You need a commercial sign and want to know how much it will cost. What should you send us?
The good news is that you don’t need to have your entire sign project figured out before requesting a quote. That’s part of what we’re here to help with.
But the right information at the beginning helps us understand your project faster and gives our team a much better starting point.
Here’s what is most useful.
Start With the Property Address
For both exterior and interior signage, the property address is one of the first pieces of information we need.
A commercial sign is designed for a specific location. The address helps us understand the property, identify the jurisdiction, and eventually evaluate permitting requirements and site conditions.
The same sign proposed for two different properties may face completely different conditions. Where the sign is going matters almost as much as what the sign looks like.
Prepare Your Logo or the Copy for the Sign
If the sign will reproduce your company's identity, send us the best version of your logo available. Ideally, that means the original PDF or vector artwork.
Good artwork gives our design and production teams accurate shapes, proportions, typography, and other elements to work with when developing the sign. Don't have the original files? Send us what you have. We can determine what is usable and what may need additional work.
But not every commercial sign needs a logo.
Your sign may simply need to say RESTAURANT, PHARMACY, LEASING OFFICE, MAIN ENTRANCE, or another word or message that describes the business, location, or purpose of the space.
In that case, what we need is the exact copy you want the sign to display. From there, our design team can work on typography, proportions, materials, fabrication, and the overall appearance of the sign.
And if your project combines both, a logo plus additional wording, send us both.
Define What You're Trying to Accomplish
If you already know that you need channel letters, a monument sign, a pylon, an interior sign, or an LED board, tell us. If you don't know, that's completely fine too. You don't necessarily need to know what type of sign you need. What matters at this stage is understanding what you need the sign to do.
Think about both how you want the sign to look and what you need it to accomplish. Maybe you want something modern and minimal, a highly polished or metallic finish, a more architectural appearance, or a sign that becomes a strong visual element inside your space. Maybe nighttime visibility is essential, or you need the sign to be easily recognizable from the road.
The objective can also be very practical. You may need to identify the entrance to a property, make a business easier to find, display multiple tenants, improve visibility from a distance, or replace existing signage that no longer represents the property well.
You don't have to translate those needs into materials, fabrication methods, or sign types. That's our job.
The more clearly you can tell us what you want the sign to achieve, the better our design team can turn that intention into the right signage solution.
Check Your Landlord’s Sign Criteria
If your business is located in a shopping center, leased commercial property, or another managed property, check whether your landlord has established sign criteria before moving too far into the project.
These requirements can determine what types of signs are allowed and establish limitations on dimensions, placement, illumination, colors, mounting methods, or other design elements.
If sign criteria exist, having them available from the beginning gives our design team an important framework to work with and can prevent unnecessary revisions later.
The goal is to design a sign that works for your business while also working within the requirements of the property.
Show Us What You Have in Mind
Photos, sketches, inspiration images, architectural renderings, or examples of signs you like can all help communicate your design intent.
And increasingly, there is another useful reference: AI-generated concepts.
We've seen clients use AI tools to create a preliminary visualization of how they imagine their storefront or sign. If you have one, send it.
It doesn't need to be technically accurate. An AI-generated concept isn't a fabrication drawing, but it can be a very useful way to show us what you have in mind.
Our design team can take that direction, together with your logo, copy, or other project information, and adapt it to real dimensions, appropriate materials and fabrication methods, the actual property, applicable city requirements, and landlord criteria.
Preparing your signage request
At Saul Signs, we’ll bring our experience in design, fabrication, permitting, and installation to your project. But that experience becomes even more valuable when we have a clear picture of your property, your needs, and what you want your sign to accomplish.
The more relevant information you can share with us, the better we can understand your vision, identify potential requirements early, and develop a signage solution that makes sense for the real conditions of your project.
You bring us the vision. We’ll help turn it into something that can be designed, built, permitted, and installed.
And remember: you don’t need to have everything figured out before contacting us. Some projects begin with architectural drawings, established sign criteria, and a clear design direction. Others begin with little more than an address, a logo, and an idea. Both are good places to start.
Our job is to ask the right questions, determine what is still needed, and use that information to move the project forward.
So, before requesting your commercial sign quote, don’t worry about having all the answers. Focus on giving us the best picture you can of your property, your needs, and your vision. We’ll help you figure out the rest.