What Should My Channel Letter Sign Say and How Big Should It Be?

Naturally your sign should tell customers, vendors, potential employees and yes, salespeople who you are, and this is where you are. How you do that depends on several variables. Typically, you’ll spell out your company name.  But if you are a big corporation with an abbreviation that everyone knows you by, then that might be all you need. For example, 3M has their 3M logo on their buildings, not Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company. When you pull up to Nike headquarters, all you see is the ‘swoosh’. Nike is big and they spent a lot of money on building that brand and symbol.

We often have customers that want to have they’re sign as big as possible using their company name. Playing ‘devil’s advocate’ I’ll ask, what do you do? They’ll answer and then I’ll ask, will someone know that when reading the name on your sign? Until you become 3M or Nike, consider telling people ‘what’ you do. Your company name can be smaller and alongside, above or below ‘what’ you do.

Yes, size matters. But we end up telling our customer to reduce the size of their sign more than increasing the size. See our Readable Distance Chart. Consider the viewing distance a potential visitor will have. Some places all you can see is across the street.  Also consider how fast people will be going when walking, biking or driving by. That should factor into the planning process for the right type of sign.

The last time you looked for a product or service, what did you do?  Odds are you Googled it.  And when you Googled it, a map comes up. So, you know ‘where’ the place is. But it needs to be confirmed with a sign!

Most often, your landlord and the city will dictate how big your sign can be. We will work directly with all parties to coordinate the permits and determine the best placement and size of your business sign, and leave you to focus on growing your business! Call us for money-saving ideas and ways to grab attention with your signage: 763-432-7630

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