HERS Zakka Market & OneZo Cafe is an exciting new family-oriented and family-inspired establishment that we had the pleasure of providing signage for. This unique venture combines two connected businesses under one roof: a delightful bubble tea cafe and a cozy market, which means we were tasked with creating double the signage to cater to both.

 

A Backerplate's Impact:

One of the standout features is the One Zo Cafe sign, which is prominently displayed on one side of the building. This eye-catching sign is made from channel letters and edge-lit letters that are carefully mounted onto a backer plate. What sets this sign apart is the backer plate's innovative design; it features a wooden slats texture that gives the illusion of being mounted on genuine wood, despite being constructed from durable aluminum. This design element not only enhances the visual appeal but also incorporates a natural touch that resonates with the family-friendly atmosphere of the cafe.

Edge-Lit Letters:

On the opposite side of the building, we designed a sign that represents both HERS Zakka Market and OneZo Cafe. This dual sign showcases illuminated channel letters, capsules, and edge-lit dimensional letters, all mounted on sleek backer plates. The edge-lit letters for ZAKKA use LED technology to radiate light evenly across their surfaces, ensuring that even the text elements that are smaller than the rest stand out brilliantly. This unique effect draws attention to every detail, making sure no part of the branding gets overlooked. The illumination not only enhances visibility from a distance but also adds a dynamic element that transforms the sign's appearance as daylight fades into evening. This cohesive branding approach effectively highlights both businesses while maintaining an inviting presence that draws in customers.

Cohesive Tenant Panels:

Additionally, we created tenant panels for their monument signs, strategically designed to direct drivers and pedestrians to the correct locations of each business. These panels not only serve a functional purpose but also align perfectly with the overall branding of HERS Zakka Market & OneZo Cafe, ensuring a consistent and engaging visual identity.

 

The grand opening of HERS Zakka Market & OneZo Cafe took place on August 30th, and we hope that our vibrant signage has contributed to their success by attracting a steady stream of customers. With a commitment to family-oriented experiences, this new establishment is sure to become a beloved local destination.

Are you in search of a distinctive dimensional sign for your lobby that stands out from the typical options? Discover our custom signage solutions, such as these halo illuminated letters created for Kistler Instrument Corporation. Halo Illuminated Dimensional Letters: These letters feature a sleek, narrow profile and incorporate illumination, ensuring they make a striking impression in your space. The use of spacer mounting allows for an even glow behind your logo, enhancing visibility and creativity. Custom Painting: Our custom painting services enable us to match your sign to your brand colors precisely. This attention to detail ensures consistency across your brand and provides a polished appearance that resonates with your corporate identity. Acrylic Dimensional Letters: For smaller text that still demands attention, our high gloss black acrylic letters serve as an excellent alternative to traditional vinyl graphics. These letters are laser cut, ensuring crisp lines and a clean finish, making them an eye-catching addition to your interior decor. Explore these options to elevate your lobby's appearance and make a lasting impression on visitors.

Ford's Garage has recently celebrated the grand opening of a brand new location in Utica, and we are thrilled to have been chosen to create their entire set of branded signage. Having previously made signs for their other locations in Novi and Dearborn, they reached out to us to ensure a consistent and captivating visual identity for their latest establishment. Our project includes a variety of signage solutions, from two striking sets of illuminated channel letters to an eye-catching monument sign, as well as various interior signs. We are genuinely excited to contribute to their continued success!

Channel Letters:
For a prominent building like Ford's Garage, it is essential to showcase the business name from every angle. To achieve this, we crafted two beautifully designed sets of illuminated channel letters. Both sets were flush-mounted, enhancing the existing facade without any visible mounting hardware, further elevating the building's aesthetic appeal. These vibrant letters not only enhance visibility during the day but also create a stunning effect at night, ensuring that the Ford's Garage name resonates with potential customers from afar.

Monument Sign:
To add further dimension and appeal to their exterior, we incorporated illuminated channel letters and capsules into their monument sign. By installing them on specialty materials, such as wood-style paneling, we created a visually interesting box that enhances the overall aesthetic of the sign. This unique design not only captures attention but also aligns with Ford's Garage branding, reinforcing its image as a distinctive destination.

Blade Sign:
In addition to traditional wall signage, we introduced a lit blade sign that protrudes from the building's facade. This type of projecting sign is perfect for corners or specific areas where visibility is crucial. It allows customers walking by to easily spot a business, ensuring that the brand stands out in a bustling environment.

Interior Signs:
To maintain a cohesive brand experience, we designed a range of interior signs that match the exterior signage. Working with a dedicated sign shop ensures that we deliver consistent colors and qualities throughout, whether it's bent pans, durable wall aluminum signs, or fun No Smoking signs featuring raised ink details. Every element is thoughtfully considered to create a seamless transition as customers move from the exterior to the interior of the establishment.
Overall, we are delighted to partner with Ford's Garage for their new Utica location and look forward to seeing how our signage contributes to creating an inviting atmosphere for their customers!

When transitioning into a new space, it's essential to create an environment that reflects your brand and vision. This is precisely the transformation we saw at Universal Piping Industries! Choosing the Right Backdrop: The original brown brick of their building was not an ideal choice as a backdrop for their new sign. By painting the building bright white, they significantly enhanced their visibility and allowed the new sign to stand out strikingly against the fresh background. Selecting the Optimal Mounting Method: The channel letters were raceway mounted, which facilitated a more straightforward and cost-effective installation process. This method resulted in fewer mounting holes on the building's facade—only a few needed for the mounting compared to over 100 if they had opted for a flush mount installation. Given that the sign comprises more than 30 individual letters, this approach helps maintain the building’s exterior integrity. Determining the Right Type of Sign: The newly installed front-lit channel letters ensure that their sign remains visible at all times, day or night. With our in-house production capabilities at the Flint location, we uphold stringent quality control standards. Each sign is thoroughly inspected and approved before leaving our facility to guarantee we deliver products that align with our reputation for excellence. In summary, effective signage boosts visibility and enhances brand identity, as demonstrated by Universal Piping Industries' impactful updates to their building.

It's always an exciting time when our Owner, Beth Powers, is featured in an article about her experience in the signage industry! Check out this piece where she explains how we use data analysis, monitor important metrics, and employ key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure our operations align with our goals and stay on a path to success. ------------------------- Used correctly, data is one of the most powerful tools in your shop. It can serve as the basis for all key decisions, and support the difficult ones with factual information rather than relying solely on gut instinct. Knowing how a team is performing could lead to additional training, new processes, or personnel changes. Seeing a product’s profitability — up or down — could tell you it’s time to step up marketing or discontinue the offer. A spike in conversions of in-house products could justify beefing up your team, while a lack of conversions could argue for keeping a close eye on the business to see if you need to cut hours or let someone go. Data could be just the proof you need to justify an investment in software or a new machine. Numbers don’t tell the whole story however, and you still have to leave room for human judgment. But if you’re not tracking your numbers systematically and intentionally, you’re missing out on a key ROI indicator. Data helped our Signarama shop save a surprising amount in non-billable installation hours by showing us a factor we probably wouldn’t have considered without data tracking. We were experiencing issues with our profitability on installations, so we began tracking re-work, time on site, drive time, and other key indicators. It became clear that we had numerous opportunities for improvement. One of the data points that stood out was that our team members were stopping by a popular home improvement store a few times a week, spending valuable time on these unplanned stops. A few minutes here, a few minutes there — how much could they matter? Quite a lot, as we found when we started tracking the unplanned visits. We went from 139 stops in 2021 to 32 visits in 2022, and only 13 in 2023, saving an estimated 150 non-billable installation hours — about $25,000. Everyone should be tracking the basics — revenue, expenses, profit, and category-specific sales — but you can get an even more robust sense of your shop’s health with less obvious data points like revenue and profit per employee, sales conversion rates for new vs. repeat customers, average annual revenue per customer, cash flow, and accounts receivable. These are especially valuable for determining new trends and opportunities. Company culture is also important enough to track. Use surveys and average tenure and turnover rates to gauge employee satisfaction and monitor engagement programs you implement to improve these factors. Putting Data to Work One of the most common mistakes businesses make in this area is not that they fail to track things, but that they fail to track the right things. Before counting a single number, decide why you need it. For example, what can/should you expect from a production manager or designer? What will you measure to determine whether they are giving you the outcomes you want, and how will you measure them? Whatever your KPIs are, they should be monitored at varying intervals and by department to gain an accurate picture of where your business stands and where it’s headed. At our Signarama shop, we have daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual metrics, and each functional team (sales, design, production, fabrication, and installation) has their own KPIs they track at least weekly. We then have monthly and quarterly all-team meetings where we share the data and celebrate successes. Don’t just look at what works — look even harder for projects that aren’t making the impact you want, or that you think a specific team or individual should be making. And when roles or responsibilities change, be sure to adjust your KPIs. For example, we recently increased the minimum we want a production manager to handle, from $500,000 to $750,000, because we had hired an administrator to do all the permitting and an estimator to handle the larger, more complex estimates. That freed up a big chunk of the manager’s time to manage production. Seeing Clearly It is so important to know how your business is trending and if you are headed in the right (or wrong) direction, but it’s not just a numbers game. There are circumstances and other factors that should also be considered, and you can’t change direction because you got one bad number. Success never runs in a straight line — you have to expect some bumps and valleys, and know when to stay the course or when it is time for a change. Having a vision, goals, and KPIs allows an owner/manager to have peace of mind. When you know where you want to be and track your progress along the way, you can sleep at night knowing you’re headed in the right direction and making progress to get where you need to go. Metrics allow you to celebrate success with your team and realize when you need to pivot and make changes. Many entrepreneurs possess great instincts that helped them launch their businesses; metrics and KPIs will enable them to reach the next level. ------------------------- This article was originally posted on Printing Impressions & Wide-format Impressions: https://www.piworld.com/post/data-driven-decisions-top-kpis-for-shop-success/

Effective property management hinges on clear navigation, and good signage plays a crucial role in this. At Coventry Place, a commercial property managed by Liberty Property and Associates, we revamped their signage for improved cohesiveness and legibility. The major upgrades included: Monument Signs: We replaced their old monument sign with a new routed HDU sign that features vibrant colors and shapes, enhancing visibility upon entering the property. Wall-Mounted Tenant Signs: Our redesign focused on modular tenant panels for easy updates, incorporating a sleek deep blue aesthetic that contrasts sharply with white suite numbers. The ACM tenant panels use screw cap mounts, allowing for panel replacement without needing to change the entire sign. Directory Signs: Similar to the tenant signs, directory signs utilized ACM and screw cap mounting for straightforward panel swaps, ensuring future updates remain hassle-free. Parking Spot Signs: We updated the reserved parking signs to utilize stylish black hardware, creating a professional appearance for both customers and employees. Flag-Mounted Signs: Additionally, flag-mounted signs, equipped with similar black hardware, enhance visibility for tenants from various sidewalks. In summary, these signage upgrades not only improved the aesthetics of Coventry Place but also facilitated easier navigation for tenants and visitors alike, reinforcing the importance of well-planned signage in property management.

Consistency is key for successful businesses with multiple locations, which is why Host returned to us for two new sets of channel letters. In 2022, we had the opportunity to design and produce their channel letters for their stunning building in Utica. Now, as Host expands with new locations in Romeo and Shelby Township, we are thrilled to continue our partnership by creating two new sets of channel letters that are not only visually striking but also perfectly aligned with their brand identity. As Host grows and enters new markets, we are proud to support them on this journey. We can’t wait to see their new channel letters shine in Romeo and Shelby Township, just as they do in Utica.

Dimensional signage is more than a welcome; it invites you to experience your brand vibrantly! Check out the colorful signs we created for Pediatric Dentistry of Milford. These eye-catching acrylic pieces create an engaging atmosphere that resonates with young patients and their families. Imagine clients stepping into a warm, joyful lobby that puts them at ease. Our signage enhances aesthetics while reflecting the fun, caring nature of the practice. With custom privacy etched vinyl and a delightful tooth design, patients feel welcomed in a space cared for by an exceptional team. Invest in dimensional signage to reinforce your brand identity and create a memorable experience. Transform your environment and let your signage tell your story! Don't just take it from us, here's what Pediatric Dentistry of Milford had to say in a Google Review about working with our team: "AMAZING job done by Brent and Dominic! We are so happy with our custom wall signs and window graphics/tints. These guys were so polite, professional and made sure we were happy with placement beforehand. Would absolutely request them for future work and recommend Signarama in general."

When your fleet represents an essential service such as security, it is crucial for your vehicles to be immediately recognizable. This is why Lagarda Security's recent fleet refresh has made such a significant impact with the addition of new spot graphics on their new cars. Throughout the years we've been their go-to provider for their fleet, and we are excited to enhance their new security vehicles with this updated appearance!

Professional signage installations are key to making your property look polished and easy to navigate. When you work with us, you're working with a company that specializes in custom signs that are durable, visible, and aligned with your building’s design. Whether you’re starting from scratch or upgrading what you have, we’re here to help! Keep an eye out for our skilled installers in action. They're dedicated to putting the finishing touches on your project, both indoors and outdoors.

City signs can be a great way to represent the visual identity of your municipality. A visual marker that tells your community, they have made it home. These were things we kept in mind when The City of Davison reached out with interest on updating their entrance signs. We are lucky to have a project manager who lives in Davison, so she was very hands on with brainstorming through the design process. Davison is known as "The City of Flags", and that feedback is all design needed to pull elements from the American Flag and translate them into a bold and eye catching welcome sign. She brought invaluable insights and suggestions to the table, making it a genuine collaboration that emphasized the community's voice. The project culminated in the custom fabrication of four signs, all meticulously crafted at our manufacturing facility in Flint. Our talented staff worked diligently on these pieces, ensuring every detail was perfect. Additionally, we collaborated with sign partners from across the country to source specific parts that helped elevate the overall design. The combination of local craftsmanship and national expertise resulted in signs that not only serve as functional markers but also as a cornerstone for a new visual identity for Davison. As these new signs are installed, we believe they will become an integral part of Davison's landscape and a source of pride for its residents. They will convey a warm welcome to all who enter and encapsulate the city's spirit—vibrant, inviting, and rich in history. In doing so, we hope to foster a renewed sense of community and belonging as people drive into their beloved city.

We are thrilled to share one of our latest projects featuring a striking interior lobby sign we designed for Haven Healthcare. This remarkable piece combines both elegance and practicality, showcasing the attention to detail that our team prides itself on. The sign is standoff mounted, and at the forefront of the design are glossy acrylic dimensional letters that create a sleek and professional look. This choice of material ensures longevity and resilience. Adding to the elegant touch is the spot gloss vinyl overlay backer. This element features a stunning glossy pattern made from Haven Healthcare's icon, set against a matte background. The contrast between the glossy graphic and the matte surface elevates the sign's sophistication, allowing it to stand out elegantly in any setting. We're proud to have been part of helping Haven Healthcare enhance their brand presence and communicate their values through such a visual element!

Genesee Intermediate School District takes great pride in their unique and eye-catching signage, which features a very specific shape and vibrant color scheme. After being impressed with the ADA signs we created for them matching their distinct style, they decided to take things to the next level by commissioning us to create several large directory signs. The results are great: the oversized signs boast the same playful shapes and bold hues as their smaller counterparts, creating a cohesive and engaging visual experience throughout the building!

Step back in time and dive into the fascinating history of Powerhouse Gym with our mesmerizing History Wall. Our custom blend of Vinyl Graphics, Acrylic Lettering, and Floating Acrylic Photographs creates a seamless and visually stunning display that brings their story to life like never before. Immerse yourself in their journey as each element intertwines to form a captivating experience that will leave a lasting impression. Let us help you showcase your brand's unique story with a one-of-a-kind collection that is sure to wow all who see it.