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Textured Surfaces Add Interest to Lobby Signs


Uneven surfaces? No worries! Sign Artist installs lobby signs and can work with you to find the perfect custom sign solutions. This raw brick facade is at Edward-Elmhurst Hospital in Elmhurst, Illinois. It proved a little challenging on sign install day, but the results were stunning. Elmhurst University has a state of the art Simulation Center at the Hospital, where its medical students train. Sign Artist has fabricated and installed multiple signs at this location, including:

  1. ADA name plates
  2. Artwork plaque
  3. Backlit monument sign with push-through panel
  4. Nursing mission statement wall sign on acrylic.

This lobby sign above, over rugged brick, is 5 ft W X 1.5 ft H, made of  3-dimensional cast aluminum letters. Meticulous measuring, precision drilling and positioning, are always needed to obtain the perfect install. A little added finesse was required for this rugged wall,  since every brick juts out at a different depth. The striking bronze-colored letters proved to be a perfect contrast to the neutral earth tones of the bricks.

Sign Artist installed an updated lobby sign to help brand the Elmhurst University Simulation Center, which provides nursing students with the hands-on training they need, to be stellar health care professionals in future.

Does your business have a wall needing signage or art installed? With our skilled crew, our expertise with a wide variety of materials, and a graphic/fine artist and photographer on staff, we can work with you, to design the perfect sign solution! Call Ed at 630-594-4185.

LED sign

LEDs Light Up Lobby Signs

 Eggology earns Grade A for this creative illuminated lobby sign design! Backlit with LEDs, and custom fabricated and installed by Sign Artist, this new restaurant sign in South Barrington, Illinois, is hung and ready to roll. This fresh branding sports a playful yet elegant shape and color scheme, that pop from the anchor wall. Photos below show the final stages of fabrication at Sign Artist’s studio. Our crew took special delight in the creativity and finished product of this sign! Materials include brushed-metal and translucent vinyl, and LED lights, fitted into a custom cabinet built at the Sign Artist studio. The result is a contemporary take on restaurant signage, and an unforgettable branding. With its economy of lines, this 3-D sign shows that simplicity can be ultra-creative, eye-catching and chic. Sign Artist was happy to see Pete, restauranteur and owner of eggology, post his enthusiasm on Instagram, with the comment, “Illuminated sign turned out better than we imagined!” His replies featured a thumbs up and “so cool!!!!” Another post on Pete’s Instagram reads: “Create a vision that makes you wanna jump out of bed in the morning.” Sign Artist is happy in the part we played in adding to the visuals of Pete’s creative and tasty vision! We wish eggology much success!

Posted on eggology’s Instagram: “Illuminated sign turned out better than we imagined.”

Look for the opening of this Chicagoland restaurant Spring of 2021! If you have a unique design in mind and would like help in seeing it hatched, give Ed a call at Sign Artist: 630-594-4185.  

great northern instore acrylic dimensional letters on exterior of building

Great Northern Instore Signs

Sign Artist was exited to provide Great Northern Instore with new acrylic and cabinet signs.

Great Northern Instore acrylic dimensional letters on a brick building
Custom dimensional letters pop on the Great Northern building.

Sign Artist turned the Great Northern logo into an acrylic dimensional letter sign. We also created a new cabinet sign, showcasing the logo in a different way.

Great Northern Instore cabinet sign on exterior wall
New Cabinet sign on the Great Northern building.
cabinet sign with Great Northern Instore panels
Sign Artist fabricated new panels for a lighted cabinet sign featuring the logo and building number.

Sign Artist Tip: Many lighted cabinet signs are able to be updated with new panels every few years, so be sure to keep your lit signage looking up-to-date! Contact us to learn more.

Great Northern Instore cabinet sign lit up.
Cabinet sign illuminated!
ADA compliant suite sign

It’s In The Details: ADA Signs

ADA compliant library meeting room signs.
Elmhurst Public Library welcomes people with disabilities by using ADA signage.

ADA Signage is important to extend accessibility to employees and clients with disabilities. Sign Artist is able to provide custom, unique, and attractive ADA-compliant wayfinding signs, office suite markers, and restroom and stairway signs. These signs make navigating your office or building much easier for clients. Contact the Sign Artist team to create signs that will make your business or office space easier to navigate for everyone.

Suite sign with ADA compliant braille text.
Braille text extends readability for the visually impaired in this suite sign.
ADA compliant custodial sign
Accessibility must be taken into account for all signage situations.

window graphic for york solutions

Custom Window Graphics

window graphic for York Solutions

Cut vinyl window graphics are multi-functional signs that can display your brand, give directions, and impart information like hours and phone numbers.

Another great thing about window cut vinyl is that it can be applied on any window or glass door, interior and exterior. Durable, easily changeable, and quick to install, cut vinyl window graphics are the choice for many savvy business owners.

Window Graphic for law group

The options for colors, fonts, and images are endless! You can have printed vinyl in your personal brand colors, or sleek white or black. Sign Artist Inc. is able to design, produce, and install any custom window graphic you could want.

Dimensional Letters Add Excitement

image of brushed metel lawyer sign on brown wall.
The Law Offices of Jonathan Merel chose Sign Artist brushed dimensional letters.
brushed metel university sign on orange wall
The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) chose a dynamic red wall which looks great with brushed metal dimensional letters.

Dimensional letters and logos from Sign Artist are highly customizable and come in numerous materials, colors and finishes. We can match your company colors or give your logo a sleek, new look with brushed metal faces.

brushed metal university sign on brick wall.
Turn your vector logo into a key part of your office decor with Sign Artist.

When it comes to deciding how to brand your office space with your unique identity, be sure to consider Sign Artist dimensional letters and speak with our team today.

Choosing Sign Fonts

So many fonts, and so many unique choices! A business owner in the process of choosing a new sign may find themselves overwhelmed with available options. Sign Artist wants to share some tips on how to chose typefaces that are appealing, but also legible.

Law office sign on brown wall
University sign on red wall
The wall colors make these silver signs pop!

Fonts that work well in print may not always lead to readability on a large scale. Very thin fonts, or fonts with large stylized flourishes, will be difficult for many people to read.

Some of the most stylized fonts available on the internet are from places like 1001fonts.com. Many of these free fonts are so textured or complicated that they do not lend themselves easily to legibility. To create a professional sign for your business, Sign Artist advises owners to proceed with caution when choosing free fonts.

Hard to read fonts
Try reading these while driving down the highway…

Sign Artist’s font advice? Stick with the classics. A font like Century Gothic or Garamond can easily be just as exciting if stylized with color and texture.

Century Gothic and Garamond fonts
Century Gothic and Garamond are both fonts that are easy to read on signage.

After all, the most fun type of sign is the sign that can be read by everybody!

Ice Cream shop font
A simple font with fun colors and mascot!
Nashville

Sign World Convention 2019, Nashville, TN

Sign Artist met with half of its 320-plus sister sign companies at the 2019 Sign World Convention at Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, March 22-24, 2019. Our crew joined the gathering of sign company owners, designers, installers and vendors.

Highlights included observing cutting-edge techniques in installing the newest 3M substrates, demonstrations of a high-grade measuring tool called Spike, and group and private sessions with management experts.

Sign Artist designer Erin, said she appreciated “learning about other designers’ processes” from across North America, and getting refreshers on helpful Illustrator shortcuts.

The Sign Artist crew delved into production and installation techniques of top sign makers, including one sign company owner who involved our crew in hands-on demonstrations. This car wrapper for the “stars,” serves on movie sets in Burbank, California.

Our crew spotted a wild variety of signs at every turn in Nashville, from small scale to monumental. Whether turn-of-the-century ads for jalopies or 21st-Century LED signs, artistry and loving care showed in the design of many.

As Sign World owners met for the sessions and spent time comparing notes, one thing was clear: Sign Artist’s commitment to its clients to visit large-scale sign environments to gauge installs, is invaluable to making us a top-ranked sign company. One example, is Sign Artist’s install of the Elmhurst Auto Care pylon sign on North Avenue in Elmhurst, which required site visits to properly plan for the production and install of the sign. Sign World Convention speakers and company owners from across North America agree, that this level of service is vital in creating top signage.

pedestal sign with electronic message center

Electronic LED Business Signs Offer Convenience

Electronic business signs are more convenient than static signage.  In addition to the bright, eye-catching quality of LED signs, they offer another benefit.  They can be updated by the business owner to rapidly display a timely message.  For example, a recent inventory study shows that too many auto air fresheners were ordered.  The items have a shelf life and may need to be disposed of pretty soon.  A sale on air fresheners can be posted on the electronic message board on the same day of this realization.

Maybe you received notice that an employee is leaving their job.  The opening can be on the electronic sign within the hour.  In addition,  you’re not trying to replace letters on a manual message board in the snow and blizzardy wind.  Not only is that a challenge, there’s increased risk of an injury if an employee has to balance on a ladder to make the update.

A larger scale example of the benefit of electronic message centers is that networks of the devices may be managed remotely.  Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears, has dozens of electronic displays.   Many of these are menu boards in the concession stands.  Content management software combined with electronic displays allow for remote updates via the internet.  Multiple sporting events take place in the stadium and branding on the menus as well as menu items and prices are scheduled to update for each event.  This is accomplished by a person at their laptop in any location in which they have internet connectivity. 

Convenience is just one advantage of electronic message displays.  Visit the Sign Artist Inc. site soon for the next topic in our series on LED electronic signs.

Installing channel letters

Installing a Business Sign

Sign Artist Inc is installing a business sign in this video .  Watch the process of lifting the Bella Nora Salon & Spa channel letter sign into position on the facade of the business.   The brightly-lit sign features LED modules, providing excellent visibility and reducing power expense in comparison to fluorescent or neon lighting.  The installation was performed early in the day and the crew was finished before the first customer arrived.