How to Build a Visitor Sign

Signs give visitors to your business a sense of direction.

Though likely you are very familiar with your company building and its usual procedures, a visitor may find it difficult to find his way around. The result can be an unpleasant client experience. Simple visitor signs can reduce the confusion that clients feel when they visit your place of business. They're simple to make and customize.

Things You'll Need

• Piece of wood, 18 by 18 by 1 1/2 inches
• Wooden post, 2 by 2 inches and 5 feet tall
• Hammer
• 4 nails, 1 inch long
• Paint (black, white and a color of your choice)
• Piece of wood, 8 by 12 inches and 1/2 inch thick
• Pencil
• Stencil with all capital block letters
• Paper
• Ruler
• 2 nails, 1 1/4 inches long

Instructions

1. Center the 18-by-18-inch piece of wood on top of the wooden post. These will be the post and base of the sign. Because the average American is about 5 feet, 6 1/2 inches tall, a 5-foot pole will be at eye level for most people.

2. Hammer a 1-inch nail through the wood so that it goes into the top of the post near one corner. Repeat this for the remaining three corners of the post.

3. Set the post upright, with the square piece on the ground supporting it. Paint the post any color you choose.

4. Paint one side of the 8-by-12-inch piece of wood white. This is the part of the sign that will display your message to visitors.

5. Devise a brief message to visitors. It should be clear but also brief, because you must write it in large letters so all customers can read it. For example, choose "Cyber Cafe Entrance" rather than "This Is the Front Door of the Cyber Cafe."

6. Use pencil and stencil to practice writing your message on a piece of paper the same size as the piece of white wood. Center the message on the page, and shorten it if it doesn't fit in the space. Capital letters are less ambiguous than lowercase letters; for example, a lowercase "L" may look like an "I" or a "1."

7. Use a ruler and a pencil to draw straight lines across the white wood. Draw them only as long and draw only as many as you need to write your message, and center them as you centered your text in Step 6.

8. Lay the white wood on a flat surface and place the stencil on top of it with the first letter of your message in the first space of the first line. Use a pencil to trace the letter onto the wood. Continue until the message is complete.

9. Fill in your message with black paint. Black is a reliable color to use in professional contexts, unlike yellow, for example, which is known to irritate the eyes. Let the paint dry before continuing so the message doesn't smear.

10. Position the message portion of the sign against the wooden post so that the end of the sign meets the center of the post. Hammer a 1 1/4-inch nail through the top left side of the post and another through the right to secure the sign to the post.

Tips & Warnings

• Check with your local police station to be sure that your sign complies with city sign ordinances. You may need to adjust these instructions to make your sign legal.

References

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Body Measurements
• Color Matters: Color and Vision Matters