What does it actually take to get a sign on your building?
A sign is usually the first real money a new business spends on being seen, and it is the one nobody warns you about. Here is what the decision involves before you start calling around.
Find out what your town allows before you design anything
Sign rules are local and they are not the same from one community to the next. Size, height, lighting, how far back from the street, whether anything can move or flash. Ask the city or county office what applies at your address, in writing if you can get it. The answer shapes the design, so it is cheaper to have it before a designer starts than after.
Know which kind of sign you are buying
A sign on the building, a sign out by the road, window lettering and vehicle lettering are different products with different costs and different rules. Most new businesses need fewer of them than they think at first, and the one worth doing properly is the one people see while deciding whether to come in.
Ask for a proof and look at it where the sign will live
A design that reads well on a screen can be unreadable from a moving car. Ask for a proof at the size it will be made, then stand where your customer will stand. Fewer words and larger letters win almost every time.
Settle who installs it and who fixes it
Making a sign and hanging a sign are separate jobs, and lighting brings an electrician into it. Ask who is responsible for the install, what happens if a permit is refused, and who comes out when a light goes dark a year later. Get that in the quote rather than in conversation.
What to have settled first.
- Written answer from your city or county on what is allowed at your address
- The one sign that matters most, decided before the nice-to-haves
- A proof viewed at full size, from where your customer will stand
- Install, permits and repairs named in the quote
This spot could be your business.
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