if your business has a great location, it is difficult to get noticed/found/discovered in the urban jungle. Few roadside signs are truly well designed beacons for the unique companies they represent. This is a great waste of a powerful branding opportunity. It is literally a chance to rise head and shoulders above the competition and get your company noticed and respected.
To illustrate our point, here are a few “Do’s” in sign design.
Consider the logo design and how it would best work as a sign.
In this case, one feature of our logo for DKG and Associates Roofing Contractors is that it is perfectly reversible. We took advantage of this and created a freestanding 3D version of the logo that can be viewed from both sides, and reads the same either way!
Consider the architecture of the surrounding buildings.
The Seasons sign is in the Old Town Albuquerque area and needed to conform to historic regulations of size and material. A stucco finish was used to coordinate with the buildings in the plaza. A slightly more vibrant yet cohesive color helped it stand out from the surrounding stucco colors. The sign is carefully designed to work well both day and night with integrated lighting in the lettering.
Let the logo do the work.
Once again, referring to the logo to inform the sign design, Zinc’s sign is a circle shape. We stayed true to the logo shape while creating a pleasing balance with the building architecture. The result is a simple, upscale, yet highly visible sign.
Know when to use neon!
EDoSpaces Real Estate office is located on Central Avenue near downtown. They wanted an outstanding neon sign that optimized their logo. Once again, extracting and emphasizing the most unique features of the logo, we created the overall sign in neon while focusing on the solid A with a backlit letter shape.
Be sure it works for both day and nighttime
By day, the white and silver type stands out against the deep purple. It is pinned away from the surface for added shadow effect. By night, the Aquaceros “a” is internally lit and shines both through the lucite face and reflects on the background. The “aquaceros” type is backlit only, to create a visual hierarchy.
Coordinate interior and exterior signage.
The “a” is carried to the interior with an elegant treatment of white on white. Green and purple neon behind the sign provide contrast in the form of a colored glow for a subtle yet fabulous effect.
Coordinate, rather than compete, with strong architecture.
The Paa-Ko Ridge Golf clubhouse features a stately circular entry, which complicated the sign design due to its curved face. We pared the Paa-Ko logo down to its simplest form, and applied the letters separately to accommodate the curve. Care was taken to balance the proportions of the lettering to the building.
Make it pretty.
Since we had a pretty logo and an attractive building, we had fun simply juxtapositioning the two for a pleasing result.
Maintain and enhance historic structures.
As a designated historic site, Hotel Parq Central had strong restrictions on its sign options. Using a classic old font, we carefully balanced the size and location of the freestanding lettering on the upper building facade. A streetside monument reinforces the brand image.