“Doctor, I’m sick. I don’t know what’s wrong, and I don’t want you to examine me at all. I don’t want to tell you about any other doctors I’ve seen or what they’ve said. I wanted to feel better yesterday, so that’s your deadline. Now, how much is it going to cost so I can feel better?”
Or, hey, you’re an Architect:
“Mr. Architect, nice office. I am going to have a building constructed, but I’m not sure yet how big I want it or where it’s going to go exactly. Can you draw me up 10 or so designs, let me take a look at them and show them to all my friends and some other architects? Then, I’ll give you a call.”
Or, let’s go all out—you’re a Signmaker:
“Hi. This place looks like a wreck. I’ve never seen so much sawdust and pieces of vinyl laying around. And what is that smell? Is that paint?? Ick! Anyway, I need a sign. I don’t know exactly what I want, what it should read or if I am even allowed to have a sign at my place. How much will that cost? I needed it yesterday, but today will be okay, too. Can you draw me up about 10 ideas and let me look them over, then I’ll take them to 10 other sign shops and see what they would charge. Oh, and why can’t you install it for nothing?”
Sigh…
Sign Design has been in the sign business for over 16 years now, and yep…we’ve heard and seen it all. (Oh, except for that lady who came in and wanted a sign the actual shape of her dog that was dead and buried…that was a new one, even for us.)
Sign making is an art form. It’s a craft. And it’s a business. It’s not a hobby and we’re not selling cans of soup already sitting on shelves.
(Just about) every single sign we make is custom-designed and custom-fabricated for the customer who needs it. That’s the business part.
Talking to the customer, asking questions, deciding what’s the best thing to do—that’s the craft part.
And coming up with the graphic solution that will portray your message in the best way possible—well, that’s the art part.
So, until there is a Doctorate of Signmaking, I don’t think we’ll ever truly be understood. We’re trying to create something from nothing. Take a vague idea and turn it into something tangible and WOW.
And sometimes I don’t think customers really understand how much work goes into doing that.
But, oh well… we will keep asking questions and figuing out possible scenarios and hand-making signs until our little hands fall off. And why? Because we love to do it.
That’s pretty much it…it would just be nice, every now and then, if customers understood us better. Sigh…
