Obviously there is a lot of planning that will go into your hospitality business. Whether you are adding to an existing business or starting up a new venture, your time will be spread thin considering the tremendous list of decisions that must be made and the vast number of details from which you will be choosing. There will most likely be twists and turns during the project that you will not expect and problems that will arise that you cannot avoid, no matter how many times you have sailed these waters. One of the most overlooked, misunderstood and neglected areas is your signs.

That's right, signs. Think about your business without them, how your customers' experience would be completely frustrating. How would people find their way around? Know how much to pay? Understand the rules? Even find the correct restroom? Let alone the fact that there are many legal issues. Of course you wouldn't even consider going "signless", but what if your sign program was poorly planned? What if some necessary signs are missed or hard to read? What if some are not easily understood or could be taken more than one way? What if some are actually illegal? Because of these real situations, your customers' may still find themselves somewhat frustrated and that is one thing you simply cannot allow.

THREE COMMON PITFALLS TO AVOID:
#1  Since they are only signs and I have been reading signs my whole life, I will figure out what I need and order the signs myself.
#2  Since I am already paying a designer and/or architect, I will make sure that the sign package is on their plate to complete or at least design.
#3  The property is looking good and we'll be getting our inspection on Fri...day....holy smokes...we need signs!

DON'T MAKE THESE COMMON MISTAKES. THEY WILL COST YOU A LOT MORE MONEY NOW
(AND PROBABLY AGAIN LATER)!

#1   Sure, you're sharp and there is no denying that you have your game together. If not, you wouldn't be where you are today. For that reason, when you or your family have health issues you don't take it upon yourself to figure out the problems. You seek the advice of a professional? There are just too many things that can go wrong and too much specialized training needed for any of us to take on our own health concerns, even though we all have basic knowledge of our own bodies. That's the way it is with signs. We've all seen hundreds of thousands of signs in our lifetime, but not everyone has the knowledge and experience to determine what signs are needed, where they are needed and how to make them easy to read and understand while still keeping with the decor and/or theme of a property.

#2   If you are a designer or architect, you definitely have enough on your plate when it comes to a large hospitality project. Much of your work is not something you can pass off to " the professionals", because that's you! But when it comes to signs, you'd be wise to involve the expertise of the group that will be producing the signs and installing them on the property. There is not much that sours the property management more than realizing they have spent more than necessary on signs and still don't have all they need. or worse, they are required to replace them. The sooner we can be brought into a project, the smoother the details iron out into a thorough and complete package that delivers the design intent of the property.

#3   What can we say about this point...it happens! Signs, for some reason, are the detail that is most often forgotten until the last minute. We believe this is the biggest reason so many people pay more and get less by buying signs that can be produced quickly and that aren't really what they envisioned. Often times this rush for signs leads to poorly worded signs, signs that aren't up to code or another scramble days later to produce more signs that were missed.

At SharpSigns, we can come in whereever you are in the process and help you develop a complete plan that will be designed with the end user in mind first ( that's the property guest!). Then our graphic designers, who understand sign codes and sign industry materials will produce sample signs that will be cost effective while still complimenting your property design.