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Effective Signage demands effective design!

In today's world of technology, computers and software are a critical part of any companies, capabilities, efficiency and success. For this very reason Avaira Signs has invested in  many of today's leading engineering, and graphic design, software programs. Enabling us to provide our customers with unique and innovative designs. And it allows us to except artwork in an array of formats, from customers that are supplying artwork.

USSC Standards

We employ the use of the UNITED STATES SIGN COUNCIL standards within our sign designs. These standards are based on extensive scientific research covering Size, Legibility, Sign Height, Impact of Color and Illumination, Font styles and negative space along with the many other aspect of proper sign design. 

There are many factors that need to be considered when designing the proper logo for your business. All to often logos are designed that may look great in color, but when printed in black & white for stationary all the elements blend together. Another common mistake is incorporating a image or shape that is proportionally much larger than the lettering. This may be fine for large corporations with the resources to promote there logo, everybody may recognize the golden arches of McDonalds, now imagine a small business operating on a limited budget trying to be identified by a particular shape, as a rule, images used within a small business logo should not cover more than 1/3 of the surface area the entire logo covers unless the name is inlayed.

For customers sending us a basic layout as a basis for your design, the more information you provide the closer we can design to what you want.  Please include the following information, approximate overall size of sign, height & width, desired colors & name for each font used. You can fax or mail general hand sketches, e-mail details or attach electronic files generated from common programs such as word, note pad and most others. 

For customers employing there own graphic artists and wishing to supply there artwork please send electronic files as indicated.

1.  ALWAYS SEND A PRINTED COPY OF THE ARTWORK OR A JPG PROOF, SO WE CAN TELL IF THE FILE WE OPEN  IS WHAT WAS INTENDED.

2.  ON THE HARD COPY, LIST ALL COLORS USED, USE EITHER  CMYK  OR PMS NUMBERS, AND THE NAMES OF ALL FONTS.

3.  WE USE THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS:

• Corel Draw 11
• Corel Photo-Paint
• Corel R.A.V.E.
• Adobe Photoshop CS2
• Auto CAD 2000
• Vinyl Master Pro
• Future RIP SE
• Font Detective
• Front Page
• Publisher 98 & 2000

4.  IF YOU USE A PROGRAM NOT LISTED ABOVE, PLEASE SAVE YOUR FILE IN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:  
     FORMATS (LISTED IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE):
      A.  (AI)
      B.  EPS
      C.  PDF
      D.  JPEG

5.  DO NOT SEND QUARKEXPRESS OR PAGEMAKER FILES, WE CAN NOT OPEN THEM.

6.  ALL GRAPHICS SHOULD BE AT LEAST 600 DPI.  WHEN DOING ARTWORK, USE A SCALE OF 1" = 1'

8.  MEDIA TYPES ACCEPTED: 3.5" FLOPPY DISK, 100MB ZIP DISK, DVD, or  CD-ROM.

9.  WRITE THE COMPANY NAME, CONTACT NAME, AND PHONE NUMBER ON OUTSIDE OF  DISK.

10. FOR PHOTOS TAKEN WITH A DIGITAL CAMERA, USE THE HIGHEST RESOLUTION  AVAILABLE,  MAKE SURE THERE IS ADEQUATE LIGHTING AND GET AS CLOSE TO THE  SUBJECT AS POSSIBLE.  MAKE SURE IT IS AT THE  DESIRED ANGLE. WE CANNOT ROTATE  2-D IMAGES.
 

Our vector art and photo library contains thousands of stock images and photos along with most corporate logos already formatted for use on your sign. If you already have a image or logo that you would like to incorporate into your sign, we can convert most to  vector art.

We do offer high resolution photography and photo editing necessary for large format printing. Enabling us to super-enlarge photos of your choice.

We offer structural design for unusual signs, and displays with the added ability to incorporate automation. For certified, stamped engineering drawings of sign foundations and primary poles we use a number of independent licensed & registered engineers.

Designing proper signage requires some important decisions, along with other specific information needed.  The following list will help us with your design. Not all information required pertains to all sign types.

1. Permit & Sign Regulations for your area.
2. Purpose of sign.
3. Distance set back from road.
4. Setting  / Commercial, Residential, City
5. Location along highway /   By intersection, stop sign,
6. Average traffic speed passing sign location.
7. Traffic count.
8. One way traffic, two way traffic, 2 lane, 4 lane
9. Single or double sided sign desired
10. Illuminated or non illuminated
11. How will the sign be mounted.
12. Desired colors
13. Do you have a logo?                                

Determine a budget for sign or signage.

With Signs, as with many other business investments, it is important to establish a budget prior to proceeding with a project. A portion of sign design, is designing with cost being one of the elements. Your budget can be the determining factor between the simplest manually changeable letter sign, to a sophisticated electronic message center.

Do not underestimate the value of your signage.

In terms of pure cost effectiveness, signage provides remarkable value! When evaluated as part of your overall advertising program, signs consistently deliver more market coverage for a lower cost than any other form of advertising-by a wide margin.