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Project Spotlight: AmpliTech 

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Innovative Company, Innovative Signage

Named one of the top 10 most innovative telecom solutions companies in 2022 by Inc. Magazine, AmpliTech is headquartered right here in our own Long Island Innovations Park in Hauppauge. They design, develop, and manufacture custom leading-edge RF components for the commercial, SATCOM, space, and military markets. Signwave was proud to partner with them in 2022 to design, fabricate, and install all the signage for their new building on Plant Ave.

 

Exterior Wayfinding Signs

 It was important to the founder that we begin with the exterior monument signage, to firmly establish the AmpliTech name in the industrial park community. We determined the best solution to be a durable, double-sided, sculpted foam monument with faux stone base, aluminum faces with printed vinyl graphics, and dimensional letters on the capstone for the address. The sign is externally illuminated with ground lighting. One of the many benefits of using removable faces on the base material is that they can be easily replaced if there is any accidental damage, or if the logo needs an update. Placed prominently at the corner of Plant Ave and Oser Ave–one of the main industrial park thoroughfares–the sign stands out as a beautiful and practical tool for brand recognition.

This monument sign captures attention and markets a brand on a main industrial park road.

 
Additional wayfinding signs can also be found at the two entrance driveways. They prevent any confusion between the delivery area and parking for staff and visitors. We also created custom aluminum signs to clarify the uses for the different doors in the rear, and to mark parking spaces for visitors (using U channels) and executives (placed directly along the back wall). Printed vinyl graphics on the glass front door are standard for many of our customers, and we included that in our signage package for AmpliTech as well.

Wayfinding is easy when you clearly mark your visitor and delivery entrances.

 

Interior Signage and Design

 Once inside, you’re immediately greeted by the clean and modern lobby design. This includes a clear acrylic wall sign with printed custom vinyl graphics applied to the back surface facing out, a technique known as second surface installation. The sign is mounted to the wall using standoffs. The combination of standoffs–which, as the name indicates, raises the sign out so it “stands off” the wall, plus the second surface graphics give multiple layers of dimension to a simple but effective sign.

Second surface vinyl with standoffs gives multiple layers of dimension to this lobby sign.

One of the focal spots in the office is a beautiful full wall mural using a photograph of a key moment in the company’s history: when they were added to the NASDAQ stock exchange. It serves as both a commemoration and an inspiration on a daily basis. Unfortunately, one of the key staff members was not visible in this photo. It was very important to everyone that he be included, so Signwave’s designers stepped up to add him in using the magic of photo editing. Light, shadow, and positioning all had to be accounted for, and the work is so seamless we’d challenge anyone to pick out the “new addition.” Signwave is extremely proud of the talents of our staff designers.

A mural celebrating a company milestone brightens the office.

 Speaking of inspiration, we were also tasked with creating a motivational word wall for the break room. After going through several “word cloud” type designs. the customer landed on a motivational quote. This quote from another technology company figurehead you may have heard of, rendered in company logo colors, reminds everyone that they are important to the team’s success.

Motivational wall art is a colorful touch in the break room.

 
And not least, we created some custom gallery wrap canvas prints for the CEO’s office. Again we used our staff’s photo editing talents to create beautiful artwork that harkens back to the company’s momentous entry into the stock exchange. Installing canvas wraps in such a way that they all line up evenly is challenging, but Signwave installers are up to the task. And using removable mounting hardware means that the canvasses can be rotated out or relocated without damaging the walls.

Custom canvas gallery wraps capture some of the biggest moments in company history so far.

 

Learn More

 To learn more about AmpliTech and all they offer, visit their website HERE. 
And to learn how Signwave can help you promote, outfit, and maximize your new working space from floor to ceiling and outside too, give us a call at 631-761-9292 or fill out the website “Contact Us” form.
 
 
 

3 Reasons You Should Winterize Your Signs

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The new year is almost upon us, and advertisements will be everywhere telling you it’s time for a “new you.” Believe it or not, it’s also an important time to make some changes to your signage. You may not need to “slim down” your signage or do a “budget overhaul” to make it work,  just make time for some “self care” with small adjustments, like the suggestions below. A resolution to update your signage to the season will have a big impact in 2023.

Three Reasons Your Signs Need Winterizing

Increased Visibility for Outdoor Signs

In cold weather, the foot traffic around your business decreases dramatically. An A-frame on the sidewalk suddenly impacts fewer and fewer potential customers–the pile of snow along the road from the plow blocks it from view, and most people are staying indoors anyway. The majority of people passing by are in vehicles, so you don’t have much time to attract their attention. You need big, bold, colorful, and quick messaging. Consider an illuminated channel letter sign on your building, or a colorful window graphic. Window vinyl can be applied “second surface” or on the inside surface facing outward, to protect it from the elements!

New Product Offerings Need Custom Design

Do you have a special on down-filled weatherproof jackets this week? Have you created a brand new Instagram-worthy secret-menu latte drink? Do you carry a new brand of winter tires that you’d like everyone to know about? You’d better check your signage and make sure you aren’t still marketing bathing suits, or frozen fruit drinks, or air conditioning system tuneups. When your product offerings change with the seasons, it’s crucial that your signage does too. Update your window signs, in store displays, even your vehicle graphics to feature your most up to date product lines.

Changing Business Hours for Entrances and Door Signs

No matter what business you’re in, your hours can be affected by the seasons. Outdoor recreational facilities may need to change their closing hours because it gets dark earlier. Even if you posted your holiday closures on your website, make sure they’re easily found by customers who show up to your physical location as well. And we know too well in 2022 that staff shortages due to illness can lead to early closing or late opening, and it’s important that you keep your clients aware to avoid frustrations and lost business. Flexible signage options include LED message signs that can be mounted inside your window to be viewed from outside, or a changeable letter sign.

Signwave is ready to do a signage evaluation for your facility to make sure you’re winterized! Call us at 631-761-9292 or fill out the contact us form, and we’ll get started.

Project Spotlight: Studio631

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Full Facility Signage for Offices

Today we’re proud to spotlight a recent full facility signage project for Studio631 Recordings in Islandia. Studio631 provides a professional studio experience for artists at every stage of recording whether you’re a performer or a producer. Niko and Matt came to Signwave as they were building out their new space on Patco Court, knowing that they needed a combination of bold branding and clear wayfinding. Using their logo, Signwave put together a custom package that solved all their challenges both creatively and practically.

Exterior Facility Signs

Initially the owners only wanted exterior signage. Because the building management has established signage design standards, we created a painted pan face overdoor sign with clean lettering to match the other building tenants. But we added the company logo to the door in cut white vinyl for a little individuality.

cut vinyl on a painted pan face sign plus cut vinyl on glass door

The exterior signage meets the landlord’s requirements while still utilizing the logo font for individuality.

Custom Lobby Sign

As we worked together, Niko and Matt developed a trust in our design and fabrication expertise and asked us for ideas for a lobby sign. We were able to create a very modern clear acrylic panel sign with dimensional painted letter and flat cut black vinyl, all mounted to the wall on standoffs. The different levels of material in the sign create multiple visual effects with light and shadow, and the owners loved the beautiful finished product.

clear acrylic with dimensional letters and vinyl on standoffs

The logo sign for the Studio 631 lobby wows with several layers of dimension: a clear acrylic panel with dimensional letters layered over black cut vinyl, on standoffs so the shadows add even more depth.

Custom Flag Signs

As we worked on the lobby sign, they realized it would be necessary to mark each studio with a separate wayfinding sign. So Signwave went to work again to create a custom design that would fit the studio aesthetic while providing clear direction to the various locations down the hallway. Our final design gives the impression of an old school vinyl record, using logo elements and font on a double-sided circular flag sign.

printed vinyl circular flag sign

A closeup of the Studio 631 flag signs, custom printed on vinyl with corporate colors and logo elements

circular flag signs mark studio doors

Each studio is marked with a custom double-sided circular flag sign.

Signage projects often evolve as the process moves forward. Signwave has the creative solutions and flexibility to help solve all your facility signage challenges. Give us a call at 631-761-9292 and see how we can help you!

3 Reasons You Should Winterize Your Signs

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It’s a new year, and advertisements everywhere are telling you it’s time for a “new you.” Believe it or not, it’s also an important time to make some changes to your signage. You may not need to “slim down” your signage or do a “budget overhaul” to make it work,  just make time for some “self care” with small adjustments, like the suggestions below. A resolution to update your signage to the season will have a big impact in 2022.

Three Reasons Your Signs Need Winterizing

Increased Visibility for Outdoor Signs

In cold weather, the foot traffic around your business decreases dramatically. An A-frame on the sidewalk suddenly impacts fewer and fewer potential customers–the pile of snow along the road from the plow blocks it from view, and most people are staying indoors anyway. The majority of people passing by are in vehicles, so you don’t have much time to attract their attention. You need big, bold, colorful, and quick messaging. Consider an illuminated channel letter sign on your building, or a colorful window graphic. Window vinyl can be applied “second surface” or on the inside surface facing outward, to protect it from the elements!

New Product Offerings Need Custom Design

Do you have a special on down-filled weatherproof jackets this week? Have you created a brand new Instagram-worthy secret-menu latte drink? Do you carry a new brand of winter tires that you’d like everyone to know about? You’d better check your signage and make sure you aren’t still marketing bathing suits, or frozen fruit drinks, or air conditioning system tuneups. When your product offerings change with the seasons, it’s crucial that your signage does too. Update your window signs, in store displays, even your vehicle graphics to feature your most up to date product lines.

Changing Business Hours for Entrances and Door Signs

No matter what business you’re in, your hours can be affected by the seasons. Outdoor recreational facilities may need to change their closing hours because it gets dark earlier. Even if you posted your holiday closures on your website, make sure they’re easily found by customers who show up to your physical location as well. And we know too well in 2022 that staff shortages due to illness can lead to early closing or late opening, and it’s important that you keep your clients aware to avoid frustrations and lost business. Flexible signage options include LED message signs that can be mounted inside your window to be viewed from outside, or a changeable letter sign.

Signwave is ready to do a signage evaluation for your facility to make sure you’re winterized! Call us at 631-761-9292 or fill out the contact us form, and we’ll get started.

canvas gallery wraps

Custom Gallery Prints

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Your business is unique, and when your office is the “face” you present to the customer you want it to showcase that unique quality that makes you stand out from your competition. One good way to do that is to have one-of-a-kind decor in your office space. A custom-made canvas gallery print is a budget-friendly way to decorate your office. We can use your logo, photos of your staff or facilities, artwork that you have the rights to use, or any other graphic you can imagine to create a custom-sized, bespoke piece of artwork that fits your exact needs.

framed artwork displayed on an easel

Custom canvas prints can be displayed in a variety of ways

Signwave has talented designers on staff that can create the custom artwork you want, and size it to fit the space you want to fill. We custom build each sturdy frame using exacting methods, and have a variety of options for canvas styles on which we can print your design. Once complete, the canvasses can hang directly on the wall for a minimalist look, or they can be framed or placed on an easel for display.

a graphic print on canvas displayed on an easel

Displaying your custom canvas print without a frame gives a minimalist and clean look

Gallery prints are more than just business decor. They would be welcome as part of a year-end award ceremony for meeting fiscal or production goals. Encourage outside creative efforts among your employees by having their artwork turned into a masterpiece, either the art itself or a photograph of the results, and hang them in your facility for other employees to enjoy.

One Signwave customer used a custom gallery wrap as a memorial to his father, using photographs and text. It will hang in his home for all the family to see and remember their loved one.

printed memorial with photos and text

We sized this customer’s artwork and printed a lovely memorial to his father, with a custom-built frame

They also make wonderful gifts if you have a treasured family photo you’d like to showcase.

When you’re ready to turn a special photo or piece of artwork into a gallery wrap for your home or office, call Signwave to help you get started. We’ll create a durable custom piece you’ll love.

Why Do I Need an LED Retrofit?

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Fluorescents can be a fire hazard. This sign is a perfect opportunity for a retrofit.

“Wow, it took me a while to find you guys!” Ever hear that from a customer, due to a dim, unlit, or damaged sign? At that point you call up your local sign shop and ask them to come out to replace a bulb, or check the wiring. At the time of the diagnosis they tell you that yes, they could replace the burned out fluorescent bulb or repair the wiring, but your best option would be to replace the entire works with an LED retrofit. Then they quote you a price that is quite a bit higher than a replacement bulb. What?!! You decide they’re trying to upsell you into a solution you simply don’t need. But what are the unseen costs you’re incurring by sticking with the old technology, and what is the ROI for making the switch?

Cost vs. Value

An LED bar that fits into your fluorescent fittings

  • Lower Maintenance Costs: LEDs cost less to maintain because you replace them less often. Fluorescent bulbs are cheap but fragile, and you have to pay for a bucket truck to come out and change them up to 2 or 3 times a year in some cases. LED lights running 10 hours a day can last up to a decade, meaning one trip to install and no more labor charge for years to come.  Your LED retrofit could pay for itself in as little as 2 years.
  • Lower Operating Costs: LEDs use about 1/3 of the energy of a fluorescent bulb, meaning your energy bills will be lower without sacrificing brightness. Also, fluorescents can lose up to half their output in cold weather, while LEDs continue to operate at full efficiency in both very high and very low temperatures.
  • Increased Visibility: LEDs are brighter than fluorescents. A regular fluorescent sign bulb shines in 360 degrees, wasting light that shines toward the back of the sign. The light from LEDs is directed straight onto the sign face for increased brightness and readability. If one LED module burns out, the overall effect to the sign is much less than if an entire fluorescent bulb burns out.

    Each LED element is quickly and easily installed into your existing sign cabinet.

  • Reduced Environmental Impact: Fluorescent bulbs contain mercury and phosphor, and must be disposed of in an environmentally conscious way. If your company has green initiatives and goals, LEDs are a necessity.
  • You Can Keep Your Existing Cabinet: With an LED retrofit, you don’t need an entirely new sign. You can keep your existing cabinet and sign face, and our technicians will replace only the lighting elements. It’s a cost-efficient glow up for your sign that will immediately draw attention.

Double Your Value with a New Sign Face Too

Once your new lighting is in place, you may notice that your sign face suddenly looks a bit drab or old. Signwave’s experienced design team can create a bright, fresh graphic that will play off the new lighting perfectly. Done along with the retrofit install, you save even more money by avoiding two install trips. It’s a double whammy that will turn heads and draw in customers.

 

An LED retrofit plus an update to the vinyl face makes the K&M Truck Repair lightbox stand out in Ronkonkoma

A Smart Choice with High ROI

Choosing to update your illuminated sign with an LED retrofit is a smart decision that we recommend because it’s our job to boost your business: to help you get more attention and save money. If your lightbox or pylon sign isn’t looking its best anymore, give Signwave a call. We can find the best solution for you.

Using color to identify subsidiaries in dimensional lettering

A Perfect Season for Interior Signage

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Wintertime is Interior Signage Evaluation Time

Why are interior signs important?

Outside all signs point to more cold weather to come, but inside it’s a perfect time to reevaluate your business’s interior signage. Attractive signs are much more than just bits of information to stick on a wall or door. After all, it’s not just your customers that use them as a visual marker. You and your employees and co-workers see them, walk past them, and work under them day after day. A drab, purely practical sign does nothing to inspire pride or productivity.

Cream and blue ADA sign reading "work room"

Do a site evaluation and make notes

Take a walk around your facility and see where you have a generic, off-the-rack sign, a piece of printer paper, or nothing at all to designate the different areas and offices. What message would it send to your employees and customers if you had a custom-made, coherent signage plan in place to increase visibility, decrease confusion, and create a harmonious work environment?

Where can we make improvement?

Consider these options:

  1. Signage in your company colors to designate workrooms, conference rooms, and storage areas
  2. ADA compliant bathroom signs that also sport your company’s logo
  3. Panoramic wall vinyl with photos depicting scenic areas in your town, or your products in action
  4. Cozy, welcoming signage in your staff dining areas
  5. Clear directional signage for your customers and visitors
  6. Custom nameplates for offices
  7. Long-lasting, custom made floor markings for social distancing and safety

Custom Motivational wallCustom Wall Graphics for Conference Room

There’s no better time than today

Right now is the best time to make those interior changes, before the warm weather calls us all outside again. Signwave can implement your vision, or start from scratch and come up with a full site signage plan to meet your aesthetic and your budget. Give us a call for a site visit!

Routed and Carved Sign Panels Make a Lasting Impression

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Post and Panel sign with carved lettering and digitally printed graphics

Post and Panel sign for Malverne, NY school property with carved lettering and digitally printed graphics

Masonry and a routed and painted sign panel combine to provide a solid presence, identifying your school, institution or public area. Malverne UFSD administration had already worked with Signwave to create beautiful sandblasted plaques for their Administration Building, High School and podiums. They brought us back to recognize their Middle School, Intermediate School and Primary School for their being awarded “Blue Ribbon” status. After a planning session with the Malverne UFSD team, Signwave came back with a similar design for all three schools to assure a unified look for their district.

Carved, painted sign, with digitally printed graphics for the crest

Red brick posts support a carved, painted sign, with digitally printed graphics for the crest

Masonry is a popular medium for sign pillars – in this case, classic stacked stone – but they could be rendered of brick, PVC, wood, steel or even foam. Steel rails were inserted between the pillar courses to assure a substantial connection that would withstand the elements. Between the rails we mounted two sign panels, made of thick PVC.

This is where the Signwave design expertise shows its value. We routed the main panel into a classic shape to match the brand that the institution wants to convey – a classic, reliable institution that will serve the community for many decades. We carved the school names into the panel, and painted them blue and white to match the colors of the district. We printed their crest on digital media, using our latex print technology, and overlaminating to assure the colors wouldn’t fade.

After professionally mounting the panels to the rails, the signs were ready to greet all of Malverne’s students, staff and visitors. Signwave is proud to have been selected to create the public image of this school district!

sand blast stencil

Sandblasted Signs For Schools – What A Relief!

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The Malverne Union Free School District had a new Administration team that agreed that a facelift was due. A new logo was designed, and they needed to update their building and podium signage to reflect their new look. After perusing our website, Signwave got the call.

The Signwave design team worked closely with them to define those sections of the logo to be raised or recessed, discuss textures and paint techniques, and mounting options. Then it was off to fabrication.

Painted sandblasted sign showing HDU substrate

Bold colors on a sandblasted sign

Sandblasting is one of several techniques used to create beautiful dimensional signs that can stand up to the elements. For this project, a block of High Density Urethane (HDU) was sawn and routed to size and shape. A vinyl mask was created to block off those areas not to be abraded by the blasting material, and the material (“sand”) was selected to provide the proper texture and density. The substrate was positioned in a protective booth and our skilled craftspeople blasted away.

Medallion sign

Medallion sign represents local school pride

After a perfect relief was achieved, it was off to the paint shop. Like many companies and organizations, color matching to their logo specifications was critical. After two coats of paint and two coats of polyurethane, it was handed off to our installation crew, just in time for graduation ceremonies. The four schools in the district were all looking their best with brand new dimensional signs, that will last for many years to come.

sand blasted sign

Modern techniques, traditional style

After that success, we followed up with more sandblasted signs for the District – a crest for the outside of their administration building, and a giant 7’ diameter crest for the High School. We also provided carved and routed monument signs for each of their school buildings, but that’s a story for another blog post.

Let’s talk about ways to show your school pride in signs.
Drop us a line or call 631-761-9292 to arrange a consultation.

 

lobby sign

Is Dimensional Signage Right For Your Lobby?

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We get many requests from companies in need of lobby signs with their logo. Some are moving to new office space, others are looking to upgrade their existing lobby signs. We’re always glad to discuss their concepts, answer their questions, and make recommendations.

Dimensional lettering mounted over custom wallpaper

Dimensional letters can be mounted over custom wallpaper

A look at our gallery will show that there are a multitude of material options and styles to choose from. One option is custom wallpaper with the company logo incorporated directly into the design. Logos can be rendered in vinyl directly to a painted wall. Alternatively, a glass, acrylic, metal or wood panel can be mounted to the wall and flat vinyl of various colors, textures and sheens can be applied to it.

The most popular option is to render the logo with dimensional letters and logo shapes. These can be fabricated from acrylic, PVC, metal, wood or various other materials. They can have various finishes – gloss or matte, metallic or clear, wood grain – the imagination is the limit. The dimensional characters can be mounted flush to the wall, separated from the wall on spacers, or mounted to a backer panel made of an equally dizzying variety of material and shape choices.

dimensional lettering close-up

Depending on the material chosen, the narrowest stroke width is about equal to the thickness of the material.

In order to render a logo as a dimensional object, the letters must have an adequate minimum thickness (or “stroke width”) to be manufacturable. Even the most precise laser cutter or strongest acrylic will have challenges with certain designs. Depending on the material chosen, the narrowest stroke width is about equal to the thickness of the material. Thus, if you wanted to render a logo in ½” acrylic, consider that the minimum line width should be ½” as well.

But what if your company logo includes thin, delicate lines? There are still dimensional options available. Logos can be routed, engraved or carved in relief – on metal, wood, acrylic or PVC. A skilled and creative signmaker is up to the challenge of creating even the most challenging designs in a dimensionality that will upgrade your office lobby instantly.

Let’s talk about what works best for your logo in the interior space of your lobby. Drop us a line or call 631-761-9292 to arrange a consultation.

 

grand “lightning” logo rendered spectacularly in window perf

Signage Speaks Volumes for a Distributor in Islandia NY

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If Your Walls And Windows Could Talk, What Story Would They Tell?

When Helios Tattoo, a manufacturer and distributor of premium inks, needles and supplies to the tattoo trade moved into their new headquarters in Islandia, NY, they wanted to make sure that their lobby, showroom and offices broadcast their brand to all visitors. That’s where Signwave’s specialties lie – in truly custom and unique brand identity designs for corporate environments.

Projects for the Helios headquarters include custom wall treatments

Projects for the Helios headquarters include wall treatments, lobby signage, window and door graphics, warehouse signage, and vehicle graphics.

We started with an overall consultation to understand what they were hoping to achieve with this project. We knew that we needed to provide wall wraps for their tattoo studio, window graphics to make an exterior impression, and a one-of-a-kind lobby wall. We broke the project into separate phases and deliverables to assure that the customer was satisfied with each sub-project before moving onto the next.

Phase 1 was the wall wraps. We worked closely with the Helios designers to create the image files that would show their brand at its best. We selected a matte calendared vinyl for the walls that we laminated with luster overlam to minimize glare under the studio lights but still make the images pop. Only seven days after design approval, their first guest Pro Team artists were cheerfully creating their amazing body art in the newly-wrapped Helios Hideout.

Translucent etch vinyl and white cut vinyl achieve maximum visibility.

Translucent etch vinyl and white cut vinyl achieve maximum visibility.

Next came the doors and windows. The front door obviously needed to present their logo to the public, attractively and with maximum visibility. We used a combination of translucent etch vinyl and white cut vinyl to achieve this. With printed color logos on their other doors, they were ready to move on to the grand “lightning” logo, rendered spectacularly in window perf. Window perf is a perforated adhesive vinyl that is perfect for office window treatments. It permits light to enter (thus not blocking the view from inside) while providing a full graphical brand treatment for outside the building.

Phase 3 was completed last week. We brought a number of samples of various wall textures to their team for selection and they immediately settled on a dramatic faux wall texture of brown stones with grey grout. We needed a lobby sign that would create an unforgettable impression, so we created a PVC sign with embedded red LEDs to cast a halo effect on the wall behind. The result was an eye-popping, dramatic welcome to all Helios visitors.

Signwave’s team isn’t done yet. Additional projects for the Helios headquarters include wall treatments for the offices, warehouse signage, and vehicle graphics.
We’re delighted when customers are pleased with our creations!

PVC sign with red LEDs casts a halo effect on the wall.

PVC sign with embedded red LEDs casts a halo effect on the textured wall behind.

We’d love to help you design your interior and exterior spaces too.

Drop us a line or call 631-761-9292 to arrange a consultation.

Door signs for both wayfinding and information at Long Island location.

Multi-Purpose Signs: Visibility and Wayfinding

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What better way to let visitors and customers know how to find your new business than by posting a big beautiful sign on your door? And what if you have multiple doors?

Opaque door signage for privacy inside, information outside Suffolk County location.

Opaque door signage provides privacy inside, important information outside this Suffolk County location.

Recco Home Care in Suffolk County recently moved into a new office suite with multiple entrances to the parking lot. They consulted our sign shop to make sure that not only were they visible to the neighborhood, but that everyone knew which entrance to use.

Signwave recommended printed “window perf” signs on the glass doors. Window Perf is a fantastic material for providing full-surface signage that also permits light to come through so insiders can see through to the outside. It is available in different grades, that vary by the amount and size of the perforations, the color of the adhesive side, and the expected longevity. For Recco, we were able to clearly mark the customer entrance and the Training Room entrance, but also use the other door surfaces to direct customers to the correct door to use.

For extra visibility we added some cut vinyl window graphics that featured their logo and a description of the services they provide.

Grand Opening banner at new Suffolk location

Grand Opening banner at new Suffolk County location aids recruitment.

And to top it all off, a roof banner announced their Grand Opening for all to see. The outdoor signage not only called attention to the company’s arrival in the neighborhood, but also provided the phone number and web address, as well as information about the free training program. Because of windy winter conditions, this was printed on mesh fabric with reinforced webbing all around.

Now the neighborhood not only knows they are there, but knows how to enter. We also helped them spread the word about new employment opportunities in the Long Island community. Welcome Recco Home Care!

Front Door and window signs on Suffolk County building

Consistent branding with variable messaging makes it clear what Recco offers and how to reach them.

Window Perf is a translucent material available in different grades, that vary by the amount and size of the perforations, the color of the adhesive side, and the expected longevity. We’ll be glad to arrange a meeting to show you samples and discuss how this material can be used in combination with banners or other exterior signage to solve your wayfinding and visibility challenges.

Using color to identify subsidiaries in dimensional lettering

Building Client Confidence Through Office Signs

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When the financial services organization The WizdomOne Group was moving into a new office suite in Islandia, New York, they wanted to create a reception area and conference room that cemented an impression of excellence in their visitors’ minds. They worked with a commercial interior designer for their furniture and carpeting, and called in Signwave to coordinate wall treatments and signage with their selected color palette. Signwave designed three separate areas of focus:

A reception desk backsplash sign.

Dimensional signs add a look of distinction to any professional office space. We recreated their logo on acrylic and metallic letters and shapes, and mounted them on spacers. We created a faux wood backer panel to give the whole welcome area a professional and luxurious touch.

A coordinated wall treatment for the lobby.

One challenge this company presented us with is how to show the four separate entities that were under their umbrella organization. We accomplished this by creating a wall treatment with acrylic stud-mounted letters, all in black, with one letter in the color of that subsidiary. Uniting them was a custom wallpaper treatment with a subtle print of their logo underlying it all.

Custom wallpaper for the conference room.

We brainstormed with the customer regarding what brand impression they wished to create, and developed a series of designs for their approval. All agreed that this custom “dictionary definition” look made the perfect impact. Our color managed print process created the image on textured wallpaper, in subtle shades of grey.

Visitors to their office are continually impressed with the beautiful signs that Signwave created for this new office space. Call us at 631-761-9292 for a free consultation to see how we might help boost your visitors’ confidence.

 

Wayfinding signage system in a parking garage

ADA Compliance and Signage: Thinking Beyond Braille

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Have you ever gone down the wrong corridor in a hospital or office building? It’s frustrating, right? Imagine how it feels if your vision is impaired, if you are having trouble walking, or if you are already suffering from anxiety. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) aims not only to ensure against discrimination, but also to avoid this kind of distress in public facilities.

Braille in the elevator? Absolutely. But it’s just a start.

Design your sign system to enable and empower all visitors.

Accessibility, even according to the law, is rather loosely defined. Any physical or mental impairment that substantially limits an individual from navigating your facility is considered under the ADA. Examples include standing, walking, speaking, breathing, seeing, hearing, learning, sitting, reading.

This applies to all kinds of signs: designation, means of egress, directional, and informational.

Both visual and tactile characteristics have impact. RV, or Raised Visual signs, can be tremendously helpful to someone whose vision is impaired and who may not read braille, including the chromatically challenged. Raised lettering can also help with lighting, as cast shadows counteract glare in changing daylight. Visual Only, or VO signs, are more vulnerable to lighting anomalies, but with consideration of surface finish and contrast we can maximize visibility and enhance the visitor experience.

Restroom signThe importance of legibility is easy to see.

While illumination, color, and contrast are important, viewing distance is also essential to consider. Font weight and size, the height at which signage is mounted, and the approachability of signs should be optimized for the widest possible range of readability.

Consistency is key — placement of signs should be predictable — but unique markers help to make sure the corridors don’t all look the same. Well placed murals, infographics or decorative motifs can help differentiate one hallway or building from another.

When your signage system guides, informs and assures the visitor, navigation is efficient and stress-free.

Let our expert team guide you in making your facility more accessible. Call Signwave at (631) 761-9292 to learn more.

 

 

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