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Sign Shop Lobby Help

appstro

New Member
Hey everyone!
I am trying to make a display area for my shop. The front entrance is only 10x10 foot and most of that is the reception desk and a DTG printer. So I have a 10 x 8 foot wall that I installed slat wall on and I have a wall that runs parallel to the reception desk to ado all my display with. When I sat down to actually figure out the layout and how to categorize everything my mind became overwhelmed with everything and I am not sure what to put up as a display or how it should be organized. On the slat wall I want to have samples of lettering and all the different brochures for quick reference when a customer asks about garments and samples. I also want to hang examples of screen printed and DTG shirts. On the wall near the reception desk I would like to have a sample of just about every type of sign I can do, but in a well thought out and laid out way so customers can easily find the type of sign they think they might need. I am in California and I am a D42 sign contractor, so that means I can do anything NOT electric. So I was thinking 3 different panels...1 would be digital, 2 would be dimensional, and 3 would be Routed and Blasted. Most of my stuff is digital so that leaves alot of space on the dimensional and routed panels.

After looking at google images of signarama and fastsigns franchises I see that they pretty much cover everything that can possibly be made, but I find it to be too much and I would bet most customers would never look at half of the stuff that is displayed. Sure it would be great to have as reference when needed, but i don't have that kind of room.

Would anyone be willing to post pics of their lobby so I can draw some inspiration from you? Or at least tell me how you have your displays arranged and what is most important to you?

Here is a picture of my front entrance. It's pretty small..
IMG_20170219_124027.jpg


Thanks in advance. -Mike
 

appstro

New Member
Yes, I can see that the same assholes are still here. I knew better than to ask anyone for help or advice, because this is what always happens. If only they had spent as much time trying to be helpful as they did being hurtful. This site is supposed to be a resource for sign makers. Instead it's a site for flamers and trollers. I wont be coming back as there is nothing that this forum offers.
 

rossmosh

New Member
Display what you want to sell. Look at every major retailer in the world. They put what they want to sell in front of your face. If it's too big to display, buy a Raspberry Pi and a big, cheap TV, and put up a bunch of pics that are constantly scrolling. If a customer wants to learn more, switch inputs and use a normal PC/Laptop to make a more focused presentation.

Behind the counter have swatches and examples of materials. If people are walking into your shop, they want to touch and see in person what you're doing. If they were cool with buying based on pics, they'd just email you.

I have mixed opinions on comparison displays. A lot of people will look at an inferior product and not see the things professionals see as being important. If you decide to do comparison displays, make sure the difference is clear.
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Yes, I can see that the same assholes are still here. I knew better than to ask anyone for help or advice, because this is what always happens. If only they had spent as much time trying to be helpful as they did being hurtful. This site is supposed to be a resource for sign makers. Instead it's a site for flamers and trollers. I wont be coming back as there is nothing that this forum offers.


Aww appstro, don't go away angry. Why not be a part of things ?? You have what I believe is a sign shop and you want ideas of how to spruce up your front room. You've never joked around with something so simple ?? There are so many things you can do and most of them very obvious. You've been given some good ideas, but you tend to focus on the silly ones. Why not take the good with the silly and just be happy ya got some good answers. It's not the end of life, just because some people felt like having fun...... and not at anyone's expense.

If you still need help, I'll post some things up tomorrow for you, but right now, I hafta leave and get ready for the big shindig tonight. Are you coming ?? :)
 

Johnny Best

Active Member
apperto: at least we have ideas, your a sign company, your suppose to have ideas for your customer. And thanks for the name calling, Maybe thats what you should put on your wall that you are good at. Glad you leave your humor at the door.
 

FireSprint.com

Trade Only Screen & Digital Sign Printing
Here are some ideas:
  • Sign Size chart
  • Letter size chart
  • Color chart
When someone walks in and has no idea what they want, those charts will be very helpful to get that transaction moving along faster!

Also, I don't really see a problem with filling the wall with samples. When someone walks into your shop, they are not browsing, they have come with a specific project they are working on. Your sales person (or you) will have a much easier time with samples to point to and show.

Don't think of it as a gallery to prove you do good work, think of it as a gallery of design ideas for you customer!

Oh and every shop should have a sample of our Fold-A-Sign in their lobby. You'll sell the heck out of them!
 

shoresigns

New Member
Appstro, if you happen to get over the teasing and make your way back here, I can offer some advice. Or for anyone else who's interested...

We keep it minimal in our lobby/reception area. It's 16'x11', so when you walk in there's a fairly large desk with a 9' high mural behind the desk that spans the whole 16' and continues on the 11' wall to the right. The mural is a big illustration that shows most of the different types of signs we can do.

To the left of the desk we have a rollup banner that has a big collage of photos of some of our best work, and up on the wall behind the desk we also have a TV that flips through photos of our work.

The wall to the left of the desk is painted red with a large dimension sign of our logo, and that's about it, besides a couple small shelves and a desktop printer and paper shredder tucked in the corner.

The TV, the mural and the rollup banner work great for showing off different types of signs. You don't need a messy showroom with samples everywhere like you see at most sign shops.
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Yowsa, with that cutout of Hillary..... why is she waving and looking at a blank wall ?? Does that tell us something about her ??
 
C

ColoPrinthead

Guest
One simple idea I think is good for a walk in sign shop is have a sample of cut vinyl letters in different sizes displayed from far away so your custys can have an idea of how readable their sign will be by size of lettering and distance.

Don't get upset by the jokers, they are fun and at the same time do not have the mental capacity to understand the difference between, "Your" & "You're".
 
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