Tips For Creating The Perfect Customised Metal Business Sign

A sign that is clearly high quality, well made and unique says a lot about your business. Much as you could get something off the shelf for half the price, it’s worth considering the longevity as well as the benefits of a sign that truly stands out and makes an impact in today’s fast paced world. This blog aims to give a bit of advice to anyone thinking of commissioning a custom metal business sign for their new or existing business.

Consider the Location and Size

• A laser cut metal business sign stands out best when light can shine through the cut out areas, so for example you won’t get the best from it if you mount it with a tree right behind it. 
  
• Also consider the height especially if it’s a hanging sign, you don’t want it so low that a 6ft person would bang their head on it.
  
• We’d recommend cutting out a piece of card at the size you think it needs to be & hold it up. How far does it need to be readable from? How big do you think the text needs to be? The team at Black Fox Metalcraft are happy to guide you to a certain extent, but without being at the location, it is difficult to give a clear answer.
  

Wall or Post Mounted

If you are choosing a hanging sign, you’ll need to decide whether it can hang directly from the building itself, or a post at the end of a driveway for example. A post needs to be concreted into the ground at least 1.5 ft to keep it safe and stable, so this is a job to factor in both time and money wise! We usually recommend sourcing a wooden post locally as the most cost effective option – we feel a good quality wooden post really suits our custom made metal signs. A hand forged bracket can be designed and created to suit your individual sign – it can be quite ornate with hand forged ironwork, or remain uncomplicated to keep a more contemporary look.

If your premises is on a narrow street, might you be better with wall mounted signs, a hanging sign could extend too far and be an issue with getting knocked by delivery lorries. We produced a set of bright blue signs for a vintage clothes shop in Cornwall – the business had very limited space so we worked to specific dimensions. The stunning bright blue powder coat really stands out, more than making up for the hanging sign not being practical in this case.

Finding Unique Design Ideas for your Sign

A memorable sign that says something about the personality and nature of your business is not only visually appealing; it’s an effective marketing tool that adds impact and value to your business and encourages customers to remember you. Therefore it pays off to put some thought into the design and make sure that you are 100 per cent happy with the way it looks. 

You may have a logo or symbol for your business that is a natural choice for the design. Black Fox Metalcraft are experienced in working with business logos to create stylish, eye catching signs to strengthen businesses brands. The team can take your logo, making minor, subtle alterations where needed, to create a sign fit for promoting your business and its values.  

The signs below show three different approaches;

• The Bakery we took the business logo and font and transferred them to a sign changing almost nothing.
• The Nursery sign features the business logo amended to fit into a framed scene. 
• The Chimney Sweep business wanted us to draw an old fashioned chimney sweep scene without featuring any logo, so that's what we did!

  

If you're business does not have a logo suitable for basing a design around, it's worth considering what is unique about the type of goods or services that you offer; or the location of your business; or age and preferences of your target audience. A hint of what the local area is famous for, or the history of your premises could be an interesting addition. A sign can tell a story if well designed - make it as unique and personal as you like!

Black Fox Metalcraft are happy to work from as little as an idea discussed over the phone or a rough sketch emailed over right up to a full vector design that is almost ready for cutting! It depends on your level of artistry and how much you want to be involved in the process. We know how difficult hidden costs can be especially for new businesses so we do not add charges on for design work. What we quote initially is what the final cost will be.

The style of writing on your business sign can also be dictated by your preferences – it can be modern or traditional in style, and can fit in with your existing branding. The only advice here is that it needs to be easily legible for your customers! As standard, text is sign written by hand by a professional artist, but where a more crisp, corporate look is required, quality vinyl lettering can be applied instead.

If you are considering commissioning a custom business sign made, contact Black Fox Metalcraft for a no obligation quote – we’re happy to answer any questions.