REFRESHING SCHOOL SPIRIT

HOW PAINTING AN OLD ROCK BRIGHTENED A SCHOOLYARD

FUN PROJECT
Every now and then you get a chance to help the community with your time and talent.  Recently I was able to have just such an opportunity for a fun weekend volunteer project.

My wife is a math coach in Staunton, Virginia. Before the first day of school, she asked me to dust off my sign painting skills to help repaint the spirit rock in the school playground. The original bee mascot had seen better days. Why not get the kids jazzed up and give them a fresh, bright start for 2014 versus having them feel sad that their poor old bee friend was all faded out and struggling to survive?

We thought maybe the newly painted rock could indirectly be a sign of all the exciting new things in store for them as they started a brand new school year, some seeing school for the very first time. We hoped the new hand painted logo would create lots of smiles!

The volunteer project took a mere three hours to complete, but perhaps it will set a happy tone at one Virginia elementary school for many years to come for both students and teachers alike!

 

Top Photo: The way the rock looked at the start of the project. The entire rock was cleaned and coated with fresh, white paint.

Center Photo: Painting the chrome yellow and black parts of the bee with a small lettering brush.

Bottom Photo: The finished product!

Written by: Mark Hackley
mhackley@holidaysigns.com
540-416-3154

Read These Recent Project Case Studies:

• MeadWestvaco: Why Use Sign Prototypes?
• Virginia Iconic Signs
• Case Study: Hotel John Marshall
• Historic Restoration Case Study
• Powerful Entrance to a Virginia Mixed Use Development
• Dominion Enterprises: High-Rise Branding
• Connects Federal Credit Union
• Historic Restoration-Altria Theater
• ACAC Fitness Centers

 

 

Our Approach to Selling Signs

Part 1- Deciding What’s Right

A PROCESS

On any given day, our project managers are working on a variety of sign types.  I walked through our Chester shop and among the many projects in production, I noticed a set of custom channel letters for a church, an internally illuminated pylon sign for a shopping center, a wall cabinet sign for a hair salon, and a fairly large electronic message center for a hospital all being assembled.  The processes by which these various sign types were specified for particular projects is complex, and in my mind, not part of the typical selling approach of the average sign shop in Virginia.

There are 4 basic questions we ask customers in the preliminary design stage of a sign. Leaving any unanswered can lead to ineffective sign solutions:

• What is your desired image?
• What is your “budget”?
• What fits best with the building, the neighborhood, and the local code?
• How do you determine placement and size considering viewing distance & sight lines? 

LOOKS ARE EVERYTHING

The response to the first question concerning overall image has to be extremely unique. After all, shouldn’t your site stand out over everyone else on the block?  Keeping in mind that you only get one chance to make a first impression, it’s important to spend extra time pondering an effective sign design.

Quite often in small organizations, the owner, general manager, pastor, or whoever is in charge of the site being branded, is the brand and the signage could be designed to reflect his tastes and personality. In larger, more structured organizations, the brand may be more thought out.  For example if an organization’s branding statement is, “We are part of our community,” then perhaps a sign matching the style of the community that integrates a digital component able to post community events under a fresh and inviting sign with the company’s logo would be the best answer to: “What is your desired image?” 

Sometimes it’s initially difficult for our clients to perceive the sign type that’s best for them. When contemplating new digital signs, we frequently ask customers to list a few nearby signs they like and a few they dislike, and reasons why. Exercises like this help our project managers brainstorm sign designs that will fit their client’s tastes.  That may sound simple, but it’s just the starting point of our comprehensive approach to selling signs.  Don’t miss Part 2, “What is Your Budget?”

 

Read the entire series here:

Our Approach to Selling Signs, Part 1: Deciding What’s Right

Our Approach to Selling Signs, Part 2: Budgeting

Our Approach to Selling Signs, Part 3: Environment

Our Approach to Selling Signs, Part 4: Viewing Distance & Sight Lines

Our Approach to Selling Signs, Part 5: Demos and Prototypes

 

 

 

If you liked this you may also like:

 

• 6 Reasons to Retrofit Neon to LED
• Consideration of Sunlight and Shadow in Signage Design
• Consideration of Viewing Angle in Signage Design
• How Can Specialty Sign Lighting Techniques Position Your Brand?
• Effective Contrast-Color
• Effective Contrast-Type
• Reverse Channel Letters- Burger Bach Restaurant
• Sign Maintenance- Paint: How Long Should You Wait?
• Six Benefits of Digital Signs

 

 

 

We build custom electric signs for hotels, restaurants, breweries, wineries, convention centers, resorts, amusement parks, athletic centers, stadiums, hospitals, outpatient centers, corporate headquarters, office buildings, commercial developments, shopping centers, retail stores, convenience stores, gas stations, used car dealers, theaters, banks, credit unions, insurance agencies, doctors offices, dental centers, eye care centers, nursing homes, sports clubs, not-for-profits, churches, airports, government centers, and so on!

CUSTOM ELECTRIC SIGN GUIDES FROM HOLIDAY SIGNS OF CHESTER, VIRGINIA

If you are contemplating designing or purchasing custom electric signs in Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC, or North Carolina, here are some free PDF’s to help guide your decision-making process in selecting the best possible partner.

Holiday Signs specializes in serving:

• Regionally-focused, multi-location retailers;
• Clients interested in optimizing customer engagement with exterior digital messaging;
• Customers with technically challenging design, manufacturing, or installation requirements.

 

The following articles, in PDF format, can be safely downloaded and saved or printed for your reference library:

TECHNICALLY CHALLENGING TOPICS:

 

 

 Restoring Downtown Historic Signage

 

 

 Utilizing Digital Signage in Historic Downtown Restorations

 

 

 How Iconic Signs Can Help Brand Your Corner

 

 

 The Challenges and Impact of Installing Signs on Radius Walls

 

 

 Why Sign Prototypes Make Sense for Large-Scale Projects

BRANDING TOPICS:

 

 

 How Wayfinding Becomes a Branding Tool

 

 

 One Church Branding Option

 

 

 Shopping Center Repositioning Case Study 1

 

 

 Shopping Center Repositioning Case Study 2

 

 

  Re-Branding a Retirement Community

DIGITAL MESSAGING TOPICS:

 

 

 Part 1- Connect With The Community

 

 

 Part 2- Co-op Advertising Opportunities

 

 

 Part 3- Impact Tens of Thousands Daily

 

 

 Part 4- Control Your Own Media Channel

 

 

 Part 5- Digital Signs Work

 

 

 Part 6- Retailers Can Promote Loss Leaders to Attract Business

GENERAL SIGNAGE TOPICS:

 

 

 Reverse Channel Letters

 

 

 Consideration of Sunlight & Shadows When Designing Wall Graphics

 

 

 Viewing Angle and Readability

 

 

 6 Reasons to Retrofit Neon to LED

 

 

 Push-Thru Acrylic Graphics

 

 

Custom Awnings

 

 

See all these and more interesting articles on our website’s blog:

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE HOLIDAY SIGNS BLOG SITE

 

Contact a sales representative by calling (804)796-9443

 

 

Resources for sign design. Articles about signs. Sign Company Catalogs. Who makes electric signs in Virginia? Technical articles about signage. Sign companies in Richmond, Fredericksburg, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Williamsburg, Toano, West Point, Roanoke Rapids, Ashland, Petersburg, Colonial Heights, Emporia, Amelia, Goochland, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Appomattox, South Boston, Suffolk, Franklin, VA

 

LIFEPOINT CHURCH: COVERING ALL THE INS AND OUTS OF SIGNS

THE FULL PACKAGE- SUPPLIERS FOR EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR SIGNS

Lifepoint Church, a Fredericksburg-based church with three locations just off I-95 recently utilized Holiday Signs for all of its signage. Holiday Signs collaborated with KBS Construction of Richmond and Pye Interiors of Charlottesville to provide both the exterior and interior signage for Lifepoint’s brand new building located in a section of Central Park, a modernized retail center in Fredericksburg.  

The church name on the building’s radial entrance canopy is striking as you make the approach on foot or by vehicle.  Additional exterior signage marks the main entrance off the church parking lot, and a complete customized interior signage system supports the positive exterior branding impressions while directing members and visitors where to go once inside the large worship facility.

Custom Exterior Sign System Components:

•     Set of large, bright red channel letters, illuminated with internal white LED modules

•     Eye-catching custom internally-illuminated inlaid wall cabinet sign with a unique pattern of custom fabricated red rectangles that draw attention to the building entrance

 

 

Custom Interior Signage System Components:

•     Several large, interesting wall mounted logos at main entry points

•     A total of 80 custom-fabricated room and directional signs

 

 

Three Advantages of Using a Single-Source for All the Signage on your next Project:

    1) EASIER- Less work needed to qualify the source and probably less administrative effort in dealing with only one supplier;

    2) ADVANTAGEOUS- When significant engineering effort is required and branding features are common to both interior exterior signage, it’s a real advantage to utilize a single source for all the signs;                    

    3) ECONOMICAL- Since all of the signage is given to one source, the buyer maximizes his leverage based on total quantity.

One more advantage of single-sourcing is service. There’s only one company to call later if you need to add or change signs on the interior signs while at the same time your exterior lighting needs service. Using a single source, you only make one call, only pay one trip charge, and rely on one account manager to fulfill all your needs.

 

Contact:

Mark Hackley, Account Executive

Holiday Signs, mhackley@holidaysigns.com

540-416-3154

 

 

 

 

If you liked this article, here are some more you may like as well:

 

VIRGINIA CHURCH SIGN CASE STUDY 1

VIRGINIA CHURCH CASE STUDY 2

USING BRICKS TO FUND NEW SIGNAGE

OPERATION SMILE CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS SIGNAGE

SEE HOW ONE RETAILER USES SIGNAGE TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY

 

SUPPLIERS for EXTERIOR and INTERIOR SIGNS

RE-BRANDING SHENANDOAH UNIVERSITY’S NORTHERN VIRGINIA CAMPUS

LEESBURG, VA- Several of our college and university clients are utilizing illuminated channel letters for building identification at their college campuses.

3 REASONS WHY ILLUMINATED CHANNEL LETTERS ARE A GOOD FIT FOR COLLEGES:

• They help students, staff and visitors quickly identify buildings and make it easier to find their way around
  
• They add a level of lighting at night that improves campus safety and overall appearance
  
• They boost school spirit by highlighting the school brand or mascot 24 hours a day
  

 

Last month, we designed, fabricated and installed a new custom-built electric sign for Shenandoah University’s Northern Virginia Campus located in Leesburg, Virginia as part of a comprehensive re-branding initiative at their main Winchester Campus and all satellite locations.

The building that houses one of the college’s Northern Virginia locations next to Inova Loudoun Hospital is set back from the main road, and the University’s entrance is around to the left as you approach the 3-story building.  The existing branding was a set of dimensional letters attached directly to the wall, high and just under the roof line, and non-illuminated. Collaborating with the organization’s marketing directors and facilities managers, Holiday Signs provided a better solution with illuminated channel letters. The logo and letters are individually crafted and installed on common raceways, allowing for less disturbance to the exterior wall, and easier maintenance.

 

Holiday Signs has outstanding capabilities in designing, manufacturing, installing, and servicing all types of custom signs. They work hard to help colleges brand their campuses, boost school spirit, and make getting around their sites more user-friendly with custom kiosks, directories, general exterior and interior wayfinding signage, electronic message centers, athletic program signage, customized donor walls, architectural signs, banners and displays.

 

If you liked this, you may also be interested in these sign stories:

 

• What is the Cocooning Effect?
• Shopping Center Repositioning
• Re-Branding a Retirement Community
• Turning Eyeballs into Smiles
• Green Marketing
• Site Lighting and Your Brand
• Flexible LED Case Study
• Custom Awnings
• Richmond Executive Airport
• Branding Grace Church
• Shopping Center Makeovers Boosting Economic Development
• Branding and Anniversary at Kings Dominion