Have you discovered the Metro Sign and Awning Industry News page yet? Each week we gather information of interest to those in the sign industry, as well as business people who care about signage. Here are a few recent highlights: “Ghost” Signs Remind Us of Our Heritage Signage is not only an active, vibrant industry. It’s the basis of an historical record that can remind us of where we’ve been as a city, and as a society. Faded signs from bygone eras – so-called “ghost” signs – provide a trail of metaphorical breadcrumbs that can lead us back through the decades to the beginnings of cultural phenomena that now seem fixed in stone. Ghost Signage These fading signs are more
One of the most frequently asked questions from prospects and clients alike is fairly basic: “What information do you need in order to work up a reliable price quote on my next project?” Casting about for new blog topics, it occurred to us that answering that question in this open forum would make for a valuable blog post. It would not only educate avid readers about how to speed and simplify the process of obtaining a meaningful price quote, but it would also serve as reference material to which we could point newly interested people who need to know this answer. So let’s start at the very beginning: Step 1: You realize you want some kind of signage. Step 2:
2015 is shaping up to be a year of growth and challenges for Metro Sign and Awning. One of our upcoming projects includes signage work for the very first licensed Massachusetts Casino! On this job, Metro is partnering with Penn National and their Las Vegas Vendor, Egads, to work on a sign and merchandising package due to be delivered in June, 2015. The package includes both interior and exterior signage, plus some very spiffy graphics. We’re very excited that Michael Randazzo of Penn Gaming selected Metro Sign and Awning as his preferred vendor in Massachusetts! We’re also working on a cost analysis for the MBTA Green Line Extension and for Boston Landing. We’re doing this work with the Sweden-based multinational
Any business is inherently interested in knowing the return on investment (ROI) for the important actions it’s considering, because doing those calculations not only makes it easier to choose among different strategies, but also helps identify which of several possible actions should be prioritized and which ones are better delayed. With signage, you can do two varieties of ROI calculations: ROI in comparison with other advertising expenditures Pure financial ROI in comparison with any type of expenditures If you haven’t already, by the way, you can check out your signage ROI with our unique Business Sign R.O.I. Calculator. Either way, you’ll find that the cost of signage is relatively small compared to all the other expenditures you are making to
How much do you really know about signs and signage? Avid readers of this Metro Sign and Awning blog are probably near-experts in signs and signage, with a detailed understanding of signage technology and an encyclopedic knowledge of signage history. To see how much you know, here’s a quick quiz based on previous posts in this blog. How many answers can you get right? All the answers should be known to you, provided you’ve been reading this blog: Question 1: The pylon sign is a single- or double-sided sign cabinet, illuminated, and supported above ground level on slim vertical support single or double poles. The shape of these supports may be: a) Plain and unembellished. b) Square. c) Round. d)
In addition to working with individual businesses to handle their signage needs – inside and out – Metro Sign & Awning also offers Design/Build turnkey services for developers. While we’ve done our share in North America (from Canada to Puerto Rico and all over the US) we’re very excited about some of the projects we’ve completed in Boston – including Waterside Place, North Point Residential, One North of Boston and The Victor. Developers tell us they like working with Metro Sign & Awning because there’s no middleman: From initial concept design discussions to sign schedules, permitting, and all the way through to installation, Metro is capable of handling the entire signage process. West Coast Partnership Comes to Boston With hundreds
With a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Corey Fisher is a man who knows how to make things. He enjoys the challenges that come with the signage industry and takes pride in the products he helps create. Corey first started with Metro Sign and Awning about 10 years ago as a technician, a role which soon developed into an estimating position. About a year later, an opportunity arose for Corey to join in partnership with the existing owners: Brian Chipman and Tom Dunn. “Throughout school, I was always interested in CAD design and CNC machining, which just so happens to have many applications within the signage industry today,” says Corey, “so I asked Brian and Tom
It’s a little bit too technical for the kind of blog this is primarily intended to be, but for a long time we have wanted to write up something about the extensive efforts we make to keep ourselves qualified for work with General Contractors. As you may know, GCs on major construction projects are subject to a wide range of standards and specifications that control not only how they operate, but how the subcontractors they hire (that would be us!) must also operate. If we don’t conform to their high standards, GCs simply cannot trust us with any work. So we here at Metro Sign and Awning spend a considerable amount of time, effort, and resources making sure we’re qualified
For Jamie Potvin, the process starts when information about a new project begins to trickle in through one of the sales team members. Over the next days and weeks, she steeps herself in the client’s history and strategy, various signage suggestions, client and team requests, and specific requirements, as well as any graphic elements such as client logos that are already available. She also likes to look at comparable signage of the same size and classifications that’s already “out there” in the community. Then she dives into the design process. With more than fifteen years of experience, Jamie likes to start a project by working on some “looks”: rough sketches and simplified renderings of the new sign’s essentials. She’s usually
To most of us, beautiful designs just spring full blown from nowhere in particular. But in reality, the polished look of all the objects we see – complete with all the associations each one brings to mind and the various messages and feelings each one conveys – are the result of much hard work by a visually-gifted group of people who work as “designers”. Metro Sign and Awning is well staffed with a group of designers who routinely make clients’ visions come to life in three dimensions. One of these is Susan MacGregor, Senior Designer, who is responsible for creating the drawings that will later be turned into signs, as well as for the presentation visuals shown to clients for
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