Give Me A Sign!

Those who follow me on Foursquare know that my experience with EMS lately was not that good. I should have noted also I had a hard time finding them because their sign (and new Logo) was horrible. I dedicate this blog and my Tweets today to signage. So why have a sign? I ask this question because, after studying some signage today, I am not sure some businesses get it. The sign is to attract attention, identify what you do, and get new customers.

Attracting attention: Is your sign, actually the lettering, big enough. From todays tweets you'll see most are not. In the case of EMS the new logo has the image EMS and the words Eastern Mountain Sports (see their website). To fit all the words the letters became really small. The second problem was the blue they used is hard to see with the sky as a background. Before you decide to make your sign mock one up and put it in place. Remember most will be driving by so look at it that way.

Identifying what you do. I may be driving down the road in search of widget shop. Can I tell you are a widget shop from your sign? I know this should be a part of your logo design but business card versus a road sign is different. Especially when you have to conform to different constraints. In this case you should cheat. Make your car the road sign and park it as a supplement to the real road sign.

Attract New Customers: Road sign can be made out of many materials. I have seen some really unique signs that made me want to visit that business. I have also seen some sign worn by the times. Broken, dirty, fading. Is that what you want new customers to see? Use long lasting, easy to clean and durable material for your sign. Make it look clean and new every chance you get.

Need a second set of eyes? Call on me,

Fred Abaroa
The Marketing Imagineer
Fred [@] TMIFred.com
@TMIFred