Shop signage before the Christmas season

In retail the Christmas season starts in September

For most shops and showrooms the last quarter decides the result of the whole year. Customers come in greater numbers, more often straight off the street, and after dark — because from November dusk falls in Warsaw before four in the afternoon. Signage that is supposed to work then has to be ready and installed earlier, not ordered in mid-November.

This article is a September checklist: the sign above the entrance, the window, the interior, and consistency between locations if there is more than one.

Signage that is ready and lit in November earns all through December; signage still waiting for a design will at best make it for the January sales. The plan below assumes you decide in September — when there is still time for the design, the visualisation, production in our workshop and an unhurried installation.

The sign above the entrance — legible from the shopping street

In a shopping street a shop competes for attention with neighbours on both sides. The basis is a name legible from a distance and after dark. Illuminated 3D letters, as on the Karmello shop facade, keep the facade visible and look refined; a lightbox gives a larger, uniform glowing surface and has room for a logo or the line of business as well as the name.

For Empik in the former Cepelia building we made glass neon signage — a solution for a brand that wants to be recognised by the character of its sign, not just the name. For Peek & Cloppenburg and Cinema City we produced illuminated 3D letters legible from a long distance.

The window after dark — a neon that stops people

The window is a shop's most important medium, and after dark it becomes the only thing visible from the street. A glass neon in or just behind the window stops a passer-by differently than a poster: it glows by itself, with depth and a halo no other technology reproduces. For the GOLDENMARK jeweller we made a glass neon above the entrance — signage that matches the character of the goods inside and, after dark, works together with the window.

An important note for sun-exposed windows: we recommend LED neon for interiors only, deep inside the premises. For the street-facing window and the facade the right choice is glass neon, illuminated letters or a lightbox.

The shop interior — logo, checkout zone, a spot for photos

Inside a shop a neon works differently than outside: it sets the mood, marks a zone and very often becomes the backdrop for photos customers take and post themselves. A brand logo in neon behind the till or on the wall by the fitting rooms is a typical commission in this segment. For the NB shops we made neons with brand logos.

Indoors you can choose between glass and LED neon. Glass gives a deeper glow and lasts for years; LED is cheaper, faster to make and comes in a wide range of ready colours — a good option for a seasonal decoration that can move after Christmas.

Window wrapping — the quickest seasonal change

Not every change needs a new sign. Wrapping a window with film is a quick and cost-effective way to advertise around the clock — seasonal graphics, a promotion message, a frosted or opaque film over part of the glass that improves privacy and the look of the premises. We use films resistant to weather and fading, and we mount them precisely, without bubbles or creases.

Film complements permanent signage well: the sign and the neon work on recognition, the film communicates what changes every few weeks.

Treat the film as part of the same identity rather than a separate poster: the same typeface and the same colours as the sign and the neon. Then even a promotion message reads as part of the brand, not a sticker put up in a hurry a week before Christmas.

A chain of shops — one identity, many addresses

With more than one shop, signage stops being a single sign and becomes a system. We produce complete visual identity systems — consistent signage in line with the brand, repeatable across locations. For a chain of Warsaw ice cream shops we combined traditional glass neons with routed lightboxes so that every outlet is recognisable at first glance.

One more thing matters with a chain: being able to make an identical element for a new location a year later. Production in our own workshop, without subcontractors, means the design and parameters stay with us.

For the season or for years — how to choose the technology

Before Christmas there is a temptation to do everything fast and cheap. It is more sensible to separate: make the permanent elements once, properly, and do what only works during the season in a cheaper technology that is easy to take down.

Shopping centres and arcades — check the guidelines before designing

A shop in a shopping centre usually has less freedom than premises on a street: the building's management defines what signage is allowed on the shopfront, in which zone and with what parameters. Those guidelines are worth having in hand before the design rather than after it — it saves a round of corrections.

We will help you choose the type of letters and lightbox for a specific shopfront and advise on installation and formalities. For premises in arcades and centres we produce signage from reception areas to sales floors, including unusual forms.

Timeline: when to order so it glows in December

Glass neon is craftsmanship made to a specific order — you do not buy it off a shelf and it is not made in a day. Letters and lightboxes need a design, a visualisation, production and installation, and facade installation is easier to plan before frost. September still leaves time to go through the whole process without rushing.

If the deadline is fixed, say so in the first message. It often decides the technology: with very little time an indoor LED neon can be the sensible answer, and the exterior glass sign is better planned as the next stage.

The order that usually works: first the exterior sign and the window, because they need facade installation and depend on the weather; then the interior, which can be made and hung regardless of frost; finally the seasonal films, because they are the quickest to produce and the easiest to change.

What to prepare for a quote

The quote is free and carries no obligation. From your logo or wording we prepare a design and a visualisation before production starts.

• —The logo as a vector file — a photo is enough to start.
• —A photo of the shopfront and window, ideally by day and after dark.
• —The width of the front and the mounting height of the sign.
• —Guidelines of the shopping centre or building management, if the shop is in an arcade.
• —The number of locations that should get the same signage.
• —The date by which everything has to be lit.