Why Does My Sign Look Smaller Once It’s on the Building?

“I thought it was going to look bigger.”

We’ve heard that one before. When you’re looking at a sign on a drawing, or standing next to a five-foot-tall set of letters in the shop, it can look huge. Then we install it 25 feet up on the side of a large building, you step back across the parking lot, and suddenly it doesn’t seem quite so big anymore.

Don’t worry. The sign didn’t shrink. It’s all about scale

Commercial buildings are usually much larger than they feel when you’re standing next to them.

A set of 24-inch letters sounds big. If you saw one of those letters sitting on a worktable, it would probably look larger than you expected. Once that same letter is mounted on a 100-foot-wide wall with another 20 feet of building above and below it, the scale changes completely.

The rest of the property adds to that effect. Large windows, architectural panels, loading areas, parking lots, light poles, and surrounding buildings can all make a sign look smaller.

That’s one reason we prepare scaled drawings during the design process. They give you a better idea of how the sign will look on the building. Even then, a drawing on a computer screen can’t perfectly recreate the experience of seeing the finished sign from the road.

If you’re standing 20 feet from a sign, the letters may look plenty large. Move across the parking lot or across a six-lane road, and you’re looking at the exact same sign from 200 or 300 feet away. Add cars, landscaping, other buildings, and 45-mile-per-hour traffic, and the way you see that sign changes pretty quickly.

Drivers also have a limited amount of time to notice and read commercial signs. Larger letters, good spacing, and strong color contrast make that job easier.

The direction of traffic also comes into play. A sign that looks great when viewed straight ahead may be harder to read when drivers approach the building from an angle. Trees, nearby signs, and parked vehicles can block part of the view. We think about those conditions when designing commercial building signs.

Some logos transfer to a building sign very easily. Others need a little work. A logo may include a long business name, small tagline, thin lettering, or several graphic elements. Those details can look good on a website, business card, or printed brochure. From across a parking lot, they may become difficult to see.

Sometimes we’ll recommend making certain parts of the logo larger, increasing the space between letters, or simplifying the design so the most important information is easier to read.

With channel letter signs, we also have to think about the physical construction of each letter. The stroke width, depth, lighting, mounting method, and space needed for electrical components can affect the final design. We want to preserve the look of your brand and make sure the sign works on the building.

Every city has its own sign code, and the amount of signage you’re allowed is often tied to your building or tenant frontage. The city may limit the total square footage, placement, height, or lighting. A landlord or shopping center may have another set of sign criteria that applies to every tenant on the property.

Our job is to take the space we’re allowed and make it work as well as possible. That may mean choosing larger letters and leaving off a small tagline. It could mean adjusting the logo layout to use the available wall space more effectively. Sometimes moving the sign to another part of the building gives it better visibility. These are decisions we work through before fabrication begins.

So if your sign looks surprisingly big when you see it sitting in the shop, that’s usually a good thing. Give it a building, a parking lot, and a couple hundred feet of distance. It’ll find its place pretty quickly.

At Bootz & Duke, we’ve been designing, fabricating, and installing commercial signs across Arizona since 1964. We look at the building, road, viewing distance, traffic, sign code, and logo before recommending a size.

Planning a new building sign? Contact Bootz & Duke or request a free quote. We’ll help you choose a sign size that fits the building and gives your customers a clear view from the road.