It's not often we get a request from a customer who needs a sign in less than two weeks. The owner of Bullseye Liquidators, Glen Lotrich, needed a channel letter sign to open his new location in Pueblo Colorado. Steve Scovill, a Signdealz sales specialist sprang into action, working with Glen to find out the details of his new project.
The first step in our sales process is to determine what our customers can actually have that will be approved by the local municipality. We start with determining the zoning of the property. Zoning is determined by the planning department and explains the use of the property. Common municipal zones are Industrial, commercial, and residential. Most municipalities like Pueblo use a letter or number designation to signify the zone. To determine the proper zone we use the Pueblo Zoning Map, enter the address, and the map presents the zoning designation. Once we have the zoning figured out our next step is to go to the Pueblo Sign Code and look up the sign regulations that correspond to the type of sign the client is requesting. Once we know the maximum size and requirements per the sign code we can move into design. It should be noted that landlords often have their own more restrictive plans, as well as some cities use PUD's (Planned Unit Development) plans that have sign regulations integrated.
Now that we have determined the design constraints from municipal code we can start on the design itself. The first part of our design process starts with a good survey of the location. This survey will contain photos of the location as well as measurements that will be needed to scale the building into the digital environment. Glen provided his logo in a vector format so we can manipulate the logo into the design using our sign design software. Common vector formats for use in the design world are .eps (Encapsulated Post Script) and .ai (Adobe Illustrator).
Once all of the information is gathered together, we produce a sign design for the client that is to scale and illustrates what the sign will look like on the wall. This drawing is used to show the client the initial design as well as the landlord what the sign will look like.
Once we have a design that meets both the customers requirements as well as the Landlords requirements, we can produce a quote. You might be asking why it take until this stage to provide a quote? Well, signs are custom made and we need to know the exact specifications in order to know how much material will be required to make the sign. The average sign for a customer in a community shopping center is around $6000 to $7000 dollars. The entire project cost for permitting, fabrication, and installation came to approximately $7000.
Once our clients have signed their contract and drawings, our project management process is initiated. We turn in the permits into the municipality (3 days to 14 days review time), once permits are approved we move to fabrication (8 to 10 days for channel letters). Once the sign has been fabricated, we schedule for installation which usually takes about 1 business day. Typically a sign project with one to two signs will take about 4 to 6 weeks, but can be longer due to permit or landlord issues, which are common.
Signdealz was able to get the permit done for Bullseye Liquidators in less than 3 days with the help of the City of Pueblo building department. We were able to get the sign fabricated in 5 days, and installed in less than a day, putting the total time for this project at less that 10 days from start to finish.