Vehicle graphics- your business’ mobile billboard!

March 23, 2016May 14, 2018
by admin

With the weather getting warmer and warmer, businesses and store owners alike have the challenge to maximize advertising and capture as many views to draw interest to their products and services.

With people wanting to be outside to take in the warmth, an ideal solution for this time of year is “Vehicle Graphics“. A way to advertise that is mobile, parked and continuously amongst potential clients!!

“Vehicle Graphics” are moving ads! You can find them on cars, trucks, vans, bikes or anything else that has wheels. They display a range of information that includes logos, services and contact information that would be seen by countless eyes as the vehicle conducts it’s daily routines.

These graphics come in many different applications. From a simple logo on the side of your car door to a full wrap around your “commercial” cubic van proudly portraying your “look”.

SIGN-A-RAMA is here to help! Being in business since 1986, we have become well versed and experienced in this type of sign application. Whether it’s your start-up vehicle, your luxury car, your delivery van, the tailgate of your truck…or even your fleet of vehicles, we have the facility and know-how to meet every requirement you may have. Our team of graphic designers are here to help achieve that perfect graphic you would like the world to see!

We use top of the line materials and digital printing substrates and go the extra mile by protecting them with UV resistant laminates. This preserves and extends the lifespan of the brightness of colour and detail of your vehicle graphics and wraps.

Just think, that vehicle that immediately caught your attention down the road because of the graphics on it…could be yours, expanding your business!

Next time you say, “That’s a nice BMW”, you just proved the success of vehicle graphics and branding!

Times Square Vs Piccadilly Circus: The Billboard Capitals of…

March 10, 2016May 14, 2018
by admin

I have been in the signage industry almost my whole life. In my long career in this industry, we have build all kinds of signages- small way-finding signs, store front signs, awnings, window graphics, commercial and real estate signs, etc. But the ones that intrigue me the most even to this day are the large billboards. When ever I see one, I can feel them screaming in my face what their owner wants them to shout-out. A well designed billboard stand is well worth the investment to advertise your development.

My love for billboards began when I visited the Times square. That place is screaming with all kinds of billboards and they draw an astonishing amounts of tourists on a daily basis. Another place which intrigues me is the Piccadily Circus in London. These two places are known as The Billboard Capitals of the world.

Below are some astonishing facts about these two places. Read on to be astonished by them as I once was!

When you expect great results, come to the creative sign experts at Sign A Rama Toronto. From concept, to design, to production and to final installation, we are there to help. Feel free to contact us at 416-922-7446 or fill our contact form here. We will get in touch with you to help you with your query.

Building Signs

Sign A Rama Toronto East develops the new signage…

February 25, 2016May 13, 2018
by admin

THE OPPORTUNITY

When one of the oldest professional football league in North America approaches you, it is a great honor just to be associated with them. So when the Canadian Football League approached SIGN-A-RAMA to produce signage for their new corporate branding at their head office in Toronto, we all felt proud to be associated with them and help create a great looking CFL signage.

THE CHALLENGE

The task at hand was to create a new sleek look to enhance their corporate branding. But at the same time, we had to maintain the prestige and aura that comes with CFL. The CFL signage package included creating signs for both the interior and exterior of their location.

OUR SOLUTION

We discussed various design elements among the team to meet the expectations. Finally, the SIGN-A-RAMA team came up with the combination of brushed aluminum alupanel, red and black acrylic to showcase the slick, sleek look of today’s CFL.

Thus keeping true to the corporate branding. The result with a sign package that truly reflects the heritage that accompanies the CFL.

Sign A Rama Toronto-East is a premier sign and display company which has been present since 1986. We offer a comprehensive in-house design with our 3 graphic designers, complete manufacturing, and installation. We are ContractorCheck accredited company and fully insured with $10,000,000 insurance coverage. We have all WSIB clearance certificates and each and every member of our team is fully trained in first aid, ladder training and safety practices.

Related- Blade Signs- Your answer to enhancing visibility of your business

When you expect great results, come to the creative sign experts at Sign A Rama Toronto-East. From concept, to design, to production and to final installation, we are there to help. Feel free to contact us at 416-422-2622 or fill our contact form here. We will get in touch with you to help you with your queries.

Building Signs

When you want an elegant and exquisite looking sign…

February 18, 2016May 14, 2018
by admin

A touch of world-class comes to Toronto and lands on Mount Pleasant Ave. Maison Nurita is a boutique store offering hand picked works of art and home accessories from around the world. A one-of-a-kind store with nothing like it in Toronto. Sign A Rama was pleased to make their new sign out of solid brass on an epoxy black finish to give this jewel of business a truly high-end look.

Owner Nurita Bloomberg was immediately pleased when she saw her sign and knew she made the right decision to take our designers advice to pay a little bit more but get an amazing look.

The solid brass lettering will last a lifetime and it really reflects the kind of product Nurita is offering.
It truly has that European look and matches the storefront.

Related- Creating a great mall sign- 70 Yorkville story

The end look sets her apart from her neighbours..Stunning

Nurita in the end and Sign A Rama were both happy with a job well done.

We do work for many of the national retailers but we love to work with independent unique boutiques in the midtown areas like Mount Pleasant, Queen West, Distillery, Beaches and Yorkville areas. We have done hundreds of retailers in the city and love the challenge.

Related- Window Advertising- Your key to marketing success

Uncategorized

Things to consider while making a great restaurant signage

February 17, 2016May 13, 2018
by admin

Whether you are a start up independent family restaurant or a national franchise, Sign A Rama Toronto can help you with your restaurant signage from design, through production and all the way through to installation.That’s the easy part! More importantly we have three experienced graphic designers who have worked with hundreds of restaurateurs to get the look and the right kind of sign for you.

Whether it’s a complete frontage or decorative window designs, our designers can take you through the process of design, colors, your logo application and the final look. We want to make sure we get it right considering there is a lot to think about to help you look and reflect the exact nature of your restaurant.

Related:- Signage as an advertising medium for restaurants

Important factors for your restaurant signage are your location, storefront visibility, type of frontage and the kind of sign that you need. Typically you would send Sign A Rama some architectural renderings or blueprints, graphic designs and logos if you have them and we will take it from there by providing some mock ups after a few discussions about what you’re trying to do and where you fit in your particular category.

We also go to the site and drive by a few times and walk the area to determine size, visibility and generally assess the streetscape. We believe a sign is more than just a sign at Sign A Rama.

Building Signs

STOREFRONT SIGNS – ILLUMINATED SIGN BOXES

February 12, 2016May 14, 2018
by admin

Despite our economy and the status of the Canadian Dollar, store owners and entrepreneurs alike are opening locations throughout the GTA. This influx of retailers has created an opportunity for Sign-A-Rama to provide signage solutions for the increasing demand to advertise and to market.

The challenge at hand is when these clients are looking for a type of sign that would stand out from the rest, maximize visibility and potentially increase business revenues.

In this type of situation, an ILLUMINATED SIGN BOX sign is the perfect alternative. They are affordable, striking and create a visual impact like no other. When ambient light is limited or there is a string of different types of businesses on the block, an illuminated sign will make you stand out.

ILLUMINATED SIGN BOXES are usually rectangular in shape with internal illumination (LED or fluorescent bulbs) with an acrylic face with vinyl graphics.

Related- Blade signs- your answer to enhancing visibility of your business

Having that said, ILLUMINATED SIGN BOXES are not bound to the rectangular shape. Here at Sign-A-Rama, we are able to produce and manufacture custom shaped illuminated sign boxes as well. With this ability, we are able to diversify and corner all aspects of the ILLUMINATED SIGN BOX market and, in turn, provide the perfect solution to the individuals’ signage requirements.

Sign A Rama Toronto-East is a premier sign and display company which has been present in Toronto since 1986. We offer a comprehensive in-house design with our 3 graphic designers, complete manufacturing, and installation. We are ContractorCheck accredited company and fully insured with $10,000,000 insurance coverage. We have all WSIB clearance certificates and each and every member of our team is fully trained in first aid, ladder training and safety practices.

Also Check out- Marrying modernity with old traditions- St. Clement’s school signage story

When you expect great results, come to the creative sign experts at Sign A Rama Toronto. From concept, to design, to production and to final installation, we are there to help. Feel free to contact us at 416-422-2622 or fill our contact form here. We will get in touch with you to help you with your query.

Design

Real Estate giant REMAX chooses SIGNARAMA Toronto for their…

January 21, 2016May 14, 2018
by admin

The Opportunity

A few months back, David Brown VP Marketing Remax Corporate Office approached Sign A Rama Toronto with a specific challenge to see if we could come up with a new look for some of the high-end Remax offices. We have already created some beautiful real estate signs in the past but this presented a unique opportunity in itself.

The Challenge

The new look would still have to be the look of the Remax brand but would also have to be more associated with the selling and listing of homes in the upper end of the market.
In other words the great name of Remax but a more sophisticated Remax.

Our Solution

We proposed white letter with silver trim on a matte black field. Font, size and scale relationships stayed the same to adhere to the graphic formula but we chose to drop the traditional red, white and blue colors which have been their colors for years.

We chose large illuminated channel letters as a signature piece at the far top right of the building delivering very clean and crisp readability.

Two illuminated awnings were proposed over the windows and doors on the first level to give the building a quaint look considering it was still part of a strip mall and the downlighting effect of the illumination would really warm up the frontage.

The thinking was a success and the look was truly outstanding.

Sign A Rama Toronto is a premier sign and display company which has been present in Downtown Toronto since 1986. We offer a comprehensive in-house design with our 3 graphic designers, complete manufacturing, and installation. We are ContractorCheck accredited company and fully insured with $10,000,000 insurance coverage. We have all WSIB clearance certificates and each and every member of our team is fully trained in first aid, ladder training and safety practices. We specialise in making great real estate signs. So when you expect great results, come to the creative sign experts at Sign A Rama Toronto. From concept, to design, to production and to final installation, we are there to help. Feel free to contact us at 416-922-7446 or fill our contact form here. We will get in touch with you to help you with your query.

Marketing

Window Advertising- Your key to marketing success

January 7, 2016May 14, 2018
by admin

One of the most cost-effective ways of delivering in-store specials, adding some color to the season or just identifying yourself to passers-by is by window advertisement. Since the beginning of modern time, people have been attracting customers by storefront graphics and lettering messages. In earlier times sign painters used to do mini sketches, show the owners and then do the windows with sign paints and craftsmanship with a process that could take several days. Today’s digital technology has made it affordable and very efficient to do window graphics very quickly from design to final installation. Now every successful retailer utilizes the window space with seasonal promotions, new product offerings, special sales and the list goes on and on.

As the cliché goes you can’t afford not to do it because it will deliver sales. So the question is what do you put on your windows and how do you do it so that it truly reflects your business and your offer in a creative, impactful way? And impactful enough so that people actually come in or remember your place!

It sounds easy but it’s not quite that simple. It’s like everything else that looks great and works well. There are a lot of little details that have to be put together and work perfectly in order to get the desired effect and look, otherwise, you have the risk of it not working and end up missing opportunities.

At Sign A Rama our designers will help you decide on what to advertise in your windows, create a design and once it’s approved our production people will produce and install it for you. The process can be from simple vinyl graphics with a text message which is very reasonable, all the way to full printed graphics with video monitors and presentations. The key is to agree on what has to be done and then look at some options creatively within a selected budget. Most of the major retailers do windows to coincide with all the other media launches and usually have it done within a day or two of each other.

So it would be very common to see billboards, print ads, TV commercials and in-store signage all launched at the same time. Below is Brown’s Shoes doing a pre-Christmas boot sale ad to lift sales because of the warm weather in reaction to consumers procrastinating to get their winter boots.

Nespresso constantly interchanges its window graphics to reflect new coffee flavors with creative images to create that special appeal for passersby in Yorkville

ViaVai, Toronto’s upscale Italian restaurant, address a bank of windows with dramatic graphics to attract attention and add creativity to their establishment.

John Fluefog uses graphic messages to communicate with passersby on Queen St., West

Global retailer Agent Provocateur consistently change storefront graphics to tie into new programs and seasonal or holiday events.

Bottom line here, window graphics and advertisements work and are very reasonable considering that they are right at the storefront where critical decisions are made as to whether to come into the store or remember that particular promotion for a later time.

Design

Sign A Rama Toronto designs signage for Remax

December 28, 2015May 14, 2018
by admin

Remax is an Industry leader in the real estate sector with more than 35 years of experience. Recently Remax Ultimate Realty opened a third location in the heart of St. Clair West at Dufferin due to expansion arising from a very successful business plan.The owner Tim Syrianos has been a long time customer of Sign A Rama Toronto. We have successfully completed their earlier signage projects and therefore Tim had no hesitation whatsoever to ask us to design and install another sign for their newest location.

For this new project, keeping in mind the design consistency from the earlier signs and Remax corporate branding strategy, we chose to go with channel letters with the Remax color theme. We made the sign front lit with a reverse halo to give it an amazing look and feel.

When we get a signage project from a recognized company as Remax, we keep it mind to deliver an end product which compliments the company’s brand image. In this case, as you can see from the pictures, the sign is striking and sophisticated which speaks for itself for this top real estate company.

Uncategorized

Sign Permit- Do you really need it? Absolutely!

December 10, 2015August 6, 2018
by admin

Long gone are the days when sign companies could just put up a sign and not worry about obtaining a sign permit. Although the industry of sign manufacturers large and small, we’re under the impression that if the former tenant of a premise had a sign then perhaps it wasn’t really necessary for a new sign permit because they were just replacing one sign box with another. Other justifications to go without a sign permit were that if it’s just a small business, the city doesn’t really care about signs and it’s much easier just to put the sign up and see if anybody notices and then worry about it then.

In the 80s and 90s that probably worked but things have changed with the adoption of new sign bylaws, changed bylaws and, more importantly, hiring new bylaw officers to actually enforce the bylaws. I have heard from many sources that 19 new bylaw officers were hired by the city and now there is actually a sign bylaw unit with dedicated individuals to deal with getting the sign permit, executing the work and enforcing infractions.

The direction of the city through the sign unit department is to clean up the city especially on the enforcement side. The officers actually go store to store looking for infractions and existing sign permits. We have noticed a lot more activity with permit follow-ups and removal orders for those people who have put signs up without the proper sign permit. And they mean business.

Now more than ever the bylaw officers go back to inspect the work and sign off on the permit. If you get a notice from the city for not having a sign permit for your new sign you will have to make the application in the end or take down your sign if it doesn’t comply. The disadvantage here would be that you hoped what you bought without the permit is the right size, has the right construction specifications and was installed safely to code.

I recently attended the Sign Variance Appeal meeting at City Hall where parties can challenge the decision of the sign bylaw unit for refused permits and plead their case. Out of about 20 cases, only three were successful. My case was approved because my client’s signs were 20 years old and were oversized, but the Rapport Credit Union that I was representing, fortunately, had original permits which were found, presented and acknowledged by the committee. The new sign that we put up with a permit put the square footage over the allowable square footage.

The bylaw officer upon final inspection of our new sign noticed the existing signs and cited the credit union. Fortunately, the original permits were found and presented at the committee hearing and everything was approved. Had the permits not been found or the credit union not represented well at the hearing, a removal order would’ve been issued and executed.

The famous mural at the CITY TV building which had been up there since 1986 with several repaints was ordered down at the meeting because they repainted it recently without a proper permit.

In spite of a well-respected architect being there to plea the creative side for Bell Media and a competent lawyer for the legal side, the decision by the committee was to uphold the sign bylaw unit’s decision to remove it.

People were shocked because it’s an iconic symbol along Queen West but according to the new bylaws you need a new permit if you repaint a billboard. But if you’re a good manufacturer and you play by the rules you will win in the end.

We are very busy in our permit department and are very successful with the city because we like to play by the rules and it goes a long way. We also know when to stand our ground and will appeal decisions frequently to get permits. We have recently won 3 variance decisions to allow signs on heritage buildings and a school who that required signage in a residential zone. Often it’s negotiated with the bylaw officer and the manager of the sign by-law unit to reach a happy compromise for obtaining the right kind of sign for a customer and his building to keep everybody happy. As a company making signs, you have to be familiar with the nine-point checklist that has to be met for sign approvals.

My advice for retailers would be have your sign company pay the extra $300 or $400 for the permit application, have them do the drawings properly and accurately to reflect what you’re doing and have them apply for the permit because if you don’t there’s a good chance it will come back and will cost you a lot more time and money. Not to mention the embarrassment of it all if your sign is ordered down. Don’t be surprised if this happens to you that your sign company might bail out if they don’t do permits as a matter of course in their business.

To conclude, I think the city is doing a pretty good job and they’re making it so that it’s fair for everybody and sign manufacturers who continually put signs up for clients without the proper permits will sooner or later pay the price.

If you go to our website under creative services you will see typical drawings that are required for the permit applications. Sign A Rama Toronto has 2 full-time staff members who prepare drawings and do the permit applications to help our clients. We are also available for consultations knowing the sign bylaws and the current conditions of each area of the GTA. So if you are looking for a new sign for your business feel free to contact us at 416-922-7446 or can fill our contact form here. We will get in touch with you to help you with your query.

Signarama Toronto is a premier sign and display company which has been present in Downtown Toronto since 1986. We offer a comprehensive in-house design with our 3 graphic designers, complete manufacturing, and installation. We are ContractorCheck accredited company and fully insured with $10,000,000 insurance coverage. We have all WSIB clearance certificates and each and every member of our team is fully trained in first aid, ladder training and safety practices.

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