How to Choose Between Channel Letters, Monument Signs, and Pylon Signs

One of the first questions we hear from customers planning new signage is, “What kind of sign do I need?”

The answer usually starts with another question: What do you need your sign to do? The right choice depends on your building, location, traffic, viewing distance, sign code, and the way you need customers to find you.

If you need customers to identify your business once they’ve reached your building, channel letters are often a great choice. These are the individual dimensional letters and logos mounted to storefronts and commercial buildings. Each letter is made separately, which allows the sign to follow the shape and style of your logo.

Channel letters give a building a clean, professional look and make the business easy to identify during the day and at night. Viewing distance is important when designing channel letters. A logo may look great on a business card or computer screen, but building signs are often seen from across a parking lot or through the windshield of a moving car. Letter size, spacing, color contrast, and wall placement all affect how well the sign can be read.

If you need to identify the property itself, a monument sign may make more sense. Monument signs sit closer to ground level and are commonly placed near entrances to shopping centers, office complexes, medical facilities, schools, apartment communities, and other commercial properties.

A monument can identify one business or several tenants. It can also include internal lighting, dimensional letters, changeable tenant panels, or a digital display. Because these signs are installed near the entrance, we spend time looking at traffic direction, landscaping, parked vehicles, and the speed of the road. The sign needs to be visible early enough for a driver to recognize the property and make the turn safely.

The design should also fit the property. We may match the colors, stone, stucco, metal, or other architectural details used on the surrounding buildings. That helps the monument feel like part of the site.

Then there’s the pylon sign. When visibility from a distance is the priority, height becomes your friend. Pylon signs are the taller freestanding signs you see along busy streets and highways. They’re especially useful for shopping centers, fuel stations, restaurants, hotels, and businesses that need drivers to recognize their location before reaching the entrance. 

Pylons can accommodate one business or several tenants. They may include illuminated cabinets, individual letters, fuel prices, or digital displays. Their size and height make them easier to see over buildings, vehicles, and other objects near the road.

Local sign codes have a big effect on pylon signs. Cities may limit their height, square footage, placement, and lighting. The property also needs enough room for the foundation, structural supports, and required setbacks.

Many properties use a combination of commercial signs because customers see the site in stages. A pylon may catch someone’s attention from the road. A monument sign can identify the entrance. Channel letters can help that person find the exact business once they’re inside the property.

A shopping center is a good example. The pylon gives the tenants visibility from the main road, the monument marks the driveway, and channel letters identify each storefront. All three sign types work together to make the property easier to navigate.

We look at the complete property before recommending a sign. Traffic patterns, viewing distance, architecture, tenant needs, local sign codes, and budget all come into the discussion.

At Bootz & Duke, we’ve been designing, fabricating, and installing commercial signs throughout Arizona since 1964. We can help you decide which type of sign fits your property and how each part of the sign plan should work together.

Planning signage for a new building or updating an existing property? Contact Bootz & Duke or request a free quote. We’ll look at the site, talk through your goals, and help you choose the right signs for the job.