Now that the political campaign season is over, yard signs across the country are being taken down and put away. But with all that prime advertising real estate now freed up, that means it’s an ideal time to put signs promoting your business in their place. Let us walk you through the many great uses for yard signs, as well as some of the reasons why they are worth considering.

Yard Sign Usage

Everywhere you drive, you’ll see yard signs around your area—usually at high-traffic intersections or in front yards promoting such things as:

• Political Campaigns: This is definitely the most popular usage of yard signs—of late. Whether they promoted a candidate or a ballot issue, yard signs are a common method of campaigning.
• Business Advertising: Even if you have great exterior signage on the front of your business location, yard signs are a great way to quickly promote your business contact information and hours beyond your storefront. You can also expand your reach farther by placing signs in areas beyond your neighborhood. Another consideration is if it’s hard to see your business from the street, or you have a competitor nearby, a strategically-placed sign could direct people your way.
• Student Promotions: Whether it's celebrating a graduate, a student making the honor roll, or cheering on an athlete, families love to showcase their student's accomplishments with a fun decorative yard sign.

• Special Offer: As a way of generating traffic, yard signs highlighting a promotion you’re running are a great way of getting the message out there.
• Yes, We’re Open: With businesses closing left and right, it’s important to let people know you’re still here. So if you’re a company that relies on foot traffic, having a yard sign letting patrons know that you are in fact open, can help remind them to stop in.
• Directive: Another great use of yard signs is for directing car traffic. Especially now when pick-up services are so common, having a sign directing customers where to go is so helpful. They’re also incredibly helpful if you need to direct visitors to an event with arrows or directive instructions.
• We’re Moving: If your business is relocating, moving or closing, having yard signs to alert people to your new location or to a moving sale is a great idea. Especially if they don’t drive by your business front, or if your business is set back inside a business plaza. By having them out on the street, it will alert them to the change.
• Event Signage: Events always need signage—directing newcomers to the event and highlighting sponsors.

The Positives of Yard Signs

Yard signs are such a popular marketing method for a number of reasons. Affordability being number one. They are fairly inexpensive, but then we have options to reduce the price even further if your budget is tight. Though we offer frames for the signs, removing the frame and printing on just one side (rather than both) can save money. Quantity can also help reduce costs—if you order in bulk, the price point lowers. Plus, there is different pricing for full-color vs. 2-color vs. 1-color printing.

Durability is another positive to yard signs. They are designed to withstand the elements, plus they then can be easily removed when needed or the promotion is over.

They are also highly customizable. Not only in color, but in design. If you don’t have a specific design in mind, we have expert graphic designers who can create a sign to fulfill your needs. We will also make sure your design is effective—ensuring it’s easy to read and simple in design (a cluttered sign will be ineffective). We can adjust the size as well. Though 12x18” through 24x38” is the typical size ballpark, we can cut it to any size you’d like.

Once you have some key placement locations in mind (and have researched local laws to make sure your chosen areas permits them), give us at Epic Signs & Graphics a call. We can help get your message out to the public!

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. 

With all the technology we easily have at our fingertips these days, even if a person happens to get lost, it’s so simple for them to find their way. Google Maps, Waze, MapQuest … all these directional apps can help someone get where they need to go. But once a traveler arrives at their destination, there are times when they need specific directions within and around a business. Having proper directional signage can save a lot of time and confusion, making for a smoother visit.

Times When Directional Signs are Needed

When a person arrives at your business for the first time, regardless of if it’s a new employee, a delivery person, a prospect, visitor or client, there are times when having directional signage can help them know where to go. For example:

• Delivery vehicles come from all over the country to deliver supplies and products. A lot of times, they arrive at places they’ve never been before. So if it’s a large truck arriving at your location with a large cargo, a sign directing them to the proper door or loading dock can make driving, parking and unloading that large vehicle a lot simpler.
• On a smaller scale, for individuals in their car, if your business shares a large lot with others, it can help if there is signage pointing a driver toward parking, as well as even having parking spot signs exclusive to your visitors. It makes for a friendly welcome!

• Once inside your building, safety signs are the most important signs to have (plus they're required), directing people to safety and emergency exits. It’s important they have clear directions and are placed in crucial spots (your local Fire Marshall can direct you where they should be put).
• If you have a large business with multiple offices and rooms, signs that direct visitors toward groups of office numbers and restrooms can minimize confusion and help them get where they need to go on time.

• With COVID-19 continuing to wreak havoc across the nation, having signage to direct traffic flow through heavy-traveled areas is important, as well having signage to encourage people to keep a safe distance from others waiting in line or from your front welcome desk.

Signage Suggestions

Once you’ve identified what directional signage your business requires, you’ll then need to consider a few things—budget, design and communication. It’s important your signs clearly communicate where you want people to go, while staying on-brand and within budget. At Epic Signs & Graphics, we have the design expertise to help you communicate your message, as well as so many options to help you fulfill all your directional signage needs.

For exterior signage, we have simple, low-budget options like yard signs and banners, as well as more permanent options like metal or woods signs on stakes or posts. For interior directions, vinyl wall or floor art can easily adhere to almost any surface. Window clings and artwork are also another way to direct traffic. But for something more substantial, we have the capabilities to create plastic, metal or wood wall signs if that’s what you prefer.

So whether you’re directing traffic, helping visitors with parking, or pointing clients toward your office, having clear directions is so helpful—and your guests will appreciate it. We can help them get there ... easily!

If you are planning on new exterior building signs, there is a process to work through to determine your budget and scope for completing a successful project. You can't cut corners on this as you need to be seen, at the same time, it has to look good. That comes through when the right sign company is helping you. Below are some of the issues to consider. 

Where does the sign need to go on the building or property?

In many cases it is obvious, if your opening a new store front, it simply goes on the front to identify your location. In other cases, there could opportunities to place 2 signs for visibility from 2 different views, say one on each side of the corner. Or maybe one on the front and the other on the back of the building. It can be smaller but it can be effective.

Style?

In many situations, clients know what they want, but if we are helping guide a decision, we would consider the logo, the culture of the business, landlord rules, and the city parameters, and structure will many times determine the direction.

Size?

This factor is determined mostly by city ordinance, location on the building or ground, distance from the average user to see it and the budget. It is also dependent on how bug the owner wants it!

Lights or No lights?

For most restaurants or retail establishment signs, this is an automatic yes. Most of the time there is already power located at the sign spot so there's not a big expense to run wiring.

As you can see, the situation needs to be evaluated from various angles in order to get the right sign for your business so it supports the big picture business strategy. Contact Epic Signs & Graphics today for a consultation, we'll get you pointed in the right direction.

Every major city in the world has plenty of stories to tell and signs to share. From every person walking on the streets, to every sign hanging on the corner, there are countless stories forming what we know as the metropolis of today.

As it has been quoted in the 1948 film, Naked City, people have over eight million stories to share in the Naked City. And roughly 10 times as many signs. Billboards, banners, signage, neon letters, blinking LEDS and giant letters, they are literally everywhere. In fact, Times Square is famous because of the very signs that make it the hub for advertising. Visit the place and you’d find as many humans as signs. Besides separate billboards, buildings with tall structures also happen to be a good camping ground for signs.

In this hubbub of signs, there is very little room for error when it comes to designing your own external signs. You have one chance to swing with all your might, and hope that the sign achieves the end results. Here we discuss some of the Do’s and Don’ts of a good external sign, which you should follow for your next campaign.

Don’t Design a Generic Sign

In all this competition, glitter and glamour, you don’t want your sign to be a basic and generic version of what you’re selling. External marketing is all about adding oomph to your brand. Try to come up with an innovative idea that stands out rather than being just another sign on the corner. Make people want to stop what they are doing and click pictures of your sign for being different. A simple ‘we are the best hotel’ sign won’t work anymore.

Do Sell Your Brand

By stepping out of the generic idea we don’t want you to stop selling your brand. Your major priority should still be to sell your brand in the best manner possible. You cannot slack off when it comes to selling your brand. Try to be innovative with the idea and find your Unique Selling Point or USP before you get the sign up live. We see a lot of brands err over this, as they forget just how important it is to sell, rather than just inform.

Do for Quality

This is something that you should follow religiously. No one likes a brand sign with LED lights not blinking or the dimensional lettering coming off. This will end up damaging your reputation. Hence, whenever you go out with your new sign, make sure there is no compromise on the quality of materials used.

Don’t go for too much Information

Imagine your sign is placed on the side of a tall building overlooking the road. Your main audience would be the drivers passing below. How much time would these drivers have to glance at your board? A split second or a couple of seconds most? They won’t have the time to read an elongated message, so don’t make them go through this hassle. Keep the message short and deliver your information without any hassle.

If you need the best exterior signs installed outdoors, then you should contact the best graphics company in Ohio to help you out.

We are fortunate to live on the North Coast. We do not get hit with hurricanes and the type of flooding our friends in the South are experiencing. Businesses down there will be updating their signs as part of the process to get back on track no doubt. But even with the tough weather swings we do get, how have your business signs held up? Every summer they get blasted with UV and every winter they get blasted with temps below zero.

Relentless snow, ice and rain can wreak havoc on even the most durable of signs, which is why it’s important to survey all of your exterior business signs -- from your building sign to vehicle graphics -- for signs of wear and tear after severe weather and periodically throughout the year. However, the weather’s not the only reason for you to update your business signage.

Is it time for a sign update?

Physical damage to exterior signs or peeling graphics are the most visible indicators that it’s time to update your business signs, but you should also take stock of some of the following indicators for a sign refresher.

You purchased on a budget (or no budget)

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with going with budget signage when you’re first getting started in business, as long as the signs work for you and your company. However, if you’ve been in business for a few years and haven’t invested in new signage, it’s time to upgrade. When you meet with our designers to discuss options that will work for your business, your budget is factored in, and our designers work within those constraints.

Your signage is outdated

The easiest way to tell if your exterior business signs is obsolete is if it’s no longer working for your business. You know, when your sign has been around so long that it just blends in with the surroundings -- you don’t want to be in that position.

When you first went into business, did you try to put everything on your sign? If your sign is too wordy, it’s time to change things up, and if you’ve been around for a while, you don’t need to list each of the products and services you offer on your sign.

All businesses change over time, sometimes subtly, sometimes drastically, and your signage should reflect those changes. If the atmosphere or general feel of your company has changed, make sure that your business signs indicate it.

You’ve never changed it

If you need to be hit over the head with obviousness, we’ll help you out -- if you’ve been in business for years and have never changed your signage: IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO UPDATE YOUR SIGNS!

Give us a call to update your business signage. Our designers will work with you to create graphics and sign designs that reflect positively on your business and attract new customers.

You can meet and even exceed your sales goals and increase client traffic with the assistance of effective outdoor signs. Cleveland businesses, large and small, can benefit from eye catching and effective outdoor promotional campaigns and permanent exterior signs showing customers where you are located. Below we will detail some of the more popular types of exterior signs offered by Epic Signs & Graphics.

Window Vinyl Graphics

Vinyl is currently one of the most sought after materials in sign making. This is due to its versatility. With very little notice, we can create vinyl decals that affix to just about any surface. They are easy to install, use, and reuse for annual sales or special events. Plus, they are designed to be fade resistant and to last for years.

Monument Signs

Of all signage types, these are perhaps the most recognizable. The most common types are sandblasted, routed letter, and concrete, metal, & foam monument signs. High density urethane foam is one of the materials often found in monument signs today. This is because it is incredibly durable and can be made to look like many other materials, such as stucco, brick, wood, or stone, without the vulnerabilities of these other materials.

Dimensional Building Letters

When you are looking for outdoor signs, Cleveland businesses will be hard pressed to find signs that can handle inclement weather better than dimensional building letters. These signs utilize a variety of different materials to stick out from your storefront to catch the attention of pedestrians as they walk down the sidewalk.

Commercial and Construction Site Signs

This is an umbrella category that includes an array of other signage types, such as safety signs, warning signs, and ADA compliance signs. Often times, these signs are required by law. We understand the laws in the Cleveland area and can help you with the exterior signage you need to make sure you are up to code.

Metal Plaques

If you want something that is long lasting, heavy duty, and distinguished, metal plaques are for you. You can memorialize, dedicate, inform and educate, and commemorate with metal plaques. Bronze, brass, baked enamel, and aluminum are often used to make the plaques. And, they can be custom etched with your message.

LED Message Boards

Also known as electronic message signs and electronic message centers, LED message boards are hot items these days. You can easily change the message you broadcast to your clientele as well as keep a storage bank of your most used messages. This is a great way to share essential information that changes often.

Channel Letters

Last but definitely not least are channel letters. This is the most popular way to display your company’s name directly on the exterior of your building. Available in both illuminated and non-illuminated varieties, channel letters are made from durable extruded aluminum shaped to match your company’s typeface to allow for consistent branding.

If you are unsure about what type of outdoor signage you need or if you are certain you want the best commercial sign company in Cleveland to do the work for you, contact Epic Signs & Graphics today!