5 Of The Worst Signage Failures

When your business’ sign is flopping in the wind, you are communicating a clear message to your clients. And that message is one of disarray, a lack of attention to details, and a sense of sloppiness. These are not desirable points to communicate. There are a number of ways sign installation can quickly go wrong. Here are several mistakes that can drastically damage the potentially positive work your sign can do.

Banners Blowing

One popular sign variety is the banner. These can be quite long, or rather short. They can be posted in a variety of spaces such as lamp posts and above entranceways. Some of these locations are more vulnerable to installation problems than others.

When you have a banner posted outside, it must be able to stand up to the elements. Things such as wind and rain can really challenge how well your sign was installed. Now in a hurricane most people won’t be too judgemental, but if a little summer’s breeze is sending your banner flapping in the wind, you have a classic case of poor installation.

Quality banner installation takes elements such as the wind into account. This means that the proper tension needed in order to maintain a taut appearance will be implemented. Failure to get this balance correct leads to floppy and sagging signs. The right sorts of materials must be used in the installation, and everything needs to be properly mounted. Don’t let your banner becoming a burden! Instead, make sure you get quality sign installers to help.

Dips and Dents

If you have a long sign, one of the challenges can be to keep it nice a taut. When there is a lot of material to work with, it is very important that it be properly supported from behind. Failure to do this can lead to distracting dips and dents. Although this may not render the entire sign as ineffective, it certainly distracts the client and ultimately communicates that there is a lack of attention to detail.

Some of these dips and dents can cause more serious problems. Not only can they undermine the lifecycle of the sign material, but it can also create unfortunate visual effects. For example, a sign with a image of a face which suffers from a few dents may turn a friendly image to a lopsided disturbing one. Its always bad to make clients feel disturbed, so you want to ensure that your signs do not suffer any such difficulties. Check out this post for some examples of this problem http://www.signs.com/blog/sign-installation-failures/

Disintegrating Materials

The materials used in installing your sign, as well as the materials used to create your sign, must consist of items which can stand up to the environment. If you want to display your sign outside, the materials used must be able to withstand both wind and rain exposure.

If you use a material which is unacceptably weak, your sign can literally fall apart. You may begin to suffer from dips and dents, or the flopping and sagging material. In order to determine what kinds of material your installation requires, you will need to evaluate the location where the sign will be on display.

Consulting professionals is ideal in for this problem because the sorts of materials available to help display signs is extensive. Those who work frequently with them will be able to give you guidance about what is most and least likely to hold up.

Tilted Displays

Failure to properly mount a sign can result in it tilting one way or the other. This distracts from the content of the sign and ultimately makes the business appear sloppy. It can be quite unsettling to those who want to see clean cut lines. If the sign is near any other square lines, it can be quite visually unappealing to have one be slightly asque. You can see an example of this on this post about public and state building signs: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/public-and-state-building-signs-part-1/

Beautiful Display, Incorrect Spelling

Suppose you have successfully and proudly displayed your sign. You have managed to get it installed using the right material, at the right height, and its situated perfectly to entice your customers. But, after admiring all this hard work, it strikes you that one of the words is misspelled. Sometimes misspelled words can even suggest something completely different than what was intended. This can range from comic to inappropriate. You want to be sure that whoever you are working with on your sign, everyone is on the lookout for misspellings and the like. Failure to catch such things can be costly and deter potential clients. For a good laugh, check out these comic sign tragedies http://www.buzzfeed.com/tasneemnashrulla/29-spelling-mistakes-from-india-that-will-make-you-laugh-cry

Louise Williams has traveled all over the globe to study and capture all of the various types of signs out there. From Europe to China to India, she’s seen all types of signage, and now she brings her knowledge to IS Installations and to the masses.