Antique Store Font?

[WhiskeyDreamer]

fonts aside....its the layout/design that lacks in my eyes....i don't know what to look at first...nothing pops out and makes me want to shop there....of all the choices you provided, i'd have to go with the second in on the left on top...that's the most legible... but i would still start over....adjust the size of the sign if you have to...just okay it with the customer first...make sure there's enough room for a different size, but same sq ft sign (so the price stays the same for the customer)

as far as the customer being cheap...that's not an excuse for no deposit....would he let you take some of his antiques home so you could see how they fit in your house and if you liked them before paying??

i require at least a half down deposit...balance on pickup...and the only way i'd apply to a customer supplied substrate is if it's an old sign i did in the past and am able to reuse....or it meets the standards of any other sign i make....

i am very fussy about what leaves the shop....only for an extremely PITA customer will i do what they want...and even then, it only applies to design....but usually i can talk a customer into going with a more attractive design compared to what they bring in on their publisher file!

 

[HaroldDesign]

Looks to me like they first need a logo, and then signs and everything else can stem from it.

 

[B Snyder]

Deposit? wish we got something like that around here!
Mike Stevens? Never heard of him?

You won't get it if you don't ask for it, or better yet, demand it.

Mike Stevens? Is google a blocked website on your computer?

 

[jiarby]

***NEWSFLASH***

This report just in....

Text in a square IS NOT a design, and changing fonts does not make you a designer

Film at 11.

***End Newsflash***

 

[B Snyder]

For 99% of all customers I've dealt with in the past 10 years....

Have you been designing signs for the past 10 years?

 

[jfiscus]

Thanks, I seemed to get a lot of replies to those questions.

 

[jfiscus]

You won't get it if you don't ask for it, or better yet, demand it.

Mike Stevens? Is google a blocked website on your computer?

I will respond to this, as an hourly employee I do not make the rules here.
I will also look up this guy when I have a spare minute, just never done so in the past. I appreciate the way you word things though.

I have brought my own popcorn.

 

[WhiskeyDreamer]

i saw this font used once on a dimensional antiques sign and loved it....

 

[jfiscus]

Looks to me like they first need a logo, and then signs and everything else can stem from it.

But how do you convince the customer of this without wasting time on a low buck job in the end?

 

[jfiscus]

iam with most here, FONTS AINT YOUR PROBLEM, its the design/layout. all runs together, no punch. A, OF THE............can be a a lot less visable........or BIT of the PAST should take most of message. A is not a word.
but will get you to front of the section in a YELLOW PAGE ADD.))))))
old english is a bad choice..............sorry. this is an example of what iam saying as for sizing of the words.

Maybe I have to spell everythign out for everybody, I asked the customer about that & they wanted it all "the same imporance", after an answer like that I guess I should have just spent 10 minutes on an ugly sign instead of posting here.

 

[B Snyder]

But how do you convince the customer of this without wasting time on a low buck job in the end?

What would convince you a low buck job is a waste of time?

 

[jfiscus]

Have you been designing signs for the past 10 years?

no, not always signs; started in 99 website design, quit in 03 for pritn design, quit in 98 for signs. Possibly I have too much technical work interfering with creative work? I do a lot of "plan" type artwork.

 

[B Snyder]

Maybe I have to spell everythign out for everybody, I asked the customer about that & they wanted it all "the same imporance", after an answer like that I guess I should have just spent 10 minutes on an ugly sign instead of posting here.

I would think that after 10 years you would know how to respond to customers like this.

 

[SignManiac]

It's a cheap low buck job. Stick letters on his board and be done with it. The job doesn't warrant having it critiqued here. Old English uppercase should give it the antique feel you're looking for.

The customer will be thrilled with it I'm sure of that.

 

[WhiskeyDreamer]

Maybe I have to spell everythign out for everybody, I asked the customer about that & they wanted it all "the same imporance", after an answer like that I guess I should have just spent 10 minutes on an ugly sign instead of posting here.

what OP tried explaining is that they DON'T have the same importance, and you need to explain that your customer....as the sign professional (assuming you are), you should be able to explain why you need to make certain words less significant than others in order to have an appealing sign....

asking for help and then complaining about the advice you get isn't going to get you far here....i believe everyone that's responded to this thread has been cordial and honestly tried to help you....spit in their faces, and next time you won't get the help...

 

[B Snyder]

It's a cheap low buck job. Stick letters on his board and be done with it. The job doesn't warrant having it critiqued here. Old English uppercase should give it the antique feel you're looking for.

The customer will be thrilled with it I'm sure of that.

+1

 

[HaroldDesign]

But how do you convince the customer of this without wasting time on a low buck job in the end?

I've sold logos numerous times to places that wanted something else without one yet. Simply put, I tell them for X$ you will have a logo. It is yours. I make it vector, and is good to use for anything. Make your own stationary, sale sign or whatever. At least when they have it, they have something good for everything, not just one thing that may or may not carry their brand throughout any consistent advertising.

 

[jiarby]

You can do a quick simple design... just have to put some composition & layout into it. Not just the "font of the day"
Here is a quick layout, not a super-duper LHF style, but fast and more attractive than the pdf ones posted. Americana BT, with flourishes from goldenstudios.com

I tell them for X$ you will have a logo

Caleb.... try $xxx next time, or $x,xxx (for Antonelli!)

 

[Gino]

Jiffy......

Your opening post stated you needed a decent sign for a new antique shop, then you go on to tell us we are being hard on you because this is just a cheap job for a cheap customer based on your post #19. So, what gives ??

Either you are wasting out time and just posting up bullcrap dialog….. or you’re just full of bullcrap yourself. It’s one thing to ask for ideas and suggestions from your peers, but to make fun of us for trying to help you is just a slap in the face. If you don’t have the cohones to take the good with the bad….. well, then maybe you’re in the wrong field.

Your proofs that you posted so far are bad and there is no nice way to say it. If you have 10 years in designing websites, perhaps you should go back to that, because you don’t have the right attitude to take criticism, let alone sound like you don’t want to learn anything.

 

[HaroldDesign]