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Name: Mike
Posts by mrutter:
- Attracts new customers
- Brands the minds of customers
- Creates impulse sales
- Helps a Mobile Society
- Aids Traffic Safety
- Enhances the Look of a Community
- Visibility/Conspicuity
- Legibility
- Cone of Vision and Angle
- Graphic Considerations (Color, Contrast & White Space)
- Contrast/Luminance
- Letter Heights
- Letter Style and Capitalization
- Lighting
What Color Shows Up on Tinted Windows?
March 20th, 2012Have you ever thought about it–what color shows up best on windows? It’s something that few people focus on unless they’re placing graphics on their windows with their store logo/hours, but when they do, they’re often surprised.
So what’s your vote? What color would you think shows up best? If you guess the right answer, you’ll be among the few who get it right the first time.
Here are two pictures of the same sign made of white and black vinyl, dramatically making the point.
First, we'll look at the black vinyl.
Now, take a look at the white vinyl.
Which one do you think looks better? Which one do you think is more visible? Comment below and tell us what you think looks best and we’ll reward you with one of Kaye’s Cookies. (Kaye wants to give them away because she says I keep eating too many of them)
Happy guessing…
The Best Bang for Your Buck
February 22nd, 2012Several years ago I was talking to the head of the art department for a large state-wide organization. They were frustrated by their previous graphics provider because of numerous delays, mistakes and miscommunications. They sighed and exclaimed, “I just want someone who will take care of me!”
How does someone know when they got a “good deal” for their sign or graphic project? I find it helpful to consider three things.
1. How much does it cost? This is the simplest approach to deciding. If a person’s only criteria for a purchase is cost then the least expensive option is always going to win the contract. Sometimes a new business gets ready to open and they suddenly realize, “We need a sign!” Often a depleted budget and the time crunch of the grand opening forces them to settle for less than adequate for a good start. Unfortunately, the urgency and depleted funds of the moment often miss other important ingredients to a maximized solution to their sign needs.
2. How long can I expect this sign to last? Yes, a sign purchase can be a significant cash outlay, but when compared to other means of advertising such as newspaper, yellow pages, radio and television the cost per exposure over time is very low. After the TV and radio are turned off, and the newspaper and phone book are recycled, the on-premise sign is still there 24/7, influencing the passerby of your business. It’s not uncommon for a good sign to last 10-12 or more years! The wise business owner realizes that their on-premise signs are a key part of their marketing strategy.
3. Yes, but is it a good value? Numerous studies have shown that a well-designed, well-positioned and well-maintained sign can have a significant impact on your business bottom-line. This is why we try to ask the key questions of your purpose, objectives and desired outcomes for your sign and visibility needs. You know your business best and we work hard to capture your knowledge and skills and put it to work in the type of signs that will grow your business. You don’t just need a sign, you need a sign that gets attention, conveys your message and gets results!
If you would like a free audit of your current on-premise signs and suggestions on how to leverage them for your business growth, give us a call and we will be glad to partner with you and give you the best bang for your buck!
Signs at the Pool
January 26th, 2012
Congratulations to The Centers for Youth and Families for their newly renovated pool area at the Bess Chisum Stephens Community Center off of 12th Street in Little Rock. The Centers has provided a wide array of services for children, families, adolescents and parents in Arkansas for over 125 years.
The new graphics that we recently installed in the pool area will be a source of pride and a reminder to all who use these facilities of the mission and services that CFYF provides to the community. We salute their efforts and appreciate the opportunity to expand their impact.
Setting up the installation templates
Mounting the graphic pieces is like a jig-saw puzzle
Finished and looking good!
Why Signage is Important
November 30th, 2011At Pinnacle Signs and Graphics we are always looking for resources that can help us and our clients succeed, especially in these difficult economic times. Since we are in the business of selling signs, it is important to us to help our clients understand the ROI (Return On Investment) of what they are buying. I recently came across information from the Small Business Development Center in New York titled, What’s Your Signage? – How Signs Can Help Your Small Business that provides research and hard facts on the benefits of signs.
Darrin Conroy the author of the research and like-titled book said, “Our mission was to take the hundreds of pages of existing research, legal opinions and technical jargon and distill them into a plainspoken introduction for the small-business owner.”
Here are some excerpts…
Why is Signage Important?
What Makes an Effective Sign?
The bottom-line is that signs do work and can be effective in bringing in additional traffic and attention to your business. Effective signs and graphics help motorists notice your place of business and what you sell. They can highlight a new product or sale in your store, they can even assist the disabled to find their way.
Signs are a crucial part of the economic engine because they answer the who, what, where, when, why and how questions that potential clients are asking of every business. If you would like an audit of your present signage presence, please let us know.
Take care,
Extreme Makeover!
November 4th, 2011
I hardly watch TV unless the Razorbacks or the St. Louis Cardinals are playing, but a couple of years ago while at a family reunion my two sisters clued me in to one of their favorite shows, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”
I was intrigued by the concept of a family being selected to have their housing situation totally re-worked in a short time frame by crews of construction workers and volunteers. It was fun to see the “before” and understand the family’s needs, then to see the fast-forward images as the changes were implemented, and finally to see the family’s dream come true and how excited they were!
That’s much like what we do at Pinnacle Signs and Graphics. We take the time to understand each of our client’s needs, then plan a process that will provide the biggest ‘WOW’ for their budget. In the end they get what can only be described as an extreme makeover. When our clients are happy, it makes us happy too!
Take care,
I’ve added a few before/after shots of a couple of projects we completed this fall for a client.
Show and Tell
August 9th, 2011I grew up in a small farming community in Northeast Missouri and I fondly recall that in several of my elementary classes we would have “Show and Tell” on Fridays. With a close proximity to farms we often had animals, birds and assorted insects make their way into our classroom. It was always a favorite of mine; partially because it was a respite from the book-work but also because I have always been visually oriented. I guess I fit right in with the Missouri state motto: “The Show-Me State.”
At Pinnacle Signs and Graphics we can use all our previous projects to show what we do! We can show pictures to clients so they can see an actual project we have done or direct them to something similar on our website, or send them a picture by email. Every project we do is custom. Some of them are simple and straightforward, but often our projects include multiple materials and processes that we pull together like a big jig-saw puzzle. When they all come together the message emerges!
We recently completed a project at the UAMS Jones Eye Institute that illustrates one of our “jig-saw puzzles” this large digital print provides a background image while black aluminum extrusions frame the project. Brushed satin dimensional letters emphasize the title and a photo-etched stainless steel plaque pictures the honorees with additional acrylic panels with stand-offs that convey the details of the message.
This particular display was designed to honor the generous contributions of those who helped get the center started, into operation and keep it operating day-to-day. Because of this we designed it to be easily updated for the names of the future donors who will expand the reach and influence of this center.
Thanks for visiting my “Show and Tell!”
An Early Father’s Day Present
June 17th, 2011I have been listening to the radio off and on this week and have enjoyed the various comments, surveys and listener interviews about fatherhood… best TV father role model, favorite movie dad, most important lesson your dad taught you, etc. Some radio comments were very touching, others were quite funny while a few of the DJ’s were obnoxious, obviously trying to provoke listeners to respond.
This past Tuesday I was able to celebrate Father’s Day 5 days early as I had the wonderful experience of spending the whole work day (one of the pluses of having a family business is that we can incorporate our family into what we do) with my daughter, Grace. Her quick smile and cheerful attitude tempered the five hours on the road in the work van and the 98 degree heat as together we installed 8 signs (outdoors) in 3 locations across southern Arkansas.
She later related that the worst part of the trip was when she found a black widow spider behind one of the old signs we were removing. She did ask me to “take care” of the spider for her but lest you think she is squeamish you need to see her as she takes care of her chickens or gets her hands all gooey with cookie dough. I tell her that she can start dating at age 30 because by then the boys should be tough enough to get along with her!
We later laughed about her arachnophobia, remembering that it probably came from her older brother who used to tease her with a large plastic spider that he would place on the top of her bedroom door with a piece of thread. Then, when she would open her door the spider would drop down, hopefully eliciting a scream.
That’s what I think fatherhood is comprised of… a collection of screams, smiles and memories that I get to share with my wife, six children and four (almost five) grandchildren. I may not have a lot of money in the bank, but I am a rich man!
To all you other Dads… Happy Father’s Day!
P.S. A favorite parenting story of mine called Laughter in the Walls!
Off the Billboard, Through the Window… Nothin’ but Net!
May 10th, 2011
I’ll be dating myself, but one of my favorite Super Bowl commercials was where Michael Jordan and Larry Bird go head-to-head in a game of “Horse.” The winner gets a Big Mac. Each shot is more spectacular and improbable than the one before. “Off the floor, off the scoreboard, off the backboard, nothing but net,” Bird says. “Over the second rafter, off the floor, nothing but net,” Jordan counters. The ad ends with the two of them sitting on top of a skyscraper and Jordan sinking one “off the expressway, over the river, off the billboard, through the window, off the wall, nothin’ but net.”
You might ask what that has to do with a sign business. No, we don’t work for hamburgers but sometimes the most visible locations aren’t necessarily the easiest or most convenient to work with. One of our regular spots is at the Little Rock National Airport which has a location that illustrates one of our more challenging installations. When you get off your plane and head toward the baggage claim area you’ll pass underneath a 3-panel display above the escalators.
It’s a great spot for advertising because you look directly at it as you head toward getting your bags. It’s not exactly “over the river, off the billboard…” but it does take a 42’ boom lift, some security logistics and working after hours to make it happen, but it’s part of our commitment to provide quality products that leverages success for our clients.
Making Partnerships Work!
March 30th, 2011“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent.”
- John Donne
At Pinnacle Signs and Graphics we value good partnering relationships!
Obviously as a business we work hard at building and maintaining partnering relationships with our customers. We often say that our success is a reflection of our client’s success. We take the time to listen to our customer’s needs and apply our expertise, skills and product knowledge to provide solutions that are effective toward growing their business.
We also work hard at building partnering relationships with our vendors. We are constantly researching companies that we can depend on to provide us with quality, on-time reliability and competitive pricing on the wide variety of materials we use to fabricate our products. Vendors that are dependable means that we can be consistent and dependable with our customers.
We recently had an interesting and fun project in which we partnered with Mary Craig of GWL Advertising here in Little Rock. One of Mary’s clients, Gary Holt & Associates, is a law firm that was looking to increase their visibility around their downtown offices. We worked closely with Mary and advised her of the different options and costs for her client along with our recommendations for the best long-term solution for their needs.
Once we received the “good to go” from Mary we coordinated the permitting process with the city and the fabrication of the LED illuminated cabinet. The final part of the partnering process involved the coordination of a team of installers with cranes and lifts to make the installation at the top of the building.
Mary and her team at GWL Advertising were pleased, and we were thrilled that we made her look good to her client. Way to go Mary!
The Enterprise System
January 28th, 2011One of the big lessons I have learned as a small business owner is the importance of a winning local economy. For sure, the roller coaster ride of the past few years, some weeks worrying about whether we would have enough cash to meet payroll and the constant media attention on “The Economy” have provided plenty of anxious moments. But in the midst of it all I have had a growing understanding and appreciation that just as “no man is an island”; neither can a business be successful all by itself.
Like many others I grew up in a sports-minded family and was taught that in competition there are winners and losers, and “We don’t like to lose!” I often forget in the hype of March Madness that only one team gets to end their season with a win while the remaining 64 teams finish off their year with a loss. With that mindset it would be easy to think that a business should be run the same way… Beat the competition! Watch your back, and keep your pencil sharp!
However, in contrast to my competitive upbringing, I continue to be reminded every day that any success we see in our business is because we are participating in someone else’s success. I have heard it called Win-Win, but at Pinnacle Signs and Graphics we call it the Enterprise System.
I often tell our new clients, “We will do all we can with our skills and abilities to make you successful, because we want you to grow and need more of our products and services down the road… and while we do that we will charge a fair price because when you come back we want to still be in business as well!”
If our clients are successful, then we will be successful, and then our suppliers will grow and be successful as well and our local community will prosper. It’s all a Win-Win!