Articles

17 tips for easier sign sales

I’d like to share some of what I learned as “on-the-job training” over the last thirty years in outside sales and design in… Read More

Profile: Cam Sauder

It wasn’t long after Ray Sauder opened Raynbow Signs [Palmerston, Ontario, Canada] in 1993 that his younger brother Cam started helping out around… Read More

Step-by-step: 3D sign for across the pond

A while back, our friend Peter McCullen, see profile, sent us photos of a collaboration between him and Jeff Lang. Peter was in… Read More

Sign layouts seem weak? Doc Guthrie has a solution.

Doc Guthrie: A basic approach to sign layout In his first class with each group of new students in the Sign Graphics program… Read More

Signs We’ve Seen: October 2021

James Dobson, Revolution Signs & Graphics, Lake Macdonald, Queensland, Australia   Nothing quite shows the difference that a new sign can make like… Read More

Moving beyond the flat sign

Flat signs are everywhere. High-end 3D signs and channel letters are out there, too. But in between is a level of dimension that… Read More

Danthonia Designs: 20 years of sign making

Twenty years ago this month Danthonia Designs sold their first handcrafted signs in Australia. In those early years, SignCraft featured articles with photos… Read More

Do you really need a graphic with the lettering?

Years ago, Chuck Donald, the Design Director for a cool magazine called Before & After, did an article on designing a “wordmark”—a logo… Read More

Letters: October 2021

Jay Szczoczarz: 1971—2021 Jason Scott (Jay “Z”) Szczoczarz, 50, of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, passed away following a brief illness on September 16, 2021. A… Read More

The ampersand is your friend

A few weeks ago I heard someone on the radio say it was National Ampersand Day. Really—a special day just in honor of… Read More

Beyond signs: The artwork of Rob Cooper

By anyone’s standards, Rob Cooper serves a unique market. His studio is on the island of Koh Tao, Thailand—a two-hour boat trip from… Read More

Tips & Tricks: Shop-built vinyl storage rack

We have several of these shop-built storage units for roll goods throughout our shop, including one directly behind our digital printer. We have… Read More

Tips & Tricks: Removing vinyl adhesive

Getting the old vinyl off a signboard or vehicle is only half the story. Removing the adhesive can be more of an issue…. Read More

Tim Peterson: The power of pictorials

In years past, many artists found their way into the sign business because painting signs was a practical application of their art and… Read More

Put the logo in a letter

That made for a catchy headline, but it really should say “Put the graphic in the letter.” Rather than using a separate image… Read More

Designing on spec: Breaking into a new market

Before we begin, it is important that I first give my definition of a sign: At our shop, we define a sign as… Read More

Letters: September 2021

The Showcards Book by Mike Meyer Here’s the latest book from Sam Roberts and the folks at Better Letters: A collection of full-color… Read More

Follow-up: Tim Peterson

Twenty-two years after he was first featured in the in the November/December 1999 issue of SignCraft, Tim Peterson is still turning out beautiful,… Read More

Step-by-step: Transforming a storefront

Most storefronts are a blank canvas for graphics. There is seldom very much remarkable or eye-catching about the big glass windows and entry… Read More

Red truck? Go with grays.

Braun Bleamer [Jet Signs, Palmerton, Pennsylvania] learned to work with color choices for red vehicles in his early days of lettering racecars. You… Read More