Most businesses buy signs one at a time: the storefront sign first, then the window graphics, then the restroom signs the inspector asked for. Each one looks a little different, each one needs its own install visit, and something always gets missed. A sign package plans every sign at once.
Gogi Signs designs, builds and installs complete sign packages for businesses across New Jersey and New York City, from the sign on the street to the number on the restroom door. This guide walks the customer’s route zone by zone, gives you the rules for the signs you are required to have, and shows how to turn the list into one schedule, one permit plan and one budget.
In this guide
The Sign Package at a Glance a
Seven zones, from the street to the room
Walk the Customer Route First
Start where a customer starts: on the road or the sidewalk. Walk to your door, through the lobby and to the room they came for. At each turn, write down what they need to know. That list is your package. A site survey adds the measurements and the power for each sign.
1. The Approach and Identification
This is the sign that names your business from the street: channel letters, a light box, a blade sign or an awning. It is read from the furthest distance, so it gets the biggest letters and the shortest message. Our guide to designing signs for viewing distance shows how to size it, and our guide to exterior sign placement shows where it goes.
2. Site and Parking
If you have a lot or a shared center, customers need to know where to park and which door to use. Accessible parking spaces must be marked with the International Symbol of Accessibility, with the bottom of the sign at least 60 inches above the ground, according to the ADA Standards. Directional signs at the lot entrance and on the building help first time visitors.
3. Entrance and Windows
The door answers the questions the main sign does not: your hours, how to reach you and whether you are open. Window graphics show what you sell and can carry your brand across the glass. Your address numbers belong here too. Many towns set a minimum: Maplewood requires numerals at least 4 inches tall in a contrasting color near the front door. Our guide to front door signage covers the details.
4. Lobby and Reception
A lobby sign confirms visitors are in the right place and sets the tone for the space. Dimensional letters and metal letters are common choices. For walls, Pixel Wraps, our sister graphics shop, makes wall wraps that can carry the brand across a whole reception area.
5. Interior Wayfinding
In anything bigger than one room, visitors need help finding their way. A directory at the entrance, directional signs at each decision point and floor numbers at stairs and elevators make up a basic system. Our guide to creating a signage system for large buildings covers the full approach.
Directories and wayfinding guide visitors once they are inside
6. Room Identification and Code Signs
These are the signs an inspector looks for. Plan them early, because they are easy to forget and they often hold up a certificate of occupancy.
The signs an inspector looks for
- ADA room signs. The ADA Standards require tactile and visual signs for permanent rooms and spaces such as restrooms, room numbers and room names. Mount them between 48 and 60 inches above the floor, beside the door on the latch side. Our guide to ADA sign requirements has the full rules, and our ADA signs page shows the options.
- Exit signs. The building code requires approved exit signs visible from any direction of travel toward an exit, as this summary of the exit sign rules explains. Lit exit signs are usually part of the electrical work.
- Address numbers. Plainly visible from the street and in a contrasting color. Four inches is a common minimum.
- Evacuation maps. The fire code requires evacuation plans for larger business and retail spaces, and many offices post floor plan egress maps near exits and elevators. Ask your fire official what applies to your building.
Room signs for restrooms need raised characters and Braille
Evacuation maps are part of the package in many offices and buildings
7. Vehicles and Temporary Signs
Your vans and trucks are signs that move, and they should match the rest of the package. Temporary signs, such as a grand opening banner or a coming soon window wrap, bridge the gap before the permanent signs go up. In New Jersey, towns limit how long banners can stay up, often 10 to 30 days. Our guide to temporary sign rules has examples.
How Many Signs Does a Business Need
More than one, and fewer than you might think. A 2012 FedEx Office survey found that consumers expect a small business to have two or three signs around its storefront. Inside, the number depends on the rooms. A small shop may need only restroom signs and an exit sign, while an office floor can need dozens of room signs, directories and maps. The zone walk tells you the real number. For ideas on what those signs can do, see our small business signage ideas.
Who Uses the Package
A sign package is not only for you. Your landlord uses it to approve the design. The town uses the exterior part to issue permits. The electrician uses it to run power. The installer uses it to plan the visit. Your staff use it to reorder a room sign two years later. Writing it down once saves every one of them a phone call.
10. Letting Every Location Improvise
Businesses with more than one location often end up with a different logo, color and sign type at each one. That costs you recognition, and it makes every new location slower to sign. The fix: write a simple sign standard with your files, colors, sign types and mounting details, and use it for every site. Our guide to multi location signage shows what to include.
Turn the List Into a Sign Schedule
A sign schedule is a table with one row for every sign. It is how the designer, the shop, the installer and the permit office all work from the same list.
| Code | Sign | Location | Size | Material | Lit | Permit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | Main storefront sign | Sign band, front | 18 ft by 2 ft | Channel letters | Yes | Yes |
| E2 | Blade sign | Corner, front | 30 in round | Aluminum, double sided | No | Yes |
| E3 | Address numbers | Beside door | 6 in numerals | Cut vinyl | No | No |
| W1 | Window graphics | Front glass | Per window | Printed vinyl | No | Usually no |
| L1 | Lobby sign | Reception wall | 8 ft wide | Dimensional letters | No | No |
| I1 | Directory | Entrance | 24 in by 36 in | Brushed aluminum | No | No |
| R1 | ADA restroom signs | Latch side | 8 in by 8 in | Acrylic, raised, Braille | No | No |
| T1 | Grand opening banner | Front | 3 ft by 10 ft | Vinyl banner | No | Often |
The sizes above are an example for a small storefront, not a standard. Your schedule comes from your survey and your town’s rules.
Plan Permits Across the Package
Keep the Package Consistent
One set of logo files, one color list with Pantone numbers, one or two typefaces and a short list of materials and finishes. Use them on every sign, from the channel letters to the restroom sign. That is what makes a business look established. Our guide to common sign design mistakes covers the most common consistency slips.
Small signs, made in the same style, finish the package
Build and Phase the Budget
Small signs, made in the same style, finish the package
If the budget does not cover everything at once, phase it. Order the signs you need to open first, then the ones that bring customers in, then the ones that help inside. Keep the same design files so later signs match. Our guide on how to budget for commercial signage shows a full example, and our guide on why every new business needs a signage plan puts the phases on a timeline.
Common Questions About Business Sign Packages
What is included in a business sign package?
Every sign along the customer route: the main exterior sign, parking and directional signs, door and window graphics, address numbers, the lobby sign, wayfinding and directories, ADA room signs, exit signs, vehicle graphics and temporary signs.
Why plan all the signs at once?
Planning together keeps every sign in the same style, avoids missing required signs, lets you file permits together and cuts the number of install visits.
Which signs are required before opening?
Usually ADA signs for restrooms and permanent rooms, exit signs, address numbers and accessible parking signs if you have parking. Your town or landlord may add more.
What is a sign schedule?
A table with one row for every sign, listing its code, location, size, material, lighting and whether it needs a permit. The designer, shop, installer and permit office all work from it.
Can a sign package be phased?
Yes. Order the signs you need to open first, then the signs that bring customers in, then interior wayfinding. Keep the same files so the later signs match.
Do interior signs need permits?
Most interior signs, such as lobby signs, directories and room signs, do not need a sign permit in New Jersey, but they must meet the ADA and building code. Exterior signs usually do need permits.
Plan Your Complete Sign Package
Send us your floor plan, a few photos of the building and your opening date, and we will walk the route with you, write the sign schedule, plan the permits and give you one price for survey, design, fabrication and installation. Request a free quote or see our indoor signs and outdoor signs pages.
Sources and further reading
