Southern California Sign Blog

Custom Signs - We do it all!

Need custom signs?

The Sign Studio is located in Burbank, and services Los Angeles area locations that include Glendale, Studio City, West Hollywood, Century City, Los Angeles, and more! Businesses depend on us for custom signs and we are here to help you find solutions. 

"We use state-of-the-art, computer-assisted signmaking systems and techniques to create high-impact, cost-effective signs that get results. Best of all, we make the whole process simple." ~ The Sign Studio Marketing specialist Julie Ramirez

When you work with The Sign Studio, you're hiring a team of experts:

• Owner: Chris Ramirez
• Marketing Specialist: Julie Ramirez 
• Art Director: Bill Bates 

Working as a team, we assist our clients by providing an assessment that will identify your needs and developing cost-effective design solutions that produce results for you. 

Remember: "A Business with No Sign is a Sign of No Business".

What can we do for you?

• Banners
• Vehicle and Window Graphics
• Site Signs
• Monument Signs
• Architectural/Directional
• Sandblasted Signs
• Dimensional Letters
• Illuminated Signs
• Graphic Design
• Car, Truck and Boat Wraps
• Channel Letters
• Need Neon? Download our guide to neon signs
• And Much More!

Where are we? Everywhere!

• Come see us: 831 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank CA 91505
• Give us a call: 818-843-9200
• Email us: thesignstudio@sbcglobal.net
• Visit our Website: www.thesignstudioonline.com
• Read our Blog
• Follow us on Twitter
• Connect with us on Facebook
• Add us to your LinkedIn network

Ready for a quote? Click here.

At The Sign Studio, we do it all and we’re committed to filling your need for custom signs! 

Your signage design and installation experts in LA County!

The Sign Studio specializes in signs of all kinds and is the one-stop shopping place for sign installation in LA County and surrounding areas. Whether you're just starting up and need to get your name out there or your company is already wildly successful, chances are, you need signs. Make the most of your marketing budget and let The Sign Studio handle your sign and banner installation needs. We've been serving Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena and the greater Los Angeles area for many years and have created signs and banners for some of the most successful businesses around. Now we're ready to put our experience and expertise to work for you. Drive new customers to your door with our eye-catching vehicle signs, or increase your visibility with window graphics, illuminated signs or updated dimensional lettering.

Our business can help you do big business by increasing your visibility, updating your logo or flying your flag with banners and directional signs. Let our skilled graphic artists and craftsman turn your great ideas into reality with our wide variety of techniques and materials. We'll take care of everything, from the design table to sign installation. Because all we do is signs, we do it well, and with The Sign Studio as your signage design and installation experts in LA County, you can get back to running your business while we go about the business of getting your name and your message up there, out there and pretty much anywhere you need it to be!

If you have any questions or need assistance with anything, please give us a call at The Sign Studio (818) 843-9200 or send us an e-mail at info@signstudiola.com.
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Make Your Business Stand Out with Metal and Dimensional Letters!

Are you looking for a way to really make your business stand out? Do you want people to remember you when they're gone? Then look no further than The Sign Studio! We are a full service sign company using the latest techniques to bring you the highest quality signs for the best price. If you really want your business to stand out to potential customers, you can't go wrong with our Dimensional Letters. Perfect for indoor or outdoor usage, Dimensional Letters will give your business logo a 3D look that will just pop out. Use your sign to reach out to future clientele!

Our letters are created to last, making our signs a great long term investment for your business! We use materials like acrylic, wood, and metal to ensure your sign will stand the test of time and be able to face any element nature throws at it. No more worrying about wear and tear after only a few years! Choose a sign with Dimensional Letters from The Sign Studio that will be as strong as your business!

We welcome you to check out our website at http://www.thesignstudioonline.com/ to browse through our many cost effective selections. And remember, A Business With No Sign, is a Sign of No Business!

If you have any questions or need assistance with anything, please give us a call at The Sign Studio (818) 843-9200 or send us an e-mail at info@signstudiola.com.

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Signs Competing for Attention  

Even if your sign looked good when it was alone on your computer screen, look what can happen when it lands in its final location, perched high up on a building. Your sign could lose impact when seen from the landscape of visual noise.

After walking through this scenario in Times Square, I asked some people if any one message stood out in their memory, to which they each replied "no". There was no "take away" message, no "call to action" that stuck in their minds after being exposed to this cluster of signage. Too many messages competing with one another do not result in a communication delivered to your audience.

When you are considering signage, or where to place a sign, take into account the surroundings it will be viewed in. You don't have to be considering a location like Times Square in New York. Even if you are designing signage for a tradeshow at a hotel or large hall venue, consider the competing signage and messaging that will exist there.

Design something that stands out amongst the visual noise. Don't just look at a design proof of your sign by itself only, but place it against a photo background of similar noise and distraction. This will help you see what needs to be done to get your message seen against a busy background.

A confused, unclear and unfocused sign is one that includes more information than is necessary.

Take the care to edit your message to its essential minimum-and think about the "white space" so to speak. Especially in a busy environment, such as a trade show or office lobby, you need to clear away a space so your message can be seen. It needs to "pop out" from the background scenery.

Where communicating an announcement or featuring a product, design your sign for quick, brief attention. Think about whether you want it seen at mid-distance or up close-or both.

In the "After" example above, the product is more visible and flows right into the text message. Before, it was sitting inside a white box by itself, not totally integrated with the whole.

As you can see, it's important to put some thought into how to best arrange any visual message.

If you have any further questions or need any help, please give us a call at The Sign Studio (818) 843-9200 or send us an e-mail at info@signstudiola.com.

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Signs, Posters and Banners

At The Sign Studio, we can help you design and print the perfect indoor or outdoor signs, posters, banners, charts, or oversized photos to grab your audience's attention and communicate your message loud and clear. Large, eye-catching signs, posters, banners and displays appeal to customers and deliver your message more effectively.

Signs, Posters and Banners Are Used Everywhere and By Everyone
• Retail/restaurant
• Corporations
• Community groups
• Educational institutions
• Political organizations
• Lawyers
• Dentists
• Real estate agents
• And more!

Why Use Signs, Posters, and Banners?
Signs, posters and banners can help you build brand awareness and brand loyalty, generate leads and retain customers. Whether you're a retail store, small business, or corporate marketing, training or human resources department, we can help you with sales promotions, window and store signs, presentation support, or trade show and event marketing.

Like everything we do at The Sign Studio, we use the latest equipment for the sharpest resolution in black and white or color to create the greatest impact, giving you the greatest return on your investment. To customize your message, you can choose from an almost endless selection of sizes, and print on paper, cloth, vinyl, canvas, or any number of other materials. We even laminate, mount, add grommets or help you with any other type of hanging or assembly.

Have a big idea, or need us to help you with one? It's easy to make a big impression with signs, posters and banners by The Sign Studio!

If you have any further questions or need any help, please give us a call at (818) 843-9200 or send us an e-mail at info@signstudiola.com.

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Wayfinding Signage aka Directional Sign Systems

Signs Are Effective

Your sign is an integral part of your advertising program along with the other forms of commercial communication such as television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and billboards. There are four basic criteria used to judge the effectiveness of these advertising media: (1) coverage of the trade area, (2) repetition of a message, (3) readership of a message, and (4) cost per thousand exposures of a message. Two other criteria important for the small business owner are (5) availability and (6) ease of use. Let's see how signs measure to the above criteria.

1) Signs are oriented to your trade area. Signs do not waste your resources by requiring you to pay for wasted advertising coverage. The people who see your sign are the people who live in your trade area.

2) Signs are always on the job repeating your message to potential customers. Your on-premise sign communicates to potential customers twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, week after week, month after month, year after year. Every time people pass your business establishment they see your sign. The mere repetition of the message will help them remember your business.

3) Nearly everyone reads signs. Signs are practical to use for nearly everyone is used to looking at signs and using signs, even small children. Studies have shown that people do read and remember what is on signs. When special items are displayed, sales increase for these particular items within the store.

4) Signs are inexpensive. When compared to the cost of advertising in some other media, the on-premise sign is very inexpensive. Table 1 indicates the cost-per-thousand-exposures for various media in a given type of community. Unless your trade area encompasses an entire city or region, where you must rely upon broad based media coverage, there is no better advertising dollar value than your on-premise sign.

5) Signs are available to each and every shop owner. There is no need to schedule the use of your sign. Your sign is available to you whenever you need it and to be used however you please.

6) Signs are easy to use. No special skills or resources are needed to operate a sign once it has been installed. If it is an illuminated sign, all you need to do is flip the switches and that may not be necessary with timing equipment. Once the initial expenditures are made no special resources or professional services are needed. You need only operate and maintain your sign.

For further information or if you have any questions, please contact The Sign Studio at (818) 843-9200 or send us an e-mail at thesignstudio@sbcglobal.net

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Here are a few helpful items. Some of LED illumination's potential advantages over neon are:
• LED is less fragile. Neon tubes are much more susceptible to breakage both in transit and during installation.
• LED can mean a lower utility bill for you. LED is a more efficient light source, and the electrical transformer is smaller.
• LED is a more focused light source. An LED module produces a "cone" of light, where neon illumination is emitted from all sides of the neon tube (this can also be a disadvantage for LED, as noted below.)
• Installation of an LED channel letter signs can be easier, as it does not always require conduit on the secondary side.
• LED is a more environmentally friendly product. Neon tubes often contain mercury.
• LED is safer to install, service and maintain. LED is typically powered by 12 volts DC, where neon is powered by 4,000 - 15,000 volts AC. The high voltages required by neon present a significantly higher electrical hazard potential.
However, with all of these differences, neon still has its place. Here is where neon illumination can be better:
• Neon illumination has a certain warm glow that many think LED has yet to match. This is particularly true for reverse and front/back lit channel letter signs. Neon's 360 degree illumination is very easy on the eyes when used with front/back lit letters. LED's focused "light cone" is not as good with these letter types.
• Some custom colors can be better matched with neon. If your client is concerned about a specific color match (such as a logo color), neon may be a better choice.
• Open face channel letter signs still require neon - LED is not yet a viable option.
So, the short answer to "which illumination source is better?" is that it all depends on the project at hand. LED and neon are completely different illumination sources, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.

If you have any questions or for further information, please contact The Sign Studio (818) 843-9200 or info@signstudiola.com.

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As an example, how important would a free-standing pylon sign be to your business? McDonald’s says that on average simply changing a monument sign in front of one of their stores to a pylon sign increases their store’s
business 15%. A Whataburger that was unhappy with their new store’s volume removed their brand-new pylon sign and installed one 40% larger and taller. The store’s volume immediately increased 23%.

Again quoting Small Business Administration research, 89% of businesses that fail do so because of improper signage!

Stated differently, good signage gives a business an almost 90% probability of success.

The SBA says that an LED Message Center increases store volume 15 - 150%.

Purchasing the right signs for the job helps a business survive by bringing higher returns.

We can help, so long as your landlord and the City understand the importance of good signage and allow you to
install signs that will help your business. Unfortunately this isn't always true. Choose your location(s) wisely (and
receive your landlord's approval of your signage package BEFORE you sign your lease.)

And remember the axiom “Location, Location, Location!” The supreme importance of “location” is the numbers of
potential customers that will see your sign...and be able to read and understand it. Very important design and
marketing considerations.

Surprisingly 30% of traffic on almost all business streets occurs when it is dark; people see your sign only if it is
lighted when it is dark out, including on dark days when everyone else's sign is lighted.

With 18.6% of the entire US population moving each year, your sign will be constantly seen by MANY potentially new customers.

Your sign forms that very important “first impression” your potential customer has of your business. Your sign must always look nearly as good as it looked the day it was installed so that you don’t give potential customers a worsening
impression of your business as your sign ages.

Later you will discover how we make each sign to last; including the use of rust-proof metal, high-end automotive paint, high-impact plastics, and most importantly, sophisticated Protective Coatings. .)

If you have any questions or need any help with your signage needs, please contact us at thesignstudio@sbcglobal.net or (818) 843-9200. 

Guide to Using Outdoor Signs

There are a variety of outdoor signs you can use to promote your business. Depending on your budget, some options are more feasible than others. The type of business you're in will also impact your choice. You'll need to familiarize yourself with the different problems that may arise when it comes to advertising your specific business.

You may own a service business that is hard to advertise because you don't have a storefront. Perhaps your business gets lots of drive-by traffic at night and you'd like to tap into that. Or maybe your target market is hard to reach because you sell luxury goods or an unsought product or service. There are business signs that can help with all of these situations:

1. Use yard signs to advertise your service business. This type of outdoor signage is placed in the yards of customers around town.

2. Consider using outdoor signs to help potential customers notice your building. By putting up a lighted sign, people will notice you at night and in bad weather.

3. Reach specific target markets en masse by using large commercial outdoor signs. Billboards and similar types of signs yield high visibility.

Action Steps

The best contacts and resources to help you get it done.  Contact The Sign Studio for a Quote or give The Sign Studio  (818) 843-9200 a call and we will send our Consultant out to meet with you or come to our Studio Showroom for samples located at 831 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505.

Use customized outdoor signs to spread your name around town

Yard signs work best for folks with service businesses. Roofers, landscapers, lawn services, real estate agents and construction contractors can all benefit from the use of yard signs. Whenever you've done a job you're proud of, ask the customer if you can stick a small sign in his yard for a short period of time. This will draw the attention of neighbors and visitors, thus, increasing the possibility that you'll get some new clients. If you buy these signs in bulk, you may qualify for a quantity discount. Note that the outdoor sign holders usually come separately from the signs themselves.

Brighten your business with an outdoor lighted sign

While your business may not be open at night, late-night passersby will take notice of signs that are lit during these hours. Also, inclement weather may make your sign less visible at times, especially during heavy rain or fog. Use these signs to draw attention to your business and set it apart from the others. Lighted signs can be in the form of expensive LED signage or a more basic backlit sign mounted to the facade of your building.

Appeal to the masses with large-format outdoor advertising signs

Billboards are likely strategically placed around your city and its nearby highways. You can actually reach your target audience en masse this way. Find some billboards in areas of your town that are highly trafficked by members of your target market. For example, if you specialize in high-end dermatology services, putting your ad on a billboard near a country club might be effective. On the other hand, if you're a bail bondsman, taking out a billboard located in a high-crime area or near the county jail may get you some new customers.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

•  If you plan on staying in one business location for years, consider installing an architectural outdoor sign. These are usually made from stone, brick or concrete and have a more professional look to them as opposed to neon lights or brightly colored channel letters. You can mount these signs to your building, but they also come in freestanding styles.