Discussion Do you advertise your capabilities in your shop/offices?

[RISEgraphics]

What I mean by the header is do you have your walls decorated with the different signs you can make, wrapped with the vinyl/other media print capabilities you can handle, custom CNC work that your shop can create, etc.

Sub-discussion: When you have a large client come in looking to use you for their ongoing projects, do you welcome them in any special way? I've been to other shops that will set an easel out with "Welcome RISE!" or slap a graphic with the same message on their entrance and was wondering if anyone else did something .. cooler? More unique?

Lets see some photos of your work environments!

 

[2B]

yes, we show different items.
for the most part, we keep these items under the service counter and once we know what they are looking for we pull the item out for inspection

it was & is very easy to overfill/clutter the area.
currently, we have a wall TV that runs a loop of different items, completed projects, prices, etc.

"large" clients, 95% of the time go to them
depending on the project/client we may take similar products showing capabilities or maybe (very rarely) a virtual proof for review.

 

[myront]

We have a touchscreen on the front counter that shows a slideshow of our capabilities. There are links set up if a client wants to see more particular things such as only wraps. We also have a font sample set up so clients can choose what font they like. They can type in their own text and scroll thru to find what works best. You know because what does the designer know. lol Only been doing this for 20-30 years.

 

[equippaint]

If I was the customer, the welcome sign out front would weird me out, possibly to the point of going somewhere else. Not real big on the pictures plastered all over either, you run the risk of overwhelming a customer or having them place their job as not fitting in with what you do, maybe too big, maybe too small. A nice, consistent theme is my choice and maybe a display with categories of what you do and then guide from there with albums or whatever. I think in a retail type setting, its better to lead the customer to things and projects that are close to theirs rather than everything in general. It creates more of a feeling that you understand and almost specialize in what they need That's my 2 cents.

 

[unclebun]

We keep it simple. There is a small monitor on the front office counter facing the customer that plays a constant slideshow of finished jobs. We have a couple of shelves of promotional products we've done, along with notebooks and displays of business cards, postcards, and flyers we've done. There are some shelves with samples of materials and other things like that.

 

[ddarlak]

my shop is an absolute pig sty, there are old signs plastered all over the walls, but not in any show off way, more like i can't throw this out, pick up a hammer and closest nail and fill an empty spot on the wall. one wall looks like an abortion, it has a large banner covering the wall (8x12) and you can't even see it anymore with all the pieces of vinyl, test pieces, roller marks of paint, failed old prints, old signs etc...

pride is gone, replaced by a cranky old ba$tard who gives two chits

my shop says: go away mad scientist at work...

 

[myront]

my shop is an absolute pig sty, there are old signs plastered all over the walls, but not in any show off way, more like i can't throw this out, pick up a hammer and closest nail and fill an empty spot on the wall. one wall looks like an abortion, it has a large banner covering the wall (8x12) and you can't even see it anymore with all the pieces of vinyl, test pieces, roller marks of paint, failed old prints, old signs etc...

pride is gone, replaced by a cranky old ba$tard who gives two chits

my shop says: go away mad scientist at work...

Wouldn't mind seeing a shot of the madness. lol

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

When I had a shop, I had posters that had different things people could use to help them design a sign. Had posters of fonts so people could step back and see how legible they were.. had one poster that had different size type so you could see what 1" type would look like 2", 4" and so on. I had a poster with about 10 different basic "For Sale" designs with different color combinations. Had a poster with dimensional letters attached to it, one with color swatches. Another poster had samples of substrates. An area of the wall had different size banners, 2x4, 3x6, 4x8. Probably had a few more but those posters were all themed the same color and were spread out evenly around the shop.

 

[WhiskeyDreamer]

Showroom here is half wrapped and half painted (hired a client of ours to paint). We have slat board on the walls (which is the part that's wrapped). So there are three shelves that hold stuff. We have some carved/blasted samples there, as well as a bucket of ink and squeegees on the top (so they can't be touched) to show our screen printing background, as well as a framed photo we were presented with (it's the bulldog mascot for our local Marine Corps League; we embroider her vest). We have a two wall racks with some apparel and a free standing apparel display.

Years ago, we purchased a curved display board that we have our apparel business logo velcroed to as well as some PVC shapes with prints of jobs we've done. The curved wall is also where we have a table and chairs set up for meetings with larger clients/a sitting area if our counter gets bombarded.

We recently put a large TV out there too. We have photos and videos on rotation with that 24/7.

It sounds like a lot, but we have a large showroom area.

 

[rjssigns]

Work from home so no shop props. Website has broken links, no social media presence to speak of and people still manage to find me.

 

[StarSign]

We have a small showroom and a video display. We would need a warehouse to really show off everything we can do.

 

[RISEgraphics]

I appreciate everyone's replies! Sounds like there are some cool environments to be in, even if it's described as looking like an abortion

We're in the process of "renovating" our offices and the boss wants to start advertising the things we do and the capabilities we have to clients that come through to have their trade show booths or shops created. We just finished building a brand new graphics room that actually fits all my equipment in the one area, but everything is stark white and boring for a graphics room. We've got graphics planned to wrap 2 of the walls, but we want to showcase some of the other substrates we use, the CNC capabilities, SEG's, how crafty our shop is, etc.. but when I actually start thinking about what all we can do and how to display that... I agree that the look becomes overwhelming.

He also believes in the whole "you've only got one chance to make a good first impression" mindset and wants to come up with some over the top way to wow the clients we have come in. What we had done in the past was add a "WELCOME *company name*" decal on our conference table, and it seemed sufficient.. but I guess not anymore. haha.

So right now we've only got our lobby, conference room, general managers office, human resources office and our bathrooms made up to look a little fancier. Once we get the graphics room complete, I'll post pictures!

 

[ddarlak]

 

[Johnny Best]

Well I learned something, Labaat introduced the twist-off cap for their beer in 1984.

 

[equippaint]

The Smithsonian called, they want their phone back.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

You need some more almost finished rolls of laminate scattered around...I see some empty spots

 

[lyndawayne]

Well. See how important a showcase is? Many things were “noticed”!

 

[ikarasu]

I noticed 2" of dust all over the floor...in every corner of the room. and I cringe thinking of that being near my printer. I imagine theres a seperate print area... but thats a lot of what looks like concrete dust all over!

 

[Johnny Best]

He needs a Roomba the size of a VW Beetle.

 

[lyndawayne]

He tried to tell you guys the condition of his shop. OP asked for pics of shops. He’s the only one that’s sent something.