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Urgent Design Help
- Thread starter Marco
- Start date
Boudica
I'm here for Educational Purposes
so now you're completely re-doing the logistics of the signage your trying to create?
... I feel like the effort and feedback in this thread is somehow, more or less training some AI program. To compete with us humans creating signs...
Johnny Best
Active Member
Conspiracy theory. If Marco is AI I feel a lot safer tonight.
Notarealsignguy
Arial - it's almost helvetica
Branding is secondary in this instance IMO. The location is the only thing that matters in this business so you need to send the message urgent care and that's really it. It's a place where you go to the closest one or the first one you see not a destination like a restaurant or grocery store where you drive by 3 others to get to the one you want to go to.
JBurton
Signtologist
I'm with ya there, I think the only reason is for online recognition, cause as much as we don't want to admit it, these new kids don't look up or see signage...
Stacey K
I like making signs
I agree, I think the most important thing is URGENT CARE, not the branding. Kind of like in my front window it says SIGNS really large. Since the prior business was a bait shop, it was important for me to convey that I make SIGNS, and don't sell guns and fish bait. 6 years later and I had a guy stop Friday, "So, I see you make signs so I assume you don't sell fish bait?" - ummmm NO, no I don't.
JBurton
Signtologist
You may want to find yourself online in as many ways as possible, or rather, try to find bait near your location. Folks may not have as great a memory as you give them credit for, and just end up finding you as a bait shop on a google listing somewhere.
That or your shop looks like a bait shop in some way?
Gino
Premium Subscriber
Maybe it still smells fishy................ ??
Guy came in this morning and asked... are you barbecuing ?? It sure smells good outside. I'm used to it, but the absolute best burgers and dogs are across the street at johnny & honn's and then cross the street the other way and there's a great mexican restaurant on one corner and a dominican restaurant on the other corner. They all have their flat tops going from early in the morning on.
How many of y'all remember johnny & honn's when you were here at our 2 mixers ??
Guy came in this morning and asked... are you barbecuing ?? It sure smells good outside. I'm used to it, but the absolute best burgers and dogs are across the street at johnny & honn's and then cross the street the other way and there's a great mexican restaurant on one corner and a dominican restaurant on the other corner. They all have their flat tops going from early in the morning on.
How many of y'all remember johnny & honn's when you were here at our 2 mixers ??
Marco
New Member
Crazy Gino's bringing up food now. It's urgent care stuff G.Maybe it still smells fishy................ ??
Guy came in this morning and asked... are you barbecuing ?? It sure smells good outside. I'm used to it, but the absolute best burgers and dogs are across the street at johnny & honn's and then cross the street the other way and there's a great mexican restaurant on one corner and a dominican restaurant on the other corner. They all have their flat tops going from early in the morning on.
How many of y'all remember johnny & honn's when you were here at our 2 mixers ??
Stacey K
I like making signs
Funny cuz the Google listing says "Permanently Closed" but he still has his FB page running and it shows OPEN 7-5 daily - drives me nuts! He closed in 2017. And yes, for a while it DID smell like fish in here! I had remove a bunch of minnow tanks when I bought it! Just for you I found these photos online of my shop before I bought it. I do have a bunch of business cards for the bait shop up the road and I hand them out. I used to have people walk in with pails looking for minnows - they would get very upset when "I closed my bait shop and started a sign company" - LMAO not really how it worked.
Marco
New Member
The Gs can't hold it together. It's Urgent Please.The food probably results in a trip to urgent care?
Notarealsignguy
Arial - it's almost helvetica
They will see the sign, they recognize Urgent Care from watching Tiktok. Don't be so judgy, one day these kids will be changing your diapers.
JBurton
Signtologist
In my experience, their reply to some such request would be, "Dead ass? Sorry fam, no cap."
Johnny Best
Active Member
signbrad
New Member
Twenty years ago I would have agreed with the view that branding is relatively unimportant for certain businesses. But no longer. Branding, which includes a well-thought-out logo design, is paramount.
I believe the days are long gone when you could just hang out a shingle that says, "PLUMBER," and expect success. Maybe that worked when you were the only plumber in town. Buyers had little choice. But people don't shop that way anymore. They want recommendations and referrals. Word-of-mouth is easily the strongest form of advertising. And brands are probably the most powerful business tools ever invented. This holds true whether you are a plumbing business or an urgent care provider (which is also a business).
Good branding increases recognition and it is memorable. Combined with a good customer experience, it can create customer loyalty. It greatly multiplies the effect of word-of-mouth advertising. It can "lower price sensitivity"—a brand that becomes known and familiar can generate a willingness among customers to pay more for the same product or service. A brand with a good reputation can even attract better employees because people feel proud to work there. A generic look does none of this.
I recommend the book, Branded, Not Blanded, by Dan Antonelli. His advice is not just empty words or an unfounded opinion. The book is full of case studies showing how his strategy of what he calls "disruptive" branding increased the bottom line dramatically for a number of his clients.
While you are waiting for the book to arrive, do a Google search for URGENT CARE BRANDING and look at many amazing images that pop up and ask yourself if generic is really worth the blandness. And sometimes, all it takes is a simple graphic to make a big difference.
..............................
Speaking of healthcare providers, the last urgent care I went to was a mistake, but it was the closest place. The attending was a bit of a jerk and misdiagnosed a fracture. I got a call from a radiologist two days later with the correct information. That brand is now burned in my brain and I will never go there again. An honest mistake on their part? Probably. But I still ain't going there, unless it's for a Band-Aid or to use the bathroom.
I've been to many of the hospitals in my area, too. But I have learned from it. I know where not to go. My last ambulance ride, I listened to the driver radio in and then I said, "I'm not going there." When I told him where to go he said, "Why? It's twice as far!" I almost said, "It's none of your business, really, but the ER wait where you want to go will be forever." Instead, I said, "The food is better and they have a nice sign." I saw the female EMT cover her mouth to hide a smile. But he took me where I wanted to go.
A good brand experience sticks in your memory, just like the delicious meatloaf at my favorite hospital.
Of course, anecdotal evidence is about as useful as the G in lasagna, so take it with a grain of salt.
And now I'm fresh out of food metaphors.
Brad in Kansas City,
where the Chiefs just lost to a last-minute comeback by a plucky Saints squad.
I believe the days are long gone when you could just hang out a shingle that says, "PLUMBER," and expect success. Maybe that worked when you were the only plumber in town. Buyers had little choice. But people don't shop that way anymore. They want recommendations and referrals. Word-of-mouth is easily the strongest form of advertising. And brands are probably the most powerful business tools ever invented. This holds true whether you are a plumbing business or an urgent care provider (which is also a business).
Good branding increases recognition and it is memorable. Combined with a good customer experience, it can create customer loyalty. It greatly multiplies the effect of word-of-mouth advertising. It can "lower price sensitivity"—a brand that becomes known and familiar can generate a willingness among customers to pay more for the same product or service. A brand with a good reputation can even attract better employees because people feel proud to work there. A generic look does none of this.
I recommend the book, Branded, Not Blanded, by Dan Antonelli. His advice is not just empty words or an unfounded opinion. The book is full of case studies showing how his strategy of what he calls "disruptive" branding increased the bottom line dramatically for a number of his clients.
While you are waiting for the book to arrive, do a Google search for URGENT CARE BRANDING and look at many amazing images that pop up and ask yourself if generic is really worth the blandness. And sometimes, all it takes is a simple graphic to make a big difference.
..............................
Speaking of healthcare providers, the last urgent care I went to was a mistake, but it was the closest place. The attending was a bit of a jerk and misdiagnosed a fracture. I got a call from a radiologist two days later with the correct information. That brand is now burned in my brain and I will never go there again. An honest mistake on their part? Probably. But I still ain't going there, unless it's for a Band-Aid or to use the bathroom.
I've been to many of the hospitals in my area, too. But I have learned from it. I know where not to go. My last ambulance ride, I listened to the driver radio in and then I said, "I'm not going there." When I told him where to go he said, "Why? It's twice as far!" I almost said, "It's none of your business, really, but the ER wait where you want to go will be forever." Instead, I said, "The food is better and they have a nice sign." I saw the female EMT cover her mouth to hide a smile. But he took me where I wanted to go.
A good brand experience sticks in your memory, just like the delicious meatloaf at my favorite hospital.
Of course, anecdotal evidence is about as useful as the G in lasagna, so take it with a grain of salt.
And now I'm fresh out of food metaphors.
Brad in Kansas City,
where the Chiefs just lost to a last-minute comeback by a plucky Saints squad.
Johnny Best
Active Member
Delicious Meatloaf at your favorite hospital? The only thing that is good at the hospital I go to is Jello.
I did have breakfast at a hospital cafeteria last week and they had a large stainless steel pot with oatmeal and a large ladel to self serve that look like the gruel they give out at concentration camps in WWII movies.
thanks signbrad for the interesting reading. It’s just pre season.
I did have breakfast at a hospital cafeteria last week and they had a large stainless steel pot with oatmeal and a large ladel to self serve that look like the gruel they give out at concentration camps in WWII movies.
thanks signbrad for the interesting reading. It’s just pre season.
Just a late comment here regarding large-capital small-capital treatments, faked small capitals just suck. There is little excuse for anyone to keep doing faked small capitals. So many OpenType fonts have native small cap character sets, even the more recent versions of default Arial.
As much as I hate faked small capitals, there is a graceful way of faking them by using Variable Fonts. Not all variable fonts have small cap character sets. Nearly all of them have a weight axis. The weight axis can be used to adjust the stroke thickness balance between the big capitals and the smaller ones. The small caps can't really be made the same exact stroke thickness as the bigger letters because they'll often look thicker via an optical illusion. The weight slider can fine tune things where the results look just right. A variable font such as Helvetica Now or Futura Now that doesn't have true small caps can be used to fake it very convincingly.
As much as I hate faked small capitals, there is a graceful way of faking them by using Variable Fonts. Not all variable fonts have small cap character sets. Nearly all of them have a weight axis. The weight axis can be used to adjust the stroke thickness balance between the big capitals and the smaller ones. The small caps can't really be made the same exact stroke thickness as the bigger letters because they'll often look thicker via an optical illusion. The weight slider can fine tune things where the results look just right. A variable font such as Helvetica Now or Futura Now that doesn't have true small caps can be used to fake it very convincingly.
Stacey K
I like making signs
Funny about the ambulance ride! That made me laugh (at your expense, sorry)! My son dislocated his elbow in football last year. The ambulance was not licensed to give him pain meds so we ended up at the closest hospital which is one I don't like. He's 6'2" 240# but was only 17 3/4 years old so technically they could only give him a very small amount of fentanyl once we arrived. The nurse, who had tattoos everywhere and looked like a meth head, argued with the doctor that he had given 80# grandmas enough to kill a horse and they were still screaming in pain - my son would be just fine. So the doctor said, "Yes, I suppose, just be ready with the Narcan in case you give him too much." The anesthesiologist came in a ziplock bag of drugs from her house and said, "They told me he is a big strong guy so I emptied out my closet." I thoughts, "Is this a hospital or a drug house?" To my surprise, it ended up being the best care we have ever received. They put him out, slid the elbow back and he left almost pain free and was playing football again in 6 weeks.