When deciding what sign you should use for your business, it’s essential to consider the importance of a custom design. Signs help advertise your business and attract current and potential customers. Creating a sign that stands out against your competition and allow customers to recognize your brand will help better your business.

If you want to design a sign that works for your business, you should consider the different types of signs available. Each sign type has its own function and design elements that can optimize your branding efforts for your business. 

Table of Contents

• Pole Signs
• Monument Signs
• Wayfinding Signs
• Electronic Message Center
• Dimensional Signs
• Electrical Signs

Pole Signs 

Also called pylon signs, pole signs are high structures that rise above buildings and streets to make your businesses highly visible. Pole signs sit atop one or two poles, allowing customers to pick out your business from a distance or the road. Further, the high visibility helps customers distinguish your business from others in the same area. Because they provide good visibility, pole signs are suitable types of commercial signs for businesses in high traffic or density areas and are viewed as an effective advertising tool. 

In addition to excellent visibility, pole signs offer you the ability to customize your sign to find the perfect design. Companies considering pole signs can choose between one or two poles and aluminum or steel materials. Pole signs also come with various lighting options to ensure your sign’s visibility after dark. 

Pole signs are best for businesses located in commercial areas where they compete with many other companies or enterprises located off major roads or highways. A pole sign can help your business stand out, especially if your business isn’t visible from the street or shares space with other tenants. With pole signs, you’ll have more flexibility with the location of your exterior sign to pull customers to your storefront. 

Monument Signs 

Monument signs are similar to pole signs with one key difference —these signs remain at eye level and usually only reach about five feet in height. These signs are ideal for residential areas where local regulations prevent larger signs and a monument sign will better fit the overall look. 

Monument signs offer many options for customization so you can design a sign that fits seamlessly into your business’s carefully curated aesthetic. For building materials, you can choose from aluminum, brick or stone options, and you have the opportunity to light your business’s message internally or externally on your sign for optimized visibility. Monument signs work well with existing landscaping, like fountains, bushes and potted plants, to create a cohesive look for your business that matches your company’s architecture and design.

Because monument signs are free-standing structures with lower heights, they’re ideal types of commercial signage for free-standing corporate businesses and locations with high levels of foot traffic. Additionally, you can fit essential information on your sign, including details like your phone number, business name, email and website. 

Wayfinding Signs 

Wayfinding signs are the best commercial signs for directing customers directly to your business entrance. These signs are ideal for locations with high traffic or confusing layouts, including:

• Retail centers, like shopping malls or centers.
• Office buildings.
• Healthcare facilities.
• College campuses.
• Transportation hubs, like airports and train stations.

The goal of wayfinding signs is to help your customers navigate unfamiliar areas. You can place them inside to help pedestrians locate your business or navigate your layout and find bathrooms, specific rooms and elevators or staircases within retail areas. Additionally, many companies place wayfinding signs outside to direct motorists to park or locate the entrance. In locations like shopping centers, you can use these signs to lead customers to your building.

To optimize the effects of your wayfinding signs, it’s best to incorporate strong visual elements, like maps and directories, to help customers visualize and navigate the unfamiliar terrain in shopping centers. Visual comprehension tactics like color-coding or using common symbols can ensure that your customers understand and utilize your sign.

Electronic Message Centers 

Electronic message centers (EMCs) are digital signs that allow businesses to display and update messages, facts, statistics and even images. This type of commercial signage provides maximum flexibility for businesses, allowing companies to frequently and easily update their messages via remotes or automatic operating systems. They offer plenty of options to businesses to pick the features that work for their company, like various pixel resolutions, color and monochrome choices and multiple size capacities.

Thanks to their ability to update and display messages easily, EMCs are excellent choices for companies that offer seasonal or temporary promotions. Businesses can display these messages during the sale period and then easily move on afterward. Many businesses use their EMCs to display store hours, announce upcoming events and advertise new and best-selling products.

EMCs use LED lighting technology to display messages at all hours of the day, even after the sun sets. The LED lights have a half-life of about 100,000 hours, making them energy-efficient and long-lasting choices that require minimal maintenance.

Dimensional Signs 

Dimensional signs are great for broadcasting your brand and unique logo design. With dimensional signs, you can choose from an array of building materials, including painted foam, PVC, acrylic and metal, along with any choice of size, color scheme and font to perfectly capture your company’s visual designs.

When placing your dimensional signs, you have the flexibility to add them directly to the outside of your building for a dynamic and unique design that pulls customers to your store, or you can place them indoors to curate your business’s atmosphere. You can customize dimensional signs to increase your brand recognition by creating a look that matches products or logos that customers will remember.

Electrical Signs 

While electrical signs are similar to EMCs, they’re unique in incorporating lighting into your message or brand instead of using a board. This lighting technique allows for clear impressions that both pedestrians and drivers can see from far distances. The light ensures your brand will be visible throughout the night so that your customers can always find your building entrance.

Electrical signs offer a great deal of design flexibility, starting with various colors you can choose from to matching your business’s aesthetic and design, and you can place your sign inside or outside your building. Additionally, you can combine electrical signs with other sign types, including pole or monument signs as a unique and functional advertising tool for your business.

Design Quality Custom Signs With Signergy 

If you’re looking to get started creating your custom sign in Los Angeles, Signergy offers unique and flexible design services to help you create the perfect sign for your business. We offer free site surveys to help us determine the best design methods to meet your building design needs and your business goals. 

Contact Signergy today and discover how we can help design your next custom sign for your L.A. business, or give us a call at 310.893.5707.