Sign Maker Central

Here in Charleston, outdoor signs have been in the news a lot lately.

It seems we have some problems.

Last week, a man walking his dog on the beach was fined over $3000 for letting his dog off the leash. He said he found the leash law sign “confusing.” And at the end of last year, the Charleston Economic Development Committee was prompted to begin a study of our highway and directional signs. A survey in accordance with the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau found that our outdoor signs are extremely confusing, especially for tourists (and we get a lot). What’s the deal!?

Here at TheSignChef, we’re bummed to hear this news for a few reasons.

We’re in the sign business, so we obviously know how important it is to have effective outdoor signage. It sort of bugs us when we see ineffective or confusing signage – much like it bugs a chef when he eats a bad meal.

One of the biggest problems with the outdoor signs here is that they direct people to streets, like “Meeting Street” as opposed to “Downtown.” Out-of-towners don’t know that Meeting Street is Downtown! Other highway signs are just as confusing. And we seem to have a problem with beach signage as well. Anything that can get you $3000 in tickets should be spelled out on a giant sign for everyone to see!

Plus, bad outdoor signs – especially on the highway – can be dangerous. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen someone swerve across three lanes because they just figured out their exit was only 10 feet away.

We’re also bummed because we want tourists to enjoy our city. Charleston is a top vacation spot – shouldn’t we be paying extra attention to the needs of out-of-towners?

And this problem isn’t just in Charleston; lots of other cities and towns have outdoor signage problems that really need to be fixed.

What can be done?

We’d love to be in charge of fixing all the poor outdoor signage around here! Your message is the probably the most important part of your sign. If people don’t understand the message, what’s the point? But once that’s all figured out, there’s more to consider.

Outdoor signs – especially on highways – really need to take letter size into consideration. We have an online sizing calculator that takes into account how far away you want your sign to be visible and how fast people are driving by. With those two bits of information it can tell you the optimum size for your letters! Hopefully most highway signs have proper sized letters so we can avoid accidents.

One good thing about highway signs is their contrasting colors. Because green and white contrast a great deal, they are readily visible.

Outdoor signs should also be made of a visible and durable material such as aluminum signs or ARMOUR-Wood signs. Especially signs at the beach – they need to be able to withstand salt water and wind.

So outdoor signs, especially highway signs, are much more important than you probably thought.

Next time you’re driving down the highway, pay attention to the signage. If it’s confusing or hard to see, contact your city officials. We think that a lot of accidents could be stopped with more effective outdoor signage.

And if you need an outdoor sign, don’t let your message get lost. Give us a holler and we’ll be happy to help!

View the original article here