Meeting the Need

At Vital Signs, we believe in supplying signage that best meets the customer's need. While we never compromise on the quality of our product, we do work with a range of materials that allows us to offer cost effective signs that get the job done. Quick, short term signs for trade show booths do not need to be made from the same highest quality materials that we use for outdoor permanent displays. Our expert material selection ensures that your expectations are met, along with your budget.

To help get started on your particular project, we've put together a summary of sign materials with basic information on each:

Substrates:

Corrugated Plastic - Commonly used for short term signage. Available in colours. Lightweight, washable, self-supporting and inexpensive.

Polystyrene - Medium term life expectancy. Somewhat flexible, used for lower cost tradeshow signage or busboard ads, flat and opaque with no corrugation.

Sintra - Longer life span. Available in colours, can be shaped. Commonly used in retail POS sign applications. Matte appearance, mid-line price point, rigid.

Acrylic - Top end appearance and pricing. Rigid but thermoformable. Used for backlit panels, fixtures and more.

Wood - Exterior grade 1/2" pressure treated plywood with both faces laminated to seal from weather. Rigid, medium price range, great for real estate signs, building identification, parking lot signs.

Dibond - Exterior grade long life aluminum faced with dense PVC core. Extremely strong, smooth finish on both sides. Upper price range.

Poly Banner - Rollable, short term banner backing. Available in white, yellow or black. Washable, for interior use only. Great tradeshow or POS option.

Vinyl Banner - Longer term life expectancy. Stitched seams, grommets and reinforced corners. Exterior or interior use. Repeated rolling and unrolling doesn't crease and crinkle as poly banner will over time. Upper price range. Wide range of colours available.

Magnetic - Two types available: fridge magnet quality or vehicle magnet grade.

Vinyl Types for Graphics:

Economy Grade - For short term applications. Limited colour selection, inexpensive, primarily for interior use.

Mid-Grade - Some exterior capabilities where long life is not a requirement.

Premium Grade - Long life alternative. Wide colour selection. Should be used on all exterior signage and vehicles to ensure durability. Highest cost.

Some Thoughts on Layout:

Advertising is everywhere. The average consumer is presented with thousands of messages every day, but the key to successful promotion is communication. The message has to get through the clutter and be noticed by the consumer. Signs can be a clear and effective form of communication, but to achieve that goal you need to apply time-proven rules of design.

Common design mistakes include putting too much information on the sign. Everyone wants to tell their story in complete detail, thinking that the more the consumer sees, the more they'll remember about the company.

Actually, quite the opposite is true. You only have a few seconds to catch the attention of a potential future client. If you don't communicate your message in those few seconds, you've lost them. Keep your layout as simple and eye-pleasing as possible to get the job done effectively.

Another mistake is using too many 'slick' looking typefaces or too many colours in a layout. These only serve to confuse the eye and makes the message difficult to read.
A difficult message to read is a message that remains unread.

Sometimes you may want to make everything in your layout as large as possible, with the copy squeezing into the corners of the sign and leaving little 'white space' for contrast. This provides less contrast to the copy and, again, makes the message difficult to read. In sign layout, less is more. Proper negative space makes your copy jump off the background and increases readability at a distance. Believe it!

Of course, these are generalizations and we can find many examples of effective designs that break the rules. Visual communication is, after all, an art. What does hold consistently true is that the most effective messages are clear and concise. Effective communication means people notice your message and are more likely to become customers, boosting sales volume and adding to your company's bottom line.

At Vital Signs, we take pride in producing effective signage. We take our knowledge of materials and understanding of the visual communications art, apply the latest digital technology and create signs that get the message across - every time.

When you're ready to communicate your message, just give us a call.

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Copyright © 2000-2002 Vital Signs.  All rights reserved.  Trademarks property of their respective owners.
Last modified: November 15, 2000