ARCHIVE: Category Archive for: Others

Channel Letter Signs Offer Many Advantages

Channel letters are among the most common signs we make, and for good reason. They are cost effective, easily shaped, extremely vivid (when designed well), and long lasting. Here are a few facts you probably don’t know about channel letter signage: 1. Because of the innate flexibility of channel letter fabrication, these three-dimensional signs can be made in almost any font or graphical shape, in almost any size, color and style. The major limitation on channel letter signage tends to be local zoning codes and other regulations. 2. Channel letters displayed against a solid color background can be seen and recognized from great distances. One common guideline is to size the letters 1.5 inches high for every 25 feet you

The term “ADA Signs” is now in widespread use among architects, general contractors, developers, and signage experts. “ADA” stands, of course, for the Americans with Disabilities Act. But the term “ADA Signs” is misunderstood almost as often as it is interpreted correctly. For example: 1. A great many people believe that “ADA Signs” refers to those containing Braille symbols for the benefit of people who are visually impaired. That’s like saying elevators are installed in buildings for the benefit of people who are unable to climb stairs. The claim is true, as far as it goes, but it doesn’t go nearly far enough. While signs containing Braille and other raised characters are a highly visible expression of the ADA requirements,

We’ve written in this space about wayfinding signs more than once, but we’re still getting questions about them from business owners, architects, developers and construction industry people. To satisfy their curiosity and give everyone a place to start finding answers on their own, we’ve now compiled a brand new e-book on Wayfinding Signage. It covers such important topics as: What makes wayfinding signage so difficult to do well? Why bother struggling to get wayfinding signage just right? How to take the big first step on any wayfinding signage project. and much more. As experts in wayfinding (and other) signage, we actively enjoy sharing what we know with others. So it was fun for us to compile this easy-to-read e-book, which

Out-of-home and digital out-of-home working together for nationwide two-year PSA campaign targeting millennials for National Parks Service anniversary.

Metro Sign & Awning Expands Service Area and Capabilities With Acquisition of Custom Designs Signs

We are pleased and proud to announce that we have completed the acquisition of the premiere sign company in the Southern New Hampshire and Vermont region. Custom Designs Signs (CDS), located in Keene, NH, has been a leading provider of signage design, fabrication, installation, and service since 1969. The company has built its enviable reputation by crafting high quality and eye catching signs and displays for a large number of local businesses, architects, and developers in the greater Monadnock and Brattleboro regions of New Hampshire and Vermont. Recent projects include the Keene State “Wall of Donor Recognition,” Nanotech, Brattleboro Ford, TGI Friday’s, and The Center at Keene. Key people at CDS, including Jim Vitous and sign maker Kris Arnold, will

How much do you really know about signs and signage? Avid readers of this Metro Sign and Awning blog are probably near-experts in signs and signage, with a detailed understanding of signage technology and an encyclopedic knowledge of signage history. To see how much you know, here’s a quick quiz based on previous posts in this blog. How many answers can you get right? All the answers should be known to you, provided you’ve been reading this blog: Question 1: How many ways can you easily calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) of your signage: a) In comparison with other advertising expenditures. b) In comparison with any other expenditure – a purely financial calculation. c) In comparison with your competitors’

Each of us has probably encountered this basic experience: you enter a building for the first time, and you find navigation difficult. You can’t easily get oriented, and so you can’t easily find the place you’re trying to go. This happens so often because interior wayfinding signage is one of the most complex tasks a signage company can face. Sure, you can provide maps and arrows, but it’s still tricky to make them clear and easy to follow. Happily, the rewards of a successful interior wayfinding signage program are immense: there’s not only great utility, but great pleasure in providing visitors with well-designed wayfinding signage that unravels the complexities of a shopping center, hotel, office building, hospital, or campus. As

One of our most demanding projects in recent memory has been taking part in the rebranding of a chain of medical centers that crossed not only state but national borders! It began in March of 2014 when one of our long-time customers, Winbrook Associates, asked us for help. Their customer, Lake Region Medical, had purchased all 18 locations of a company called Accellent, and now the facilities had to be re-branded. We began with a design review and offered some initial signage concepts. But to support the rebranding while the design and build process took place, we installed temporary banners at every location: Just the name “Lake Region Medical” in black text on white material. Our crews surveyed the local

It’s not easy staying current in the fast-paced world of business signage. That’s why the team at Metro Sign and Awning likes to take time when possible to visit with colleagues and take advantage of trade shows with educational opportunities like the upcoming Digital Signage Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center, March 10-13, 2015. We like to keep abreast of current and future trends in our industry, including advanced display technologies, best practices, and new thoughts on how to meet the needs of our retail customers. This particular show offers the 4,000 or more signage industry professionals who attend plenty of collaborative peer-to-peer “Idea Exchanges,” bolstered by lectures and panel presentations, seminars, and roundtable-format discussions. The schedule this year

Have you discovered the Metro Sign and Awning Industry News page yet? Each week we gather information of interest to those in the sign industry, as well as business people who care about signage. Here are a few recent highlights: “Ghost” Signs Remind Us of Our Heritage Signage is not only an active, vibrant industry. It’s the basis of an historical record that can remind us of where we’ve been as a city, and as a society. Faded signs from bygone eras – so-called “ghost” signs – provide a trail of metaphorical breadcrumbs that can lead us back through the decades to the beginnings of cultural phenomena that now seem fixed in stone. Ghost Signage These fading signs are more