1. Cast Metal Letters – Typically for outdoors where permanency is required for professional offices, universities, and government buildings, these are great for monument signs, and building signs.

2. Laser Cut Aluminum – also known as waterjet or flat cut, this sign material is good for indoor and outdoor signs, cut into letters, logo’s or any shape. They are terrific for lobby signs, wall signs, logo signs, monument signs, and office signs.

3. Metal Laminate on Acrylic – When the Look and feel of metal is needed, but a budget doesn’t allow for it, brushed metal laminate on acrylic is a very good indoor sign choice. The acrylic can even be painted to match the look of the aluminum.Use for lobby signage, wall signs, logo signs, and office signage.

4. Metal Laminate on Foam – Another option for the budget minded, this indoor sign material can be used when depth and dimension are critical. Use for lobby signs, wall signs, and logo signage.

Several things, actually.

Business signage is the main building block of your advertising and marketing campaigns. In a time when advertising is one of the biggest industries in American business, advertising and marketing agencies are collecting huge fees to draw attention to your product or service. Options to spending your marketing dollar are numerous. While a larger marketing strategy certainly won’t hurt your business, sometimes the simplest, most cost-effective avenues are slighted. Take, for instance, the custom office sign.

Undeniably, the first step in advertising your business is to have a sign. How will people find your business if you don’t have a sign? Besides highlighting your location, custom business signage is your first chance to show a potential customer your business’ personality. Man is nothing if not a visually-stimulated creature, and since signs are a visual medium; make the most of your target audience’s fascination for visually appealing images!

Your custom sign must be unique to your company, branding your business with a stimulating and visually compelling corporate logo. Indeed, your custom sign should be your trademark, a calling card to potential clients. So naturally it is important to carefully plan and execute the best design for your sign. If you own a bakery, your sign will surely look different than if you are designing a sign for a tire company. Creating a custom sign that properly communicates the flavor of your business means you should carefully choose the font, color and layout, as well as considering the presentation of the sign. For instance, a freeway billboard will obviously be designed differently than the daily menu at your favorite eatery.

More questions to keep in mind while designing your business signage are: Who is your target audience and what are you trying to tell them? How can you make your bid for stardom fit your market in a way that will draw customers? Keeping these questions in mind as you design new business signs will help ensure that your business sign is fresh and direct, reaching out to your customers!

Once your sign is designed, the custom graphics may be used to brand your business in several ways. The company logo that was used on the custom sign can be incorporated in business cards, stationery, and on the company website to create a unified and easily identified look for your customers to associate with you.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Suze_Lewis

According to experts at the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA), signs are a terrific way to reach consumers on the go. The organization adds that case studies continually show that signs increase awareness, influence purchasing, and sell products.

To maximize the power of signs, experts recommend following these design guidelines:

Remember readability
Be sure your lettering is large enough to read from a distance. If people can’t see what the sign says then you’ve just wasted a lot of money.

Carefree Signs recommends the following industry standards:

Reading Distance Letter Height
100 ft. 1¾” to 2″ or above
200 ft. 3½” and above
400 ft. 7″ and above
600 ft. 10½” and above
800 ft. 14″ and above
1000 ft. 17″ and above
1300 ft. 22″ and above

Use tried and true fonts
Sticking to simple fonts will make your sign easier to read. Finke suggests Times Roman, Sans Serif (not too much flare), Frutiger, and Universe fonts. OAAA also advises allowing for adequate spacing between letters and lines, as well as using both upper and lower characters.

Carefully choose colors
According to OAAA, “research demonstrates that high color contrast can improve outdoor advertising recall by 38 percent.”

Best Combinations:

Black on yellow
Black on white
Yellow on black
White on black
Blue on white

Simple messages
Experts agree that when it comes to signs, less is better. OAAA recommends brevity – seven words or fewer, and no more than three elements per sign.

Your sign should quickly and clearly state three important points:

Who you are – your company name and identity
What you do – this section usually highlights your industry or trade, and is given the greatest prominence
How well you do it – a short slogan or company motto might be used in this area
Think in pictures

Graphics and pictures are still worth a thousand words. A picture of a mouth-watering cake may make a greater impact on potential customers than any slogans about baking the best cakes in the county.

Remove temporary signs
If you hang a vinyl banner to announce a sale or grand opening, take it down when the special period concludes. Perpetually posted signs will not make the impression you expect; people may begin to ignore the banner’s message.

Check local laws
Your town or city may have ordinances restricting sign size, lighting, and spacing. Check with your municipality before beginning the design process.