Can a Banner be Different?

Have you ever asked yourself “why is it that I spend good money on a sign or banner that no one notices?” Think back to high school (unless it was too traumatic of an experience). Remember the kid that didn’t dress like everyone else? Remember the kid that did their hair different from everyone other kid in school?
These kids may not have been your best friends but they got noticed and it is how many years later and you can still picture them? Well designed signs and print materials work the same way. Unfortunately too often we settle for an end product that catches little attention and defeats it’s own purpose.
So the question begs why? Why are some sign shops better than others?There are many reasons some of which are lack of design talent, laziness and costs.
There are many talented designers in the industry but design time can be expensive and often the small business owner views custom designs outside of their advertising budgets. For this reason some small sign shops do not spend enough time or effort in improving their design knowledge or talent. There are as in any industry those who enter the sign business with little to no design experience only thinking “wow easy business, high profits.” The end result here is a “clip art” sign or banner that strangely resembles your competitors banner down the road. This can be just plain laziness on the part of the sign shop. Software companies such as Adobe offer online tutorials that can teach the beginner or hone the talents of the pro.
So what do you do? How do you get a great looking sign, banner or marketing piece without having to hire a New York firm? Signs speak for themselves. Before you hire a company ask for samples of their work. Ask for some sample mock-ups of how they plan on getting your message out in an original way with an original design and yes at an original price! Especially today sign shops are willing to work out a deal.
Don’t settle for the ordinary. You work hard for every dollar especially these days. A well designed sign or print media product should get you or your business noticed. If people don’t comment on your sign or your business card than maybe you need to look for a new designer. Maybe you need to call that person from high school you thought of and see if they happen to be in the sign business.