Navigating a school building is like finding your way through a maze. Whether you’re on a college campus or the grounds of an elementary school, it is so simple for anyone to get lost. It begins by locating the proper building, followed by figuring out parking and entrances, and then finally finding your way through endless hallways, alleys and staircases inside the structure to get to your destination. It can certainly be frustrating and it takes practice! But having clear signage inside and out of your school’s campus will help everyone get on the right path. Plus you can do it all while promoting school spirit!

Signage Needs in Schools

There are many instances when it’s important for a school to convey directions or a message to students, staff and guests.

• Safety: This comes first on the list for a reason—everyone’s safety is of the upmost importance. In general, a lot of the direction in this category comes from state and local requirements and guidelines. But beyond signage for safety exits and evacuation plans, schools need signs for pedestrian traffic, school crossings and speed calming signs. Standard metal signs on stakes will help with many of these needs.
  

• Exterior Directional: Beyond safety directions, there are many reasons a school will need other directional signage outside of the building. Signs are needed to direct traffic for carline pick-ups, bus pick-up/drop-off areas, and parking spot signs for visitors. For larger campuses, signs are often needed to direct drivers and delivery trucks toward popular buildings and areas of campus. Again, metal signs will work for these needs, as well as wooden post signs.

• Interior Directional: The maze continues! Not only will students need to find their way to your building, but inside as well. Directional signs help students find their way to certain wings of a building, a cluster of classrooms, the auditorium or gymnasium. But individual room signs are also necessary so students can find their specific classroom, a restroom or office.

• Building Welcome: Is it clear to newcomers that they have indeed found the right building? It’s important for a building to have the school name attached to the outside of the building, as well as street signs welcoming people to the school. This is a sign that often gets overlooked. Schools are usually happy to just stick with what’s been there for decades. But having dimensional letters attached to the building with its name is important, as well as a street sign (which can be a standard sign, or electronic for announcing important upcoming events and due date reminders).

• COIVD-19: The pandemic brings additional needs for signage—by showing the proper direction to walk to minimize crowding in halls and safety markers so students keep a safe distance in lunch lines and from the office desks. These can be done through vinyl wall and floor art, making them easily removable.

• Team Spirit: Using signs to decorate and promote school unity and team spirit is definitely one of the more fun sides to school signage. Window clings are great for projecting a message as people enter your building (the clings are see-through from the inside), and creating colorful, promotional window posters for display cases also will get your message across. Vinyl wall panels can help brighten up a hallway and cheer on your students.

Get an A+ for Proper School Signage

There are so many ways Epic Signs can help your school provide people with the directions they need and promote school spirit. Whether it’s through interior vinyl wall panels or exterior digital signage, we can help get your message across. 

When considering updating your interior business areas, consider lighting as an option. Be aware, however, we need to plan for power in order to get the LED's to actually light up! Not a lot of power, but never the less, it takes electricity, and usually on a switch too!

A halo illuminated LED glow emanating from the back of the letter adds a nice touch to interior wall letters. The problem is, many people forget to plan for that little important detail. In addition, the trick to making this type of sign work is to hide the wiring. In fact the industry has matured to the point that it is expected we provide lights almost magically. When people observe a beautiful sign on a wall with a nice halo around the letters, it is forgotten what it took to make it happen. Not only do we need to get power to the sign location, we need to power every letter. And they all need to be protected with a power supply in the loop....and we need to go through walls! Or at least an electrician does.

This is where Epic Signs & Graphics comes in handy. We have various solutions to make your logo and/or letters look special.

Wall mounted letters

In order to make it look like the logo or letters are "floating" on the wall, we will need to have wires coming out directly behind the symbol. Most of the time we do not have that luxury, so if we can locate a source of power nearby in the ceiling, it could be pulled down through the wall to the right location. That takes a bit of luck and determination and skill because usually there are many things in the way such as insulation or or interior wall framing.

Pan or shoe box sign?

I've encountered a couple different terms in the industry using either one of these names. It is a way to make a sign usually out of metal. that is bent on every side to create a sort of wall around each edge. When turned over, it resembles a frying pan. We used that trick for a manufacturing company called Hamrick. We arrived on site with a totally custom pre-assembled sign so all we had to do was mount angle iron to the wall and screw the pan to the angle iron. In this case, the electrical outlet was already in place, so all we had to do was plug in the sign and mount our sign.

These are just a couple little tricks Epic Signs & Graphics has used to help clients get their indoor space to look, well...Epic. So give us a call for advice and plans to get your place lit up!

Spring is a time for renewal and rebranding - and it is the perfect time to install new outdoor signs! With the warmer weather, installation is a breeze, and more eyes are outside, ready to take a look at your sign.

Should you change your sign when your business rebrands? For Yes-MLS, the answer was a definite yes. As a business, you never want your customers to have to guess what your business is called, so a clear and professional sign is the first thing you want to install. Rebranding is a great opportunity to reintroduce your business to your community, current customers and potential customers. A smart business will make sure that they lead with great visuals to make that all important first impression.

When Yes-MLS called us, they were looking for help with a rebranding effort. What they were after was a big impression, which calls for a big sign! Our experts started by removing the old letters, and cleaning up the area, ready for a shiny new sign to be installed.

To make a maximum impact, it was decided that a precise, clean sign of 1/2” thick routed acrylic would be ideal, painted in Yes-MLS’s corporate colors. Using a CNC machine, we custom cut each element of the sign. This technique allows for maximum precision, customization, and durability, creating a sign that will catch attention and create a great first impression.

Once the sign was cut, our experts painted it with commercial outdoor grade paint, an extra durable formula that ensures that the colors will stay fresh for the long run. Then, the letters were fitted with metal studs on the back. This technique allows our expert installers to drill holes, set the elements with adhesive, and create a great looking sign!

Businesses looking to rebrand can talk to our experts and begin the exciting process of designing a whole new look for themselves.

Dimensional wall letters are just hard to turn down as an effective way to get your organization noticed. Great for both indoor and outdoor use, dimensional lettering creates a clean, sophisticated look. When installed professionally there’s the suggestion of establishment and permanence. Just say YES!

 When Northern Ohio Regional Multiple Listing Service (NORMLS) and Centralized Regional Information Service (CRISmls) decided to consolidate and combine to form a single organization, the merge entailed a name change: Yes-MLS. The newly consolidated service came with a new name and a new logo, which needed to be represented in their offices.
Already familiar with our work, Yes-MLS contacted us to create dimensional lettering to identify their building, as well as to create a directional sign for their driveway. We suggested routed PVC materials, painted to match their new corporate logo colors -- a bold red, black, and white.

We used the new Yes-MLS logo and rendered that in a photo to scale, based on our survey of measrements. Upon Yes-MLS’s approval of the design, we proceeded to obtain the necessary permits from the city for installation -- this is part of the service we provide. Once approved, and after permits were secured, we headed into fabrication for routing, painting, and finishing Yes-MLS’s dimensional graphics.

 Once the fabrication process was completed, we headed to Yes-MLS for installation. Using their existing white wall as a backdrop, we drilled holes to affix the dimensional wall lettering; dimensional graphics have studs mounted on the back so that they can easily be attached to the surface.

The final product of Yes-MLS’s exterior signage is an eye-catching dimensional design with bold colors that stand out against the existing wall color. Sans serif text makes the company name and street address clear and easy to read for those driving by and perfectly communicates their new corporate identity. The best part of choosing dimensional wall lettering in PVC is that Yes-MLS’s signage will last for many years -- it’s a great low maintenance choice.

 If your Cleveland area business is ready to say “Yes!” to dimensional graphics, contact us today to work with our design team to create a design that works with your budget and clearly communicates what your business is all about.

Take a look around your office, what do you see? Step outside yourself and really look close. Is it an inviting space or is it cold and bare? The signage displayed in and around your offices can affect not only your employee morale but also client perception. If you’re a customer-oriented business, your interior office signage is your first chance to make a great impression. Make sure your office signs convey the message and atmosphere you want customers and prospects to experience when they walk into your business.

What is the first thing you see when you enter your office lobby or reception area? What does the lobby area convey to potential clients? If your reception area is lacking signage or is composed of bare, white walls, it’s time to re-evaluate your lobby office area and make it stand out and feel inviting for all who enter.

Cleveland attorneys and counselors at law, Koblentz & Penvose, LLC recently contacted us to help revamp their reception and office areas. To really make an impact, Koblentz & Penvose chose to use dimensional wall lettering that literally pops!

Fabricated with one-inch thick hard foam lettering and a custom paint color, Koblentz & Penvose chose a design and material that looks durable and heavy but is actually light and easy to handle. Comprised of GemLeaf, the letters are laser cut to create an ultra-clean design, and feature a thin metal laminate that produces a high-quality effect to the finish -- you’d never know that these letters are ultralight!

Measuring twelve-inches tall, Koblentz & Penvose’s office signs were applied by flush mounting them flat, directly to the drywall with strong double stick tape and secured with stud mounts. Gemini letters come with a lifetime warranty if the material should ever fail and are ideal for interior business signs. The entryway to this law office now stands out from the rest!

If you’re looking to update your business space, consider creating custom interior signs to incorporate throughout. Not only will it breathe new life into your existing space, it can inspire employees and leave a positive, lasting impression upon clients. Call today for a consultation to design the perfect look for your office.