ARCHIVE: Category Archive for: Signage 101

Bella Sera Improves Visibility with New Signage

What do you do when a company wants new signage, but doesn’t have the rights to install it on their location’s exterior? If you’re Bella Sera Bridal Boutique, on Route 114 in Danvers, MA, you “do without” for several years, experiencing quite a bit of difficulty, until a qualified, skilled,and multi-capable sign company finally comes to your rescue. Located above a separately owned and operated male clothing store,and handicapped since it moved to this new location in 2009 by an almost total lack of external points of recognition, Bella Sera Bridal had nevertheless endured. Heidi Nicholson, owner, had been able to keep the lights on by making word-of-mouth and other referral-based growth strategies work for her boutique business. But she

Did you know that most carved signs are not made of wood but with a plastic called HDU (High Density Urethane)? The common brand name used is “Sign Foam.” What makes this such a great product is that it is waterproof, lightweight yet remarkably strong. When it is finished with paint and clear coat it looks and feels like a wood sign. Introduced to the sign industry a number of years ago, HDU has proven longevity and is a superior alternative to wood. If you would like to learn more about carved signs as an option for your business please give us a call at 978-851-2424.

That’s a Refreshing Sign! New Balance Leaves Footprint on Parks

That’s a Refreshing Sign! New Balance Leaves Footprint on Parks Now we can say we left our footprint along the Charles River! Well, not our footprint, exactly – it’s actually the mark of Brighton’s favorite shoe manufacturer. We were absolutely tickled when New Balance asked us to create a few “footprints” for some of the water fountains they’ve provided to various Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation park sites. While New Balance wasn’t angling for extra outdoor advertising when the company donated the fountains, it was important that the signs look good and hold up extremely well in the environment. Even though the footprints weren’t designed to advertise the company, they had to represent the company and its brand in the

Yay! Today’s the day Forum Restaurant reopens! The popular bar and restaurant at 755 Boylston Street in downtown Boston celebrates with a new new menu and a new look. Remodeling and restoration over the summer gave all of Boston a visual reminder that “we are still here, still strong, and still standing.” Now, it’s time to celebrate – the restaurant’s reopening is a point of pride for everyone in Boston. We were delighted to work on the restaurant’s new sign this summer. Two of our installers enjoyed a little “brush with fame” when a local news crew caught them in the act. Look quick! Brad Quinlan and Mark DeFelice appear about 40 seconds into the video. In addition to a

Signage Tips: Summer 2013, Back to School

Back to School with Vinyl Graphics Metro Sign & Awning is helping day cares, community centers and other organizations prepare for Back to School season with new vinyl graphics that add color, assist with wayfinding, and enhance branding. Need a hand updating your interior signage? Call us today at 978-319-6558 and find out how cost-effective vinyl graphics can be. Refresh Your Brand this Fall Retailers are already placing orders for the 2013 holiday shopping season, which starts with Back to School and runs (too quickly) through the weeks with Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas falling like dominoes. Many malls, retail shopping centers, and individual businesses are placing work orders for maintenance and repair of existing signs and are looking to update

Wow, summer is flying by. We’re gearing up for some fun school projects (more on that later), just wrapped up a couple of wayfinding projects, and are doing more conceptual design work for some of our valued partners. We know you’re busy too, but we remind you that summer and fall are the best times to schedule routine maintenance or to have us out to inspect your exterior signage and discuss any updates you might want to make before the back-to-school and holiday seasons arrive. (Did you have storm damage that should be addressed?) Call us at 978-401-9270 to maximize your sign investment and ensure your signage is safe, secure, and in good working order. >Beep beep< Oh, and our

Wayfinding signage projects are fun because they are unique – the wayfinding signs we create are not necessarily outdoor advertising, and not necessarily outdoors at all. Interior wayfinding projects really deserve their own space, though. We’ll write about those another time; for now, we’ll focus on outdoor wayfinding projects. Like other types of signage, wayfinding signs can be illuminated or not, feature dimensional letters, and a wide vdesariety of colors, styles, and materials. What’s most unusual about wayfinding signage is its purpose: its goal of wayfinding is to provide information – directions, really – more so than than advertising. Of course, every wayfinding sign represents a chance – and a couple of square feet of space, at least – that

Several Metro employees were at Twin River Casino in Rhode Island last week, but they weren’t rolling dice or playing slots (at least, that’s not why they went). They attended the New England Sign Expo as Metro representatives, sharing experiences, tips, and trends with hundreds of other signage professionals. Signage Professionals: Sharing Knowledge, Signage Expertise Our employees returned with quite a haul of new knowledge, which they’re sharing with everyone here. Hosted annually by the Northeast States Sign Association (NSSA), the Sign Expo offers educational demonstrations and seminars (in addition to some fun social activities!) and this year, much of the focus was on LED and digital signage. Green Signage Scores (Another) One for the Planet Of course, we’ve worked

Metro Sign & Awning was pleased to partner with Lincoln Property Company, Shawmut Construction, and CBT Architects on the stately revitalization project at 53 State Street in Boston. The first part of the story can be found in a previous post. The Right Signs, Right on Time – 53 State Street, Part 2 The exterior signage installation at 53 State Street was involved, as the wiring of each letter had to be inserted through the panels, and our installers couldn’t be sure what was behind the panels until they started the job. Section details of drawings provided don’t always match “in field” conditions. (Otherwise known as life in the real world!) Our partners know they can rely on us, whatever

At Metro, we consider ourselves lucky to work on a wide variety of different projects. We take pride in selecting the right materials to craft the signs our clients want, need, and have envisioned. Whether the client is a design/build firm, a general contractor, or an individual business owner, whether it’s interior or exterior signage, whether the job site is around the corner or three states away, we truly enjoy the variety we have in our work. While reviewing some of our products and looking through our portfolio offers an overview of what Metro Sign & Awning does, these three downloads provide a little more insight into some of the work that goes on here. Residential Building Signs: Exterior &