There’s far more to corporate signage than you think

Signage makes up a surprisingly large chunk of our visual and physical environments. We take in hundreds to thousands of signs every day, depending on what we’re doing. Encountering so many signs in such a short period of time means that we rarely spend more than a second looking at a particular sign. This has serious implications for businesses and corporations, who, as players in an increasingly competitive marketplace, need to take full advantage of that split-second window to leave a memorable, lasting and positive impression.

Warning and safety signage naturally needs to stand out and attract the eye in order to draw attention quickly, hence the fluorescent oranges and greens and bold capital letters present on most safety signage. Business and corporate signage, however, has a slightly more developed and complex role to play. Indeed, brash fluorescent colours and block fonts are likely to give potential clients the wrong impression! Much business signage, if well-designed and smart, often remains at the subconscious level of perception among consumers, not appearing out of place or intrusive.

This leads us to the crux of the problem: corporate and business signage needs to communicate its message quickly and effectively, but brash and loud signage can overshadow the intended message of the sign. This is an issue that can be solved by thinking about signage design, corporate image and identity, and how the two concepts relate. We’ll start by examining the actual messages that corporate and business signage is intended to communicate, and from there we can consider how we can use design to communicate these messages.

Why use business signage?

The benefits of business signage are manifold. It uses space that you already own, instead of paying to hire a billboard, and it lasts far longer. Its exhibition on your shopfront or company headquarters alerts people to your company’s presence, turning every single passerby into a potential customer – a truly powerful marketing tool.

Over time, this develops into brand familiarity. Your sign, with your company’s logo and slogan on it, start to be seen as a dependable part of the community, purely due to the longevity of the presence of your business sign. It is the first and last thing that your customers see as they enter and leave your premises, and your return customers begin to associate your external image, embodied by your signage, with the experience that they had at your business. This lays bare the sheer importance of smart business signage and gives rise to the idea of ‘corporate image’.

What does ‘corporate image’ actually mean?

Your corporate image consists of consumer perceptions of your corporation. These perceptions accumulate and grow over time, and are affected by the perceived quality of tangible aspects of your business, such as your customer service and your products (if applicable), alongside more intangible elements, such as your corporate values and identity. Smart corporate signage can directly influence consumer perceptions of both tangible and intangible elements of your business.

Signage and tangible business aspects

How can signage influence perceptions of tangible aspects of your business? Surely the consumer will simply judge your product or service on its own merits? If only business was so simple! We know from anecdotal reports and psychological research that a huge amount of factors can affect how your products are perceived by consumers, covering all five senses. It is for this reason that department stores pipe in music to enhance the shopping experience, or that Subway ensures that their stores always smell strongly of freshly baked bread, for example.

Now imagine a department store or baguette shop where the in-store wayfinding signage or menu board is scruffy, hard to read and poorly maintained. The consumer will gain a negative impression instantly, as these aspects of your signage suggest either a lack of care and attention, or a lack of funds for repairs, which raises other questions – “if the business is not making money, then people aren’t shopping here, so perhaps they know something I don’t?”

These negative impressions remain in the back of the mind of the consumer, lowering their expectations of the quality of your product or service. Because signage is the first thing that the customer sees, and thus it forms the basis of their first impression, it can be very hard to challenge an initial negative impression, even if your product is perfectly good.

Signage and the intangible aspects of your brand

Intangible aspects of your business are slightly harder to pin down, but definitely no less important. They cover things such as consumer perceptions of your company’s values and identity. Company values are specific and defined for each company to guide that company towards its business goals. They typically include things like ‘empathy’, ‘honesty and integrity’, ‘passion’, ‘professionalism’ and so on.

Signage can influence customer perceptions of these values in two ways. Values such as honesty, empathy and integrity can be communicated through design elements contained within the sign. Think of this in a purely artistic fashion – for example, wide-spaced, thin, lower case and sans-serif letting suggests stability and openness, whereas bold, thick sturdy letters imply a firm sense of integrity.

The second way that signage can affect perceptions of your values is similar to that seen with tangible assets, via the quality and smartness of the sign itself. Values such as passion, professionalism and so on are communicated by ensuring that all signage is well-maintained. A poorly fixed and faded sign suggests anything but professionalism and passion.

As you can see, there is a lot more to signage than meets the eye. Signage does more than simply signpost things – it embodies your brand identity. At The Sussex Sign Company, we have decades of expertise and have shown that we can be trusted to protect and embellish your brand. Please get in touch today to find out how we can work together, call us on 01273 417057.

Why should you use a professional sign company for your business signage?

Your external signage represents your business, either working to impress and draw passers-by into your store, or make them turn away without ever giving your business so much as another glance. Poorly maintained or low quality signage can even leave these potential customers with actively negative opinions of your firm, despite never having set foot inside.

Few business owners would dispute the necessity of having some form of external signage. But, now that you’ve got a signage solution in place, the job is as good as done, right? All you have to do now is to wait for the customers to come flooding in? If only it were that simple.

More to signage than meets the eye

That your signage is essentially an ambassador for your company is indisputable, but the quality of the sign is almost more important than the sign itself. As a demonstration of this, imagine an exchange where one person suggests to another that they visit your business. The latter person responds that it looks a bit run-down, but there’s another very similar company just up the road, so they might as well go there instead.

Your business may well have the best service in town, but if customers are put off before they get through the door, you may as well not bother. Even if your business is locally acclaimed with a solid base of repeat customers, signage retains its power to draw in or turn away, and it would be unwise to slip into complacency. What can be done to ensure that your business signage stays on-message, leaving the very best impression possible with the thousands of potential customers who walk past your premises every day?

The solution

The answer is, fortunately, as cost-effective as it is simple: for the professional signage necessary to communicate the professionalism of your business, use only a professional sign company. We’ve explored the reasoning behind this in the sections below and have taken a good look at each one to find out exactly what high quality signage from a professional sign company can do for you.

Increase your brand recognition

Signage can be as simple as stating your trading name and perhaps a slogan, but by incorporating your brand into your sign, the latter is transformed into a much more powerful tool. Research shows that consumers are far more likely to buy from brands that they recognise. You can create repeat customers by making your store particularly distinctive so that it becomes known as, say, ‘that perfume shop’, instead being thought of as just another shop selling cosmetics.

Thinking more broadly of the importance of brand recognition, imagine that you run a pet shop. The majority of the thousands of people passing your shop daily probably have no reason to buy something from you. However, should any of these people decide at some point to get a pet, or should a friend ask them for a good store, yours will be the first that comes to mind. Provided that your signage is professional and has created a good impression.

In-house design and advice

Many professional sign companies offer in-house graphic design services. Effective design is vital to attract customers and avoid confusing them or putting them off. External signs should be simple, bold and legible at a distance. Consistency across all of your promotional channels is important, so incorporating your branding is a good idea. Being memorable is equally important, but avoid squeezing excessive amounts of information onto the sign or you risk confusing the reader.

Regulatory compliance

When giving your shopfront a facelift it’s easy to get carried away, but don’t forget that signage is subject to a number of regulations. Signs don’t usually require planning permission, but the situation depends on the extent of the work being undertaken and whether or not your building is listed. Health and safety regulations lay down the responsibilities of the installer and the owner of the sign, with most of the liability for maintenance falling on the owner. Professionally trained installation technicians can be relied upon to deliver high quality, safe work from the outset.

Long-term maintenance

As mentioned above, the responsibility for sign maintenance lies with the owner of the sign. This is not optional; the law obligates the owner to keep the sign, its fittings and fixtures in good working condition in order to minimise the risk of harm. Liability for any injuries sustained by falling signs due to lack of maintenance also lies with the owner.

This means that preventive routine maintenance to pre-empt problems before they occur is practically a necessity. Reactive maintenance – dealing with a problem that has already happened – simply isn’t sufficient.

For this reason, professional sign companies usually offer maintenance plans, believing that sign design and installation is only the first step in a job that won’t be completed until the sign has reached the end of its life. Many companies can even tailor the maintenance plan to your specific needs.

Boost your bottom line

Not only can professional signage increase customer footfall, but research from America suggests that a well-designed and maintained sign can even reduce the required expenditure on other forms of marketing. This makes signage a particularly economical marketing solution.

At The Sussex Sign Company, we have over two decades’ experience under our belts, giving us the know-how to produce a truly professional signage solution specially designed for your circumstances. We are committed to working with you throughout the years of your sign’s life to ensure that your investment reaches its full potential. Please don’t hesitate to contact us today.

Vinyl signwriting: past, present… and future?

Modern vinyl signwriting is a marvel to behold; very high resolution graphics designed on a computer and rapidly printed directly onto sheets of vinyl, before being cut by another machine far more accurately than most technicians would be able to manage by hand. The technologies and chemistry used in the production of vinyl film have also advanced significantly to meet the evolving demands of businesses and consumers.

Nowadays, vinyl signage is in operation improving road safety and providing businesses with a modern, bright and highly versatile means of identifying and promoting themselves. This hasn’t always been the case, however, and like many inventions that go on to become ubiquitous, vinyl signage had rather humble beginnings.

Early days

It was back in the late 1930s that vinyl was first tested as a signage material. After several tests, the first road signs with a layer of high-visibility reflective vinyl sheeting appeared in 1939, beginning a new era in signwriting. The potential for reflective vinyl coating films used on road signs to protect the surface underneath led to the invention of non-reflective films. It was this type of vinyl film that was first used for vehicle identification and advertising.

Another significant leap forward in vinyl technology was the invention of cast vinyl production techniques in the 1940s. Pre-existing techniques were based upon extrusion, using ‘calendars’, or rollers, to stretch and squash the vinyl to the desired thickness. Because the shape of the vinyl film is constantly changing throughout this mode of production, the finished product tends to be weaker and prone to shrinkage.

In the casting technique, a mixture of resins and plastics are poured onto a liner and passed through heaters and coolers. The vinyl isn’t stretched or squashed, producing an inherently strong and thin film resistant to shrinkage. Calendar and cast vinyl techniques are both still used today, with cast vinyl remaining the best choice for high quality film graphics boasting uniform colour. That said, calendaring and other extrusion techniques have naturally improved over the years, and in many instances and applications perform just as well as cast film.

Competition in the signwriting industry

By the early 1950s, non-reflective vinyl lettering had been invented. Adhesives were not as developed as they are today, and the application of the lettering to a substrate relied upon either heat-activated or solvent-based adhesives. The manufacturing technique used for the non-reflective lettering was the coating technique, producing around 20 feet of film a minute. The process was unreliable in the early days, however, and very often 50 per cent or more of the vinyl produced was unusable.

Despite this, early vinyl lettering materials had many properties that gave them an advantage over the traditional hand-painted signwriting industry. These included far greater durability and the possibility to be die-cut, allowing for mass production of regular and uniform signage. One of the first uses for early vinyl lettering was to decorate American military planes with the logo of the Air Force.

Technological leaps and bounds

The pace of invention and innovation picked up even more as the 50s unfolded. 1956 saw introduction of many more colour choices, together with the release of vinyl film with pressure sensitive adhesive. These developments broadened the possible applications of vinyl, enabling the creation of visually appealing emblems, logotypes and signs using vinyl. But progress didn’t stop there. Just two years later in 1958, a high-visibility fluorescent film arrived on the market, seeing quick adoption in schools’ and hospitals’ signage.

That same year, an easy-peel silicone release liner was also developed. These are still used today to protect the adhesive backing of the vinyl film. 1958 also saw the arrival of even more colour options, including metallic-effect films with choices such as gold and silver. One of the first high profile uses for these was in the creation of the metallic stripes on American Eastern Airlines planes.

The 1960s saw the development of textured and embossed films, including a wood-grain effect that saw huge use in the cars of the era. The major innovation of the period was the invention of repositionable adhesive in 1965. This adhesive made vinyl appropriate for an even broader range of applications, hugely expanding the market.

Hi-tech vinyl

By the 1980s, translucent films had appeared on the market. This was significant due to the large number of technical challenges it was necessary to overcome. Wide-format vinyl films just 2mm thick could display a huge advert with uniform colour density and uniform backlighting. Technology continued to work miracles into the 1990s with the advent of micro air channels to allow air trapped under the film an escape route. This made bubble-free installation an achievable reality, eradicating the need for needles to pop troublesome air bubbles.

A bright future ahead

Developments have more recently focused upon the environment, with the creation of lead-free inks and metal-free piezo UV inks offering increased durability and flexibility. Work is underway to remove all lead pigments from graphic films, crucially and preferably without sacrificing the high level of performance that consumers and designers alike have come to expect from vinyl signwriting.

Other imminent advances include enhanced films that conform to more challenging surfaces including compound curves and deep draws. Easy application and residue-free removal are also top of the list. The evolutions of the past 70 years have been driven by the needs and expectations of the vinyl signwriting industry, and this is expected to be the case looking into the future.

In this changing and exciting industrial environment, the team at The Sussex Sign Company have the expertise and knowledge honed over two decades in the industry necessary to guide you through the science of vinyl signwriting towards a solution perfectly tailored for your business’ needs. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and we’ll do our utmost to assist you.

Marketing with vehicle wraps and car graphics

Marketing with vehicle wraps and car graphics: hidden cost benefits?

You naturally view your company cars and vans as machines; tools to help you run the business. This is accurate, but it misses the whole picture. Whereas a piece of equipment such as a drill or a hammer is designed to carry out a couple of functions at most, your vehicle exists on a different plane. It fulfils multiple tasks, from holding the rest of your equipment overnight, to enabling you to travel from place to place to be able to work in the first place.

There is another function that your company van or fleet can fulfil: that of advertising. Vehicle branding has been used, in one form or another, since the days of horse-drawn carts, when signwriting was a highly skilled job that involved literally writing with paint on the side of the vehicle. These signs were basic in every respect, from the materials used, to the kinds of designs that were possible. Most vehicle signs simply featured the trading name of the business and perhaps a slogan.

These limitations have been swept away by advances in technology, and the possibilities and effectiveness of vehicle branding have increased dramatically as a result. One of the most exciting and still not particularly widely adopted methods of vehicle branding is that of vehicle wraps. This technique involves designing the graphics on a computer and printing it directly onto a sheet of vinyl, which is then ‘wrapped’, or stretched, over the vehicle, possibly covering the whole van or just the bonnet or rear doors.

This creates the possibility of using photographs or very detailed, engaging computer graphics for your sign, where previously your design would have been limited by the physical skill of an artist with an airbrush or paintbrush. This, in turn, means that the role of the company vehicle as a mode of transport has also been redefined to include its potential as a mobile advertisement, alongside the van’s more traditional roles.

Vehicle wraps and car graphics present an exceptional mode of advertising with very few negatives. And your business may be overlooking an outstanding advertising opportunity if you view your company fleet as purely means of transport. Out of the many benefits, cost is likely to be the make-or-break issue for most business owners, so we’ve broken down the costs below and compared them with other modes of advertising.

Cost-benefit analysis

The 21st Century businessperson has a wealth of marketing tools at their disposal. The most commonly used marketing channels tend to be the traditional ones, such as radio, billboards and direct mailing, alongside print media, such as newspapers and magazines. Pay-per-click advertising and a social media presence are also growing in popularity, but may be of limited use for a small business dependent on local custom.

The relative price of a form of advertising is measured by the cost per 100 views. Direct mailing is one of the most expensive forms of marketing, coming in at £1.95 per 100 views. Radio adverts aren’t significantly cheaper at around £1.20 per 100 views. Vinyl wraps and car graphics, by contrast, can cost as little as £0.04 per 100 views.

Hidden benefits

The cost benefit is greatly magnified when we consider some of the corollary effects of the use of vinyl wraps as a marketing tool. The cost of a car graphics solution is a one-off sum, as opposed to the repeat hire payments required to make a print or radio campaign effective. High quality vinyl, by contrast to the short-lived effects of a radio slot, can last for up to five years and your van will be viewed by up to 3,000 people a day if you drive in a city, making for an incredibly high reach.

If you drive around the same area during your working day, you can effortlessly achieve a saturation effect and create a high level of brand recognition, which is vital for a local business in a competitive environment. People tend to choose to buy from companies that they have heard of over unknown entities. Likewise, if you travel all over the country, an advertising wrap helps you to engage a vastly broader selection of people than you would ever be able to reach with conventional marketing modes.

These advantages constitute hidden cost benefits. Vinyl wraps do involve a significant one-off outlay, but this is an investment which is offset and outweighed by the extra earnings and business that it generates.

Other hidden financial benefits are only realised later on in the life of the vinyl wrap. Other methods of applying graphics to cars inevitably involve spraying paint onto the surface of the vehicle. When you later come to resell your company fleet to make way for newer models, if your graphics are painted on you will have to pay for an expensive respray before any resale can take place. With vinyl, however, the wrap is simply peeled away in a far easier and less costly process of removal.

The upshot of this is that your vehicle’s resale value is protected by the wrap. Modern vinyl wrap technology includes the use of an over-laminating protective layer to safeguard your graphics. This layer also protects the underlying paintwork of your vehicle from scratches, abrasions and stone chips. These are highly important considerations with positive financial implications should you choose to resell your vehicle at a later date.

Conclusions

Any undertaking of a marketing campaign is an investment which will hopefully produce a high enough return to justify the initial expense. With the use of vinyl wraps for car graphics, this is far easier to achieve compared with traditional advertising methods.

At The Sussex Sign Company, we have over two decades of experience in the business; expertise that we can put to use by assisting you in making the right choices in vehicle signage solutions. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you would like any further information, on 01273 417057.

The Brighton and Hove Independent Business Awards

Award Winning Team!

We are extremely proud and delighted to have won The Brighton and Hove Independent Business Award for Manufacturing and Construction 2016. As a team we work hard to produce and maintain the highest standards achievable, from concept to production through to installation. We pride ourselves on excellent customer care, and our clients always come first. Up against tough competition, we were placed first because we had demonstrated exceptional financial returns, innovation, strong growth and market leadership. What more could we have asked for… We would like to thank all our clients for their support and look forward to a bright future. If you would like an Award Winning Company to help you with your project, get in touch by calling us today on 01273 417057.

What is wayfinding and why is it important?

Wayfinding began as a simple system of signs with arrows on them to point people in the direction of their destination, but has now evolved to become user-focused, technology-driven and highly integrated information systems.

Wayfinding systems are essential for navigating public spaces, museums, hospitals and libraries. Not only do these systems serve as useful guides, but they can also be used to enhance people’s experiences and understanding of a given space. In this article, we’ll look at how wayfinding works, the various different types and applications of wayfinding systems, and the importance of effective wayfinding signage in each of these applications.

How does wayfinding work?

Wayfinding systems come in many forms, from signs and maps to digital touchscreen panels. Certain innovative touches have been developed over the years, such as the coloured lines running along corridors in hospitals to lead the way to certain departments.

Some examples of wayfinding are encountered more frequently than others. Whenever you enter a building, you’re immediately confronted with decisions. You might have a vague idea as to the location of your destination – say, the fourth floor to the left of the elevators – or only know that you need to locate so-and-so’s office, somewhere in the building. But knowing how to get to your destination from your current location is the issue that wayfinding systems aim to resolve.Your journey through the building will be composed of a series of ‘nodes’ that help to keep you on track – for example, from the reception desk to the elevators, then from the elevators to the office. Wayfinding is about making this process smooth and informative, and thus could be defined as a form of spatial problem solving. An efficient and effective wayfinding system should answer three questions – ‘where am I?’, ‘where is my destination?’ and ‘how do I get from here to there?’

Why is effective wayfinding important?

Wayfinding systems are found all over the place, but you are likely to consciously notice these systems only if you actively look for them. Common spaces include libraries, university campuses, transportation hubs, healthcare facilities, and large public and corporate buildings.

Besides the obvious goal of helping people to find their destinations, effective wayfinding systems have several other important roles to play. Particularly important in busy high-stress environments, such as airports or hospitals, effective wayfinding can help engender a sense of safety, security and well-being.

Healthcare

In hospitals and other healthcare facilities, research suggests that carefully designed wayfinding systems can even influence the well-being of those being treated. Studies from the 1990s onwards have found that, in contrast to the clinical white walls with which most of us are familiar, soothing environments decorated with comforting colours and plants, flowers and sunlight are far better at healing.

Alongside this, but no less important according to the researchers, should be easy navigation around the facility aided by architectural cues and a well-designed wayfinding system. One study carried out by spatial expert Jain Malkin looked at how visual cues are used in every day navigation outdoors, then applied this to the interior of a hospital building, promoting natural light, highly visible yet unobtrusive signage and looped corridors instead of dead-ends for a more natural wayfinding experience.

This is all the more important when we remember that families and patients visiting healthcare facilities are often stressed as a direct result of the medical reason for their visit, let alone the additional stress of having to navigate between multiple buildings with complex layouts. Carefully designed wayfinding signage, featuring easily-followed instructions can be employed to minimise stress. And some wayfinding systems go further, dispensing with textual information and instead relying upon non-textual cues, such as symbols and colours.

Transportation

Airports are also quite stressful places, especially at large regional hubs where many passengers transfer from one flight to another in a short space of time. In such settings, wayfinding systems deliver information at key decision points in a carefully planned manner throughout a traveller’s journey through the complex. Such a wayfinding system usually combines maps, signage, colours and symbols to create a comprehensive navigational aid.

Problems with wayfinding systems occur when there is insufficient information for the traveller to make a decision as to where to go. But whilst having enough information is important in order to be able to choose the required route, some wayfinding specialists point out that too much information can cause just as many problems.

Museums and galleries

Poorly designed wayfinding systems can frustrate the traveller to the extent that they will not return to the space. But equally in museums and galleries, giving the traveller too many options and excessive information can lead to them missing large parts of exhibits. In many galleries and museums, exhibition rooms are open-plan with unstructured paths, with users simply being guided from one room to the next.

Users may make an effort to walk around each room in its entirety, but many will simply take the path of least resistance, which diminishes their experience of the space. Paths can be restricted in many ways, from building a flowing, coherent narrative into the exhibition, to using wayfinding devices to clearly illustrate which exhibits are where and how they can be found.

Therefore, a well-designed wayfinding system contains architectural cues, well-structured paths and clear symbol- or colour-based signage, but also employs these elements to limit the number of choices available to the visitor, paradoxically enhancing their experience by doing so.

Conclusions

Wayfinding is truly ubiquitous and is essential for navigating the unique challenges of modern life. The wide variety of environments in which wayfinding systems are employed requires careful thought and planning to develop a system to meet the demands of a particular space. At The Sussex Sign Company, we have the expertise necessary to advise on the most appropriate wayfinding system for each and every application. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch for more information.

Shop Window Signs

Shop window signs – facts and figures that you shouldn’t ignore

The high street has always been competitive, but with the rise of the internet and e-commerce, it’s more important than ever to have a shopfront that draws attention, piques interest and stands out from the crowd. Your shopfront embodies your business and is the first physical thing that potential customers interact with. It’s therefore important for numerous reasons that any shopfront and window signs communicate precisely the image that your business seeks to project. In this post, we try to answer any questions you might have around shop window signage.

What are signs for?

It might sound like a silly question, but the answer goes deeper than you might think. At face value, the purpose of signage is to communicate to the public that your business exists. The type, form and appearance of the sign, if done properly and with consideration, might inform the consumer about the nature of the business.

Another way in which to understand the importance of a sign is consider it as a silent salesperson, “selling” your business to potential customers by drawing attention to it and helping to differentiate it from the blur of other shops on the high street. If successful, therefore, shop window signs can be an effective and easy way to increase foot traffic, giving a purpose to signage beyond simply marking your existence. Indeed, signage serves as the initial link between your business and its customers (to be).

Viewed from yet another slightly different angle, signage could be seen as the real-world equivalent of web design. Businesses routinely splash out thousands on web design, but physical signage is often treated only as an afterthought. Both are as important as each other, however, and the amount of attention, time and capital you decide to allocate to each one should depend upon the primary market focus of your business.

Why are signs so significant to a business?

Any business that fails to make window signage a central component of its overall marketing strategy can only put itself at a disadvantage. Depending on the location, your signage could be visible to hundreds or thousands of people every day, delivering the same coverage as a billboard at a fraction of the price. And unlike other means of advertising, such as television or radio, window signs are visible 24/7.

The importance of brand recognition

Signs can contain your business’ logo, helping to build brand recognition and familiarity. This is important, with research suggesting that 85 per cent of the customers of a small, independent shop live or work within 3 miles of it, on average. There’s also evidence to suggest that consumers are risk-averse, preferring to buy from companies they’ve already heard of, so striking window signage can help sow seeds that may bloom into sales further down the line.

This makes sense – once customers know where and what your business is, thanks to your shop window signs, it will be at the front of their mind when they think of where they could go to acquire what it is that your business provides. And this is key – this familiarity, in time, develops into a sense of ‘local community’. Aided by involvement in local affairs, such as sponsoring a local sports team, your business will come to be seen as a truly community entity, which, given the current movement to support local business, helps to give you the edge over corporate and chain competitors. And all of this starts with a recognisable sign!What other benefits do shop window signs have to offer?

High quality signs can give the impression of professionalism, working on the idea that if the signage is of superior quality, then the products or services provided by the business will be too. First impressions are particularly important – they’re formed in an instant, and second chances are hard to come by!

Another benefit derived from high visibility window signs is that they ensure you’ll be found. Many customers, especially younger ones, may initially find your shop online by searching for the service or product that you provide. Others may be travelling from other areas, or trying to find your shop having been advised by friends. Market research has shown that between 20 to 45 per cent of purchases are made on impulse, so window signs encouraging this sort of shopping (think ‘sale’) may be particularly successful.

Some statistics also suggest that up to 15 per cent of the population relocate every year, and although their destinations are highly location-dependent, this is likely to mean a steady flow of potential customers to be attracted by your signs. Naturally, you’ll want to make it as easy as possible for all of these prospective customers to find you, and window signs help you to very effectively achieve this.

The economic question

As with any investment, business owners will want to ensure that they will receive a good return on their outlay. The installation of shop window signs has been shown to directly increase sales – so too has simply changing the sign, suggesting that it’s a good idea to freshen up your frontage every now and then. Signage is generally a very cost-effective option for advertising and promotion. Measured by cost-per-thousand-impressions, signage is far cheaper than radio, television or newspapers.

Conclusions

It goes without saying that to unleash the full effect, your shop window signage should be just one part of a larger sign-based marketing campaign. There are many other types of signs which could deliver a plethora of benefits to your business. Here at The Sussex Sign Company, we have the expertise and experience to help you find the most appropriate signage solution to achieve your desired strategic goals.

For help or more information please call us on 01273 417057 or email us here.

Illuminated signage: a brightly lit future?

The use of LEDs in signage illumination has transformed the signage industry since the initial arrival of bright and commercially viable LED technology. The passage of time hasn’t slowed the pace of transformation, either, with a range of innovative technologies coming to market over the past couple of years. Read on to find out what you need to know about these developments and avoid staying in the dark.

A brief history

Human beings have sought and created technologies to bring light to darkness since the beginning of time, starting with fire, when the ability to see what was lurking in the dark could have meant the difference between life and death. Fast-forward to today, and while our lives are very different in most ways, the question as to how to provide light to an object to make is visible is still just as pressing, albeit for different reasons.

We’re no longer concerned with sabre-toothed tigers, but we do need to make our companies, shop fronts and advertisements as visible as possible in order for our businesses to survive and prosper by outshining the competition. It was this need that has long driven innovation in lighting technology, and that led to the creation and relatively rapid adoption of LED technology for signage illumination.

Lighting an object can be achieved in two ways. The first technique is simply to shine a light at it. While this is straight-forward, and without a doubt a popular method, it does carry with it numerous drawbacks, such as the issue of reflectivity, as well as issues of expense given the inefficient use of energy. The second means is to shine light out of the object, in the context of signage a role historically played by neon lighting and fluorescent tubes. The advent of LEDs has led to an explosion of creativity and flexibility that has forced a complete re-writing of the rules for illuminated signage.

Achieving the impossible

Advances in the technology underpinning LEDs have provided a number of alternative ways to illuminate a signage product, and have allowed the construction of internally illuminated signs that simply weren’t possible before. Take, for example, the manufacture of a very large display on a shallow frame – perhaps a flex-faced sign. Using traditional methods, it is almost impossible to light the frame uniformly as the lamp, usually a fluorescent tube, must be placed very close to the image due to the shallowness of the frame. This leads to dark areas and bright bleaching around the lamp.

The advent of chain LED lighting technology has provided a far more reliable, easy-to-install and energy efficient option. The market leaders in this segment can produce brightness of over 235 lumens with a high efficiency of 120 lumens per watt. Advances in optics design mean that only four LED modules, using a total of 10 watts, are required to uniformly illuminate 1m2 of signage. The super-low power consumption allows the use of just one power supply unit to light a sign of 17m2.

The growth of the signage industry as a result of advances in LEDs has had a knock-on effect in that end-users are seeking new ways in which to stand apart from their competition, increasing their budget spend for displays and signage and developing an interest in concerns such as the appearance of the sign at night versus the day.

Knock-on effect

The pace of the rise and fall of trends in illuminated signage has also accelerated. A year or two ago, ‘retro’ was very much in fashion, and not just in signage. Think of the vintage clothing boom. For illuminated signs, this trend meant a return to neon-style letter signs and fairground light installations, both of which are drastically improved by LEDs.

The fairground light effect is very effectively achieved using warm white LED bulbs, which on average use just 10 percent of the energy of their older incandescent counterparts. Likewise, whereas traditional neon lighting consists of a solid glass tube, the LED equivalent is built inside a flexible acrylic tube which can be repositioned and restyled whenever the user wishes to breathe some fresh life into their display. Solid acrylic assemblies are also in production at higher-end signage manufacturers. These displays come in a wide variety of colours with very strong, bright light. Their comparatively low voltage also means that they don’t require a fireman’s safety switch, unlike neon lighting.

Lamp manufacturers have also noticed the growth and future potential of the illuminated signage market, and continue to develop products specifically to meet the demands of the signage industry. Majert, a German manufacturer is one such company, launching and periodically upgrading its Chiplite range of LEDs designed for signage.

Their latest upgrade sees the CL-XI LED module replaced by the CL-XOL, boasting improved optics with a light distribution angle of 160 degrees. The high angle of light distribution makes these modules particularly effective for illuminating sign lettering, especially complex serif typefaces with small flourishes and corners. The CL-XOL thus allows the effective and uniform illumination of sign lettering of a depth as shallow as 30mm.

Where next?

These developments and innovations are just the tip of the iceberg, and it seems reasonable to say that signage illumination, in terms of both the technology powering the sign and the aesthetic appearance of the finished product, will continue to remain a fast-moving sector. The flexibility and substantial energy efficiency improvements delivered by LED technologies are of particular interest to signage makers and to end-consumers.

You can rest assured that here at The Sussex Sign Company, we will be keeping abreast of all developments and can offer tailored advice as to the most appropriate illuminated signage solutions for each of our clients in order to ensure the best possible return on investment.

We carry out work on all LED installation, throughout London, East and West Sussex, Kent Hampshire and the Home Counties, call us today on 01273 417057

Image of – Internally illuminated aluminium sign tray with acrylic push through letters and internally illuminated Projection sign – Sussex Signs image of – Halo Illuminated letters on an internal bulk head with built up stainless steel letters – Sussex Signs Image of – Fairground style LED Signage – Sussex Signs

Safe Contractor Award

Top Safety Accreditation for The Sussex Sign Company

The Sussex Sign Company has been awarded accreditation from Safecontractor for its commitment to achieving excellence in health and safety.

Safecontractor is a leading third party accreditation scheme which recognises very high standards in health and safety management amongst UK contractors.

Employing 24 people, The Sussex Sign Company is principally involved in the manufacturing sector, specialising in the sign and graphics industries and with a £1.2 million turnover. The Sussex Sign Companies most recent clients have included major players such as Wilmott Dixon and the TUC.

The company’s application for Safecontractor accreditation was driven by the need for a uniform standard across the business.

Norman Mayhew Managing Director of The Sussex Sign Company said “gaining Safecontractor is a milestone for The Sussex Sign Company and demonstrates our commitment to first class health and safety along with excellent customer service we our extremely proud of this award”

Safecontractor accreditation will enhance the company’s ability to attract new contracts and its commitment to safety will be viewed positively by its insurers when the company liability policy is up for renewal.

Safecontractor is applicable to most sectors although it is particularly relevant to food manufacture, property, facilities management, retail and leisure sectors, all of which are big users of contracted services.

John Kinge, technical director of Safecontractor said, “Major organisations simply cannot afford to run the risk of employing contractors who are not able to prove that they have sound health and safety policies in place.”

“More companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in the way that The Sussex Sign Company has done. The firm’s high standard has set an example which hopefully will be followed by other companies within the sector.

Safecontractor plays a vital role in supporting our clients in meeting their compliance needs, whilst working with their contractors as they progress through the accreditation process.”

Under the Safecontractor scheme, businesses undergo a vetting process which examines health and safety procedures and their track record for safe practice. Those companies meeting the high standard are included on a database, which is accessible to registered users only via a website.

Client-organisations who sign up to the scheme can access the database, enabling them to vet potential contractors before they even set foot on site. These clients agree that, as users of the scheme, they will engage only those who have received accreditation.

Over 210 major, nation-wide businesses, from several key sectors, have signed up to use the scheme when selecting contractors for services such as building, cleaning, maintenance, refurbishment or electrical and mechanical work.

Call us today on 01273 417057 or Email us from here

A list of the towns we work in throughout East and West Sussex is listed below.