Every school needs a sign, so you might as well make sure it’s a good one. A sign helps all the members of your community to locate your school more easily. Not only that, but signs provide an excellent means of communication between parents, students, and the school staff. Still, you’ve got a lot of options, so your decision is not likely to be easy. In this article, we will cover a few general principles that should guide your decision. By following these principles, you should be able to choose the best sign for your school.
Zoning Laws
The first thing you need to consider would be your local zoning laws. These laws might put certain limitations on how far your sign can be from the road, how large it can be, how brightly it can be lit, etc. However, many jurisdictions will consider schools to be exempt from local zoning laws. If you live in one of these areas, your planning will be a lot easier. You should be aware that these exemptions have been challenged in court several times. In most cases, judges have ruled these exemptions to be invalid. Thus, it’s a good idea to try and stay within those rules regardless.
Location
It is crucial that you choose the right location for your sign. It needs to be close enough to the road that passing drivers can read its letters easily. When a person drives past this sign, there is only a second or two for them to read its message. For safety reasons, most people will give it only a glance. That’s why your letters need to be prominent and easily visible.
If you are forced by law to place your sign farther away from the road (which is sometimes the case), it will have to be larger to do its job. The whole purpose of a school sign is to create better communication with the surrounding community, and you can’t do that without it being prominently displayed.
Use Lettering That Is Large And Visible
Bigger signs are going to cost more. Most schools work on a limited budget, so you don’t want to go overboard here. That’s why it is essential to choose a sign with the right size and type of lettering. Here is a simple rule that can help you estimate the appropriate size for your letters based on their distance from the road.
The general rule of thumb is that every inch of the letter’s size will give about 10 feet of visibility. So, five-inch letters would be good for distances up to 50 feet from the road. This little rule of thumb isn’t perfect, but it will give you a good starting point.
Fonts Matter
With most lettering, your choice in fonts will not make a huge difference. However, it is essential to the art of signage. Like a business sign, a school sign is meant to convey information while providing an appealing display. Because of that, you don’t want to fill up your sign with flashy graphics that don’t add information. You might want a small picture of your school’s mascot, but don’t go overboard with extra graphics.
Any fonts that you choose will need to be highly visible and legible. Don’t go with something like olde English lettering or cursive fonts. Although these fonts are very nice to look at, they are not easy to read. A person will have to look at the sign for at least a couple seconds more to read its words. Since passing motorists and pedestrians may not have that time to spare, stick with plain and easy to read fonts.
Consider The Use Of A Digital Marquee
At certain times, the school sign might have to convey a lot of information. You might have a football game coming up on Tuesday, a dance coming up on Friday, and who knows what else. Unless you feel like investing in a huge sign, a digital marquee is the best way to deal with this sort of problem. Using a digital marquee, you can show a lot more information and grab more attention at the same time.
There is something about lights and movements that tend to draw the human eye. Bright colors also naturally grab one’s attention. Thus, a digital marquee amounts to more information on the sign, and more people who will be looking at that information.
Best of all, a digital marquee doesn’t need to be altered by hand! The text can easily be changed to suit whatever events you wish to promote. We would recommend that you change the message on the sign as often as possible. When a person sees a message that they’ve already heard, they naturally go into “ignore” mode. By keeping the message fresh, you will draw the attention of more people.
Cleaning And Maintenance
One of the purposes of your new school sign is to create a good first impression. Naturally, you cannot make a good impression with a dirty sign. Because a sign is often the primary way in which someone locates a public place, they are more likely to notice mud, rust, and any other soiling on that sign. So, what does that say about your school? At first glance, it won’t make the best impression.
You should choose a sign that will not be difficult to clean. For instance, signs that are located high atop a pole will present particular problems. It won’t be easy for the staff to get up there and clean away the dirt, grime, etc. Signs with many little nooks and crannies will likewise be harder to clean, as it takes a lot more time to reach those small spaces.
In terms of maintenance, most signs require very little. Apart from cleaning, you won’t have to do a whole lot here. However, the lighting used to illuminate many signs can be prone to malfunctions. Not only do you need to budget for maintenance costs, but you also need to make sure that you prepare for the possibility of vandalism.
Preventing Vandalism
Every school has a few rowdy students, and there is always the chance that they will engage in some form of vandalism. This kind of behavior is especially common at the end of the school year, but there are steps you can take to prepare for the problem and (hopefully) prevent it from occurring.
First of all, a well-lit sign can do a lot to discourage vandalism. The sign is more likely to be vandalized at night when a person is less likely to be seen. Add some bright lights, and you make it much harder for that person to stay hidden. A lot of people will naturally avoid breaking the law when a bright light is shining on them.
Secondly, you should look into some surveillance. This security feature might be as simple as a lone camera pointed at the base of the sign. Any good school should have some degree of surveillance for safety reasons, so this shouldn’t be too big a problem. You can also get special signs covered in spraypaint-resistant glass. This way, any graffiti can be wiped away with no fuss.
Think About Sign Types
There are many different types of signs, so you will need to learn about them. Once you understand these different styles, it will be much easier for you to communicate with your sign company. Of course, not all design types are suitable for a school sign.
We already mentioned pole signs and why they are not the best choice here. Pole signs provide excellent long-range visibility but provide very little short-range visibility. Since your students are one of the primary target audiences for this sign, this design won’t work well.
Most school signs are what they call “monument signs.” These don’t tend to be all that tall, but they have a wide base. Because they aren’t very tall, it will be much easier for your maintenance people to clean them. Not only that, but monument signs are meant to be decorated around the base. These decorations usually include shrubs, flowers, or decorative stones. In terms of attractiveness, you get a lot of it here.
Monument signs are not the only options, however. If your school has limited lawn space or if that lawn space is too far from the roadway, you might want to go with a pylon sign. These are the signs that you often see outside shopping centers, and they consist of two poles with a backlit sign between them. If you go with this option, you should take care not to make it too high off the ground.
Extra Flair
If your budget permits, you might want to invest in some fancy extras for your sign. Sure, they might not be essential, but they will add to your signs’ visual appeal. That translates into more eyes on the sign. That, in turn, translates into a better-informed student body. One thing you might consider is a digital marquee, as we discussed earlier. You might also want to get some LED neon accents. Thanks to advances in LED technology, neon lighting is now cheaper and safer than ever.
You might also want your sign to include a clock with an alarm chime. This clock can announce important events like the beginning or end of the school day. It can also be used as a common timepiece by which all students and staff can set their clocks. These are just a few examples of the many creative ways in which you can give a sign that extra level of flash.
Make Sure You Get A Warranty
Any good sign manufacturer should offer you a warranty agreement. There is a lot of variety in these agreements, and so the terms will vary. Still, you wouldn’t want to make this kind of investment without a warranty. A company that offers no warranty at all should be considered a red flag. If they don’t stand behind their products, they probably aren’t worth your time or your school’s money. Make sure you also read the terms of that warranty to ensure that the company doesn’t have too many loopholes for themselves!
Think About Your Local Weather Conditions
Since this is an outdoor sign, it will need to hold up against all of nature’s worst attacks. These might include snow, hail, sleet, excessive rain, humidity, air salinity, and more. So, you need to make sure that any sign you choose is compatible with local conditions.
For instance, areas located near the sea will often have problems with air salinity (salt in the air). This salt tends to settle on solid objects, where it can eat away paint and make metals rust. If you live in such an area, make sure that all the metal on your sign is covered in thick enamel paint to protect it from salt degradation. As another example, you might need to use heavier materials if your area is prone to high winds.
Conclusion
It is essential to make the right choices in regards to your school sign. There are quite a few factors to be considered, but there are many experts out there who can help you to hammer out a good plan. We hope that we have given you enough information to make a confident decision that will benefit both your school and community for years to come. If you have enjoyed our work, and if you would like to read more, please fill out the contact form.