ABOVE PHOTO: GABE GRIFFIN, CLEAR SIGN & DESIGN
QUESTION:
Do you like your job better now vs. your “good old days,” whenever they may have been?
Yes: 67%
- Most probably wouldn’t consider me old enough yet to have “good old days” but my last job was in classic big-box retail so… yeah, this is way better. — Lauren Cassel, Fastsigns of Harrisburg, PA
- I appreciate the “good old days” for the foundation they built, but I genuinely enjoy my job more now. The industry has evolved, and so have I. There’s more innovation, more collaboration and a greater ability to make a real impact on both clients and our team. — Tricia Samuel, D10 Signs + Graphics, Kirkland, WA
- We have grown and become more organized. — Marvin Carre, Capital Signs & Awnings, Bunkie, LA
- When I first got into the sign business, I was hand-lettering everything. I finally had to purchase a vinyl-cutting machine. Made life so much simpler and the ability to manufacture signs much quicker… That was 35 years ago and still going strong with more plotters, printers and a CNC machine. — Jack Thurmond, Jack’s Signs & Graphics, Washington, Ga
- That’s tough! The good old days (early 2000’s) were a much simpler time in the sign biz. Old school workers and some true craftsmen. Fast forward, today I feel we are much more efficient with technology but that has come with a price… — Matt Baker, Bakers’ Signs & Mfg., Conroe, TX
No: 33%
- I’ve owned my own shop since 2007, started in signs in 1998, and the best time was the first six months when I went out solo and just had to pay my own mortgage to get by. Now I have a team of people counting on me every day and it’s exhausting. — Aaron Pedrick, Signature Dezigns, Apopka, FL
- There is no loyalty. Dealing with people that don’t have a clue about the sign business and ask for ridiculous pricing. No one seems to care anymore. — Tish Scialampo, Absolute Sign Inc., Los Alamitos, CA
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One Quick Question:
Which facet of signmaking has changed the most during your career?
| Management |
| 16% |
| Sales and marketing |
| 17% |
| Project management |
| 14% |
| Design |
| 13% |
| Fabrication |
| 28% |
| Installation |
| 3% |
| Other (all of the above, vinyl, computers, electrical installs) |
| 9% |
AI in the Sign Industry:
If your shop uses generative AI in any capacity, how often do you have to make corrections to its output?
| All the time |
| 13% |
| Often |
| 22% |
| Sometimes |
| 36% |
| Never |
| 0% |
| We don’t use AI |
| 21% |
| Installation |
| 3% |
| Other (meets expectations, change marketing “tone” to personal) |
| 8% |
What’s the Brain Squad?
Ready to share your thoughts on issues important to signage pros in the pages of Signs of the Times magazine? If you’re an owner or top manager of a US or Canadian-based sign company, you can sign up to participate in our quick, inspirational, five-minute monthly surveys at signsofthetimes.com/brainsquad.
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