-
A Guide To Successful Signage For Your Franchise
A Guide To Successful Signage For Your Franchise
When it comes to running a successful franchise, there are so many factors at play. But one critical element that can make or break a franchise’s success is, you guessed it, its use of signage.
High-quality signage serves as a powerful tool for brand reinforcement, customer visibility, and effective communication. By harnessing the power of great signage, a franchise can become a trusted enterprise that not only attracts customers but also drives growth across locations.
The Importance of High-Quality Signage For Franchises
There are many reasons why franchises should invest in high-quality signage, but here are a few of the most important:
1. Visibility
Appearance is everything, especially in business. High-quality signage is a powerful tool that enhances the attractiveness and visibility of franchises. Not only does it capture the attention of those who are already familiar with your brand, but it also introduces your business to people who might later become customers.
2. Effective Communication
In addition to enhancing visibility, signage serves as a powerful communication tool for franchises. Signs can convey important messages such as special offers, new product launches, operating hours, and of course, your business name. Whether informational, directional, or digital, signage should always be clear and easy to read for maximum effectiveness.
3. Brand Identity
Brand identity is created through the consistent use of design elements across all locations. High-quality signage reinforces brand identity through font, logos, taglines, and brand colors. Whether it’s indoor signage, vehicle wraps, banners, or fixed outdoor signs, maintaining brand identity is critical to delivering a cohesive customer experience.
4. Consistency
Franchisees operate under a shared brand, so maintaining consistency in signage across all franchise locations is crucial for brand recognition and customer trust. A consistent signage strategy ensures customers can identify and associate your franchise with its services, no matter the location.
5 Common Types of Franchise Signage
Franchises have a wide variety of signage options available. Below are some of the most common:
1. Monument Signs
Monument signs are freestanding structures located at a property entrance, offering excellent street visibility and stopping power. Built with durable materials, they typically display the business’s name and address.
2. Cabinet Signs
Cabinet signs are versatile, cost-effective, and typically mounted on the front of a building. These illuminated or non-illuminated cabinets display your franchise’s logo and messaging, ensuring visibility day and night.
3. Channel Letter Signs
Channel letter signs are three-dimensional, individually fabricated letters or shapes. They can be illuminated or non-illuminated and customized with various materials to match your franchise’s brand.
4. Vinyl Lettering & Wraps
Vinyl lettering includes cut-out letters and designs applied to windows, walls, or vehicles. They are versatile, professional, and ideal for displaying operating hours, contact details, or branding elements. Vehicle wraps are especially effective for brand exposure on the go.
5. Wall Graphics
Wall graphics are large-scale, custom adhesive graphics that transform any interior space. They provide vibrant, branded imagery that communicates identity while enhancing the customer experience.
How To Design Effective Franchise Signage
Designing effective franchise signage requires balancing brand consistency with impactful design. Here are a few key considerations:
- Understand your brand and audience to ensure your signage resonates.
- Maintain consistency in fonts, logos, and colors across locations.
- Keep messages simple and easy to read.
- Use visual hierarchy to highlight key information.
- Consider the environment—including lighting and visibility.
Signage Placement & Visibility
Did you know that a well-placed sign can expose consumers to your brand 50 to 60 times per month? That’s why placement matters:
Storefront: Strong first impressions and high-traffic exposure.
In-Store: Directional and informational signage improves experience and sales.
Outdoor: Monument signs, banners, or A-frames capture attention from a distance.
Maintaining and Updating Franchise Signage
Regularly clean and inspect signage to keep it looking sharp, especially after major weather events. As franchises grow and rebrand, update your signage to reflect new logos, colors, or brand changes to maintain consistency.
Ready to Make an Impression With Your Franchise Signage?
At Impression Signs and Graphics, we’ve helped countless franchises design bold, effective signage that enhances brand identity and consistency across locations. Contact us today to get started with your franchise signage project.
Project Highlight: Reell Manufacturing
Exterior Signage
The Ask: Create & replace illuminated exterior signage so they can be seen in the dark and update their brand identity at the same time.
The Project: Design, manufacture and install a monument sign cabinet that can be seen during the day and at night, and create an illuminated channel letters sign for the back of the building to help people find the building from both sides.
How We Did It: We worked with the city's planning department, an engineering firm, the client's electrician, and a landscaping contractor before ultimately building a monument sign with day/night film that allowed for higher visibility and contrast during both day and night.
Project Highlight: SPPS - Washington
SPPS – Digital Monument
The Ask: Replace an electronic message center sign that was destroyed in an automobile accident.
The Project: Create and install a digital monument sign with a programmable electronic message center to help raise awareness of school events, display recognition messages and enhance community pride.
How We Did It: We designed a monument that was similar to the original, but with several enhancements. A USA-based electronic message center vendor and a local fabricator then produced the monument sign while we helped obtain the required permit. The replacement sign was bigger than what is now currently allowed by the city, but since the original sign was grandfathered in, it was approved and later installed with help from the client’s electrician.
Project Highlight: Helix
HELIX – Multi-family Signage
The Ask: Update signage as part of a property rebrand & add additional wayfinding signage as part of a larger apartment building remodel.
The Project: Design and fabricate over 350 custom interior ADA signs, one illuminated monument sign, four post and panel signs, and a handful of custom parking signs.
How We Did It: We worked with the city’s planning department to ensure all exterior signage was properly permitted per city ordinance prior to fabrication and installation. Then we coordinated all sign installation with the client to ensure minimal disruption and maximum impact to all residents and visitors.
Project Highlight: Agiliti
AGILITI – Interior Signage
The Ask: Help create interior signage for a rebrand to enhance the corporate office environment, showcase the company’s products, and boost company culture through core values signage.
The Project: Work with the client’s design firm to create a company “Legends” wall, a wall mural, a dimensional sign for a curved wall, an illuminated lobby sign for the reception area, etched glass vinyl graphics for multiple conference rooms, and other multi-dimensional signs throughout the office.
How We Did It: We met with the client’s design firm to discuss possible solutions to bring their ideas to life then we performed a detailed site survey to validate the size of each space. We also provided suggestions that could help with their budget without sacrificing the project’s objective. From there, we continued to communicate with the client and their design firm until the whole project was approved, printed, and installed.
Project Highlight: Cobeck - Southdale
COBECK CO. – Comm. Construction Signage
The Ask: Provide signage for the new expansion area at Southdale Center as part of the Lifetime Fitness Edina project.
The Project: Supply illuminated channel letters, dimensional lobby signs, elevator signs, parking signs, and ADA compliant wayfinding signs for the new Southdale expansion parking ramp, elevator, and lobby.
How We Did It: After winning a signage bid on this construction project, we performed multiple site surveys at various stages of construction. We then created mockup submittals for all signage, and upon approval, manufactured and installed signage according to the commercial construction firm’s drawings and needs. We also provided extensive hands-on project management to source non-traditional fabrication requests and ensure on-time delivery to complete the firm’s entire construction project on time.
Project Highlight: Pizza Karma
PIZZA KARMA – Restaurant Signage
The Ask: Print and manufacture all necessary signage for a brand-new restaurant.
The Project: Manufacture exterior channel letters, swap out pylon sign panels in a multi-tenant pole sign, print and install large vinyl wall mural with a custom textured laminate, print and cut window vinyl, menu boards and various other interior wayfinding and branding signage.
How We Did It: We worked with an architectural design firm that specializes in restaurant builds to obtain brand assets we could use to design and layout several different types of signage. We installed all requested signage just in time for the grand opening, even with harsh weather conditions during the week of install.
Project Highlight: East Side Association
EASTSIDE NEIGHBOORHOOD DEVELOPMENT – Illuminated Signage
The Ask: Redesign and renew signage for businesses within the community to help foster economic growth and commercial development on the East Side of St. Paul.
The Project: Create exterior signage (both illuminated channel letters on a raceway and flat panels) to retrofit the space for 6 local businesses and help enhance visibility day and night while creating a more professional appearance for each.
How We Did It: We performed site surveys for each location, created design mockups for each business owner, and worked with the city to obtain required permits. From there, we coordinated installs with an electrician where applicable to ensure all illuminated signs provided maximum impact.
Project Highlight: Metro
METRO HEATING – Fleet Graphics
The Ask: Design & rebrand vehicle graphics to help build further brand awareness, build credibility, and enhance trustworthiness.
The Project: Create a new design, then print and wrap 30+ trucks and vans.
How We Did It: We created multiple design concepts to best incorporate Metro Heating’s ideas and represent not just their services, but also their values. From there, we printed the approved design, and scheduled install on both old and new fleet vehicles with a detailed weekly schedule to ensure on-time completion and minimal downtime for the client.
Looking for something special?
As your full-service sign shop, we can handle any request big or small. Contact us today!