Rate my very first sign

[Mr.Ry]

I don't think the layout is terrible. I'm not a real fan of all the colors in your logo. Can the footprint maybe be one color? IDK. I do like how the logo is on top and the other items on the bottom. Signtline is right - ditch the bullets in front of the item lines when you center them. Others stated advice for application and they are correct.

From your website, it looks like you do quite a variety of things, your 3D printing is cool! I like the photos with the blue background, they look a bit more professional. Perhaps you can remove the background on some of the others and add a blue background, just a thought. I get the feeling much of these photos were taken in your house which is fine, but the blue background ones give a bit more of a professional look.

Thanks for your comment, I appreciate the compliments.

When you mention you're not a fan of the colors in the logo, do you specifically mean the paw print icon, or the overall color palette? The paw print used to be a lot more colorful, having many more incremental "steps" and going through the entire colour spectrum as a stepped gradient. I first lamented over the thought of having to cut all those different colors (let alone matching them), but then someone had pointed out my logo was a rainbow and if I was aligning myself with the LGBT+ community. Now, I grew up in a major city, so I'm a huge ally, tons of family/friends in the community, attended many a pride festivals, etc, but I now live in a very different place where there's a very different mindset, and so between that and the foreseen issue about it being a P.I.T.A. with so many colors, I ultimately changed the logo to only include 3 colors, which are the colors of the native flag of the community here. NGL, I kinda hate how the new colors look, but I chose it as a business decision.

You're right about the photos, the ones with the blue background are all recent photos taken since investing in a simple photo booth, which was definitely needed to meet the basic level of professionalism. I do eventually plan on phasing out the older photos when I replace them with enough new content, or just replace the backgrounds. Just took a lot of time to even get that website up as it is (made it entirely myself. I'm a very self-made person, as you may tell), I just kinda ran out of steam after how much effort that took to want to run around shooting more photos... soon, though.

 

[gnubler]

I remember this pile of rage!

The best part is the customer never came back for around six months. Got so busy he didn't need his stinkin' magnets. He finally came back to pick up, then ordered a new set with a different phone #.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Post up your art file so I can edit it and show you some ideas.

Impressed you did all that cut vinyl. I would of ordered the print and been done in 5 mins.

 

[gnubler]

Impressed you did all that cut vinyl. I would of ordered the print and been done in 5 mins.

He'll figure it out in time, what's easier for his business and what's not. My first few months I recall writing on several work orders things like "PITA Never again!" after I figured out a better way to accomplish something.

One of my competitors has been in business 30+ years and must love doing cut vinyl lettering. Every sign of theirs I encounter or am tasked with remaking is always cut vinyl. Way too time consuming on bigger jobs.

 

[JBurton]

I remember this pile of rage!

That's not a pile, a pile is about 40' of 5' laminate, seperated, in 4' runs, stomped into a bin, with at least 2 broken cores crammed on top, then kicked over. Maybe it's just me...

 

[JBurton]

1) The "by Makery Studio" part is crooked
2) Air bubbles and some minor creases in the turquoise lower half. This was due to the crappy media already having air bubbles in it's own backing that I couldn't eliminate and got transferred.

Pro tips:
1) incorporate an edge if you have extra room on the vinyl for alignment purposes. Here, the makery studio is already an easy piece to align, but I'd opt for something like this if I was trying to avoid measuring multiple points:

2) Depending on the material, you can just pop them with a sharp knife, heat lightly with a heat gun (or hair dryer) and press the air out. Rapidtac can be helpful, though tons of folks here never touched the stuff while learning, and they can apply dry better than I.
Best single tip I can come up with:
Buy a spike by ike, super handy, one time purchase for the device, some stupid subscription for the ability to adjust perspective of a photo. Super handy for scaling while maintaining accurate measurements. Gives you the ability to 'measure' a sign well enough to quote without a bucket truck. If you don't intend on doing larger projects, don't worry with one.
I like the use of blue red yellow for the logo, if for nothing more than to get away from CMYK that dominates so many print company logos. Nobody cares that you're using a 4 color process, why promote it.

 

[gnubler]

That's not a pile, a pile is about 40' of 5' laminate, seperated, in 4' runs, stomped into a bin, with at least 2 broken cores crammed on top, then kicked over. Maybe it's just me...

Impressive. I was actually slamming cores onto one of my tables yesterday and was unable to break them. "Sign rage"

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I break the cores over my knee... Like a karate chop

 

[gnubler]

I break the cores over my knee... Like a karate chop

Video, please.

 

[Rmurray321]

Get yourself one of these suckers. They’re a cheap investment and will make your vinyl application much better, even with shitty product

https://a.co/d/cpmiML2

 

[GaSouthpaw]

Everyone's mentioned most of what I see, except (I think, I may have missed a post)... you say this is going on your property and will be seen from a highway.
I assume that means traffic on said highway moves at highway speed. Even at a reduced rate, my thought is that you have too much copy for anyone to read, so do some editing- perhaps cutting your bullet point down to "Signage/Printing/Engraving" or similar (for reference, a typical road sign like "Exit 52" or a STOP sign will have copy between 6"-8" tall; Google "font legibility chart" for a quick idea of how "large" copy should be").
Adjust your kerning on your logotype, and move the paw graphic either closer to the copy, or to a spot above the logotype, the increase the size- but don't crowd everything together, and increase the size of the phone number and website proportionally to fill some space. I'd also suggest ditching the "www" part of the address (after 20+ years of the internet, that's a given) and use a bolder font for both for maximum viewability.

 

[ADASignLady]

I don't think the layout is terrible. I'm not a real fan of all the colors in your logo. Can the footprint maybe be one color? IDK. I do like how the logo is on top and the other items on the bottom. Signtline is right - ditch the bullets in front of the item lines when you center them. Others stated advice for application and they are correct.

From your website, it looks like you do quite a variety of things, your 3D printing is cool! I like the photos with the blue background, they look a bit more professional. Perhaps you can remove the background on some of the others and add a blue background, just a thought. I get the feeling much of these photos were taken in your house which is fine, but the blue background ones give a bit more of a professional look.

Stacy K. You are echoing a lot of my thoughts. My first impression was -- way too much going on here. The eye does not quite know where to focus. I don't mean to sound insulting at all, but it reminds me a little of when you gave your child their first box of crayons, and they made a thank you card for you, with every letter a different color. "So exciting, all those colors! I need to use every single one!"

The layout is not terrible -- but it doesn't show nearly the creativity you demonstrate with your 3-D printing. It's a careful "I'll just center everything" layout. Again, partly because there is so much going on with different colors and fonts, the eye does not know where to go. Too bad you aren't close to me. I have sign magazines going back many years, and you can look at a magazine like SignCraft and see so many examples of great signs that immediately catch the attention of the viewer and then hone your eye in to the main message. Our 70 year old company has to close now with the death of my husband (who had a natural eye for layout and design). I wish he were here because he could give you a lot of tips!. GaSouthpaw has a lot of good advice, and I think my husband would echo what he is saying. Get the important message out. Focus the attention of the person driving past. I'm not sure what to do with my collection of magazines. Maybe I should ship them all off to you! Looking through those magazines would provide you a design education that would make up for missing some art school classes!

I did go after the first glance to your website and I was SO impressed with your 3-D printing. Too bad you are on the other side of the world from me. I'd be contacting you constantly to make some part that I need. Good luck!

 

[Gino]

Stacy K. You are echoing a lot of my thoughts. My first impression was -- way too much going on here. The eye does not quite know where to focus. I don't mean to sound insulting at all, but it reminds me a little of when you gave your child their first box of crayons, and they made a thank you card for you, with every letter a different color. "So exciting, all those colors! I need to use every single one!"

The layout is not terrible -- but it doesn't show nearly the creativity you demonstrate with your 3-D printing. It's a careful "I'll just center everything" layout. Again, partly because there is so much going on with different colors and fonts, the eye does not know where to go. Too bad you aren't close to me. I have sign magazines going back many years, and you can look at a magazine like SignCraft and see so many examples of great signs that immediately catch the attention of the viewer and then hone your eye in to the main message. Our 70 year old company has to close now with the death of my husband (who had a natural eye for layout and design). I wish he were here because he could give you a lot of tips!. GaSouthpaw has a lot of good advice, and I think my husband would echo what he is saying. Get the important message out. Focus the attention of the person driving past. I'm not sure what to do with my collection of magazines. Maybe I should ship them all off to you! Looking through those magazines would provide you a design education that would make up for missing some art school classes!

I did go after the first glance to your website and I was SO impressed with your 3-D printing. Too bad you are on the other side of the world from me. I'd be contacting you constantly to make some part that I need. Good luck!

He did say this is his first exterior sign, so what's the difference ??

Most of what many are saying are components of years of learning and/or working shoulder to shoulder with others that can teach. Time will tell what he can or cannot do. You can't cram everything down his throat on one frickin' thread for crying out loud.

 

[JBurton]

Impressive. I was actually slamming cores onto one of my tables yesterday and was unable to break them. "Sign rage"

Gotta have a stiff, narrow edge to break it over, like the lip of a trash bin, or tex's chicken legs. The table gives a nice, satisfying POW though!

 

[Mr.Ry]

G'd day everyone

2) Depending on the material, you can just pop them with a sharp knife, heat lightly with a heat gun (or hair dryer) and press the air out. Rapidtac can be helpful, though tons of folks here never touched the stuff while learning, and they can apply dry better than I.
Best single tip I can come up with:
Buy a spike by ike, super handy, one time purchase for the device, some stupid subscription for the ability to adjust perspective of a photo. Super handy for scaling while maintaining accurate measurements. Gives you the ability to 'measure' a sign well enough to quote without a bucket truck. If you don't intend on doing larger projects, don't worry with one.

So, funny thing is that I ordered a gallon of Rapid Tac II last week. Shipment arrived Monday, and they sent me a bottle of Rapid Prep instead. Definitely would have used that if I had it, and will try it next time once I actually have it but sadly still waiting on my replacement.

The Spike by Ike does seem like a really handy tool. I will probably wait until I start getting enough business to justify it, but I didn't even know it existed before so thanks, I'm glad to know that now for when I do need it.

Get yourself one of these suckers. They’re a cheap investment and will make your vinyl application much better, even with shitty product

https://a.co/d/cpmiML2

I actually have that exact cold press laminator, just haven't used it yet.

He did say this is his first exterior sign, so what's the difference ??

Most of what many are saying are components of years of learning and/or working shoulder to shoulder with others that can teach. Time will tell what he can or cannot do. You can't cram everything down his throat on one frickin' thread for crying out loud.

Thanks for keeping the perspective that this is my first sign and being a bit more forgiving of some of the flaws and specifically mentioning some of it's better points earlier in the thread, too. Having someone to be a positive reinforcement definitely helps balance the constructive criticism.

With said, I literally asked everyone to rate my sign, so I certainly appreciate everyone's opinions, even the more critical ones. Yeah, there is also a certain level of elitism in some responses and comparing my work to a kid with crayons is probably a bit excessive, but hey, I asked for everyone's opinions and you all are providing it, and if a professional in the field thinks part of my design is crap then I would rather know so I can improve.

 

[bob]

Not being the least bit interested in the state of your precious feelings, it's terrible. All of it. It looks like something that you might see in a high school newspaper. Your logo is weak and the remaining text is just typing. Way too much typing, no one no how is going to read all of that crap. As far as bubbles, that's a result of poor squeegee technique. Once you learn how to properly squeegee, the bubbles and other flaws will disappear.

 

[Mr.Ry]

Not being the least bit interested in the state of your precious feelings, it's terrible. All of it. It looks like something that you might see in a high school newspaper. Your logo is weak and the remaining text is just typing. Way too much typing, no one no how is going to read all of that crap. As far as bubbles, that's a result of poor squeegee technique. Once you learn how to properly squeegee, the bubbles and other flaws will disappear.

Ok, not being the least bit interested in the state of your feelings: Go f*** yourself. You have a shit attitude and if this is how you deliver constructive criticism you are simply a P.O.S. and unlike the others that have provided perfectly valid criticisms I don't appreciate your's one bit.

Again, kindly f*** yourself for that. Thanks.

 

[Boudica]

I like the paw print. It's cute. I'd like it better if it was a solid color - maybe the teal at the bottom of the sign. That would tie the whole layout together, so it doesn't look so much like two different signs together.

 

[Stacey K]

Thanks for your comment, I appreciate the compliments.

When you mention you're not a fan of the colors in the logo, do you specifically mean the paw print icon, or the overall color palette? The paw print used to be a lot more colorful, having many more incremental "steps" and going through the entire colour spectrum as a stepped gradient. I first lamented over the thought of having to cut all those different colors (let alone matching them), but then someone had pointed out my logo was a rainbow and if I was aligning myself with the LGBT+ community. Now, I grew up in a major city, so I'm a huge ally, tons of family/friends in the community, attended many a pride festivals, etc, but I now live in a very different place where there's a very different mindset, and so between that and the foreseen issue about it being a P.I.T.A. with so many colors, I ultimately changed the logo to only include 3 colors, which are the colors of the native flag of the community here. NGL, I kinda hate how the new colors look, but I chose it as a business decision.

You're right about the photos, the ones with the blue background are all recent photos taken since investing in a simple photo booth, which was definitely needed to meet the basic level of professionalism. I do eventually plan on phasing out the older photos when I replace them with enough new content, or just replace the backgrounds. Just took a lot of time to even get that website up as it is (made it entirely myself. I'm a very self-made person, as you may tell), I just kinda ran out of steam after how much effort that took to want to run around shooting more photos... soon, though.

Well, honestly, I was wondering if you might be part of the community with the rainbow but I didn't want to offend you lol

I think keeping it to 3 colors is good. I agree with Boudica maybe the paw print could be a solid color. The thing is...I changed my logo last year and nobody even noticed so if you change it a couple times over the years it's not that big of a deal as long as it resembles the original and the name doesn't change.

I totally know what you mean about the website - I did mine also and what a PITA they can be! And I haven't updated my photos for a long time with new jobs. I finally have it the way I want it and now I'm going more online with my business so I'm changing it again...for like the 78th time in 8 years.

 

[gnubler]

Whoa! Another newbie might have been scared off after only one thread, and not by Gino this time.