The Power of a Professional Designer

Business owners walk a fine line trying to present a professional face to their clientele while still keeping costs down.  Oftentimes we look for ways we can do things ourselves rather than paying someone else to do them, to save some money. But there are times when paying a professional is money well spent, like with electrical work or tree removal. The risks there are unacceptably high for a DIY-er. So what risks do you incur when you don’t spend enough on your design budget? Now we’re not saying that doing your own graphic design can be hazardous to your health. But it can be costly in terms of how your business is perceived, if your marketing is aesthetically below standard.

That’s where a sign company with full time, experienced graphic designers can help.

Logo Design: The First Building Block

Take, for example, our friends at Hauppauge Integrated Wellness Group. They contacted us in need of a new lobby sign using their new logo, and we were excited to take the job. But like many business owners they didn’t have (or even really know they needed) a high resolution vector file that we could use for production. Here is the image they provided, a jpg which is “rasterized” which is why the lines are all jagged and pixelated. This file was not useable for a final product.

Luckily, our designers are experienced in taking a raster file and converting it into the type of file we need–a “vector” file which has smooth edges and can be infinitely enlarged without losing resolution. The software we use, Adobe Illustrator, can even do this for us with a click of a button. But this is where the difference in a professional versus an enthusiastic amateur is clear. The software can only do so much, and as you can see below the automated process rendered text that is oddly lumpy, and has letters attached to one another. Could we use this as a production file to make a sign? Certainly. But would a customer be happy with the finished result? Unlikely.

Close up of the initial render

The Value of Experience

Our designer wasted no time trying to pass this vector off to production. Instead, he dove into his resources to find a font that was as close as possible to the one used in the logo. Many times we can find the exact font and recreate the text easily. But in this case he had to utilize a font that had similar letters and custom adjust them as needed to match the logo font. This is a painstaking, time-consuming process that was absolutely crucial for a professional finished sign. The letters are now crisp, individual, and ready for production.

The completed vector file

See the end result and judge for yourself:

For a good sign, start with a good design.

What Are the Real Costs?

The next time you need signage, you can put yourself and your business in the hands of a sign company like Signwave that refuses to compromise on the importance of good design and visual impact. Or you can take your chances and potentially have to live with a sign you don’t love, or that you have to pay to have redone.