What role does signage play in opening up your new retail destination? - by Richard Poyant

Case Study: The Point in Littleton, Mass.

Signage plays a key role in showcasing your retail store’s brand image and drawing new customers into your door. It is important to develop a vibrant, fresh, and inviting branding package to let shoppers know you are open for business. Signs can be a major indicator to prospective customers that a new and exciting retail destination is opening in their area. 

It is important to understand how to make the most out of your sign package.

There are multiple factors to consider, including:

• Keep it Consistent, Visible and Legible – Your “streetscape” is your “first impression” and must project and maintain the powerful image you want the public to have of your retail location.

• Tell Your Own Unique Story – Consider what your customers will value about your location, upon opening something new. Determine what they will like about the products and services that you offer and leverage those characteristics in the design. This will help to maintain your strong and successful brand for years to come.

• Design – One of the most important factors for a brand is the design development. Your design must make a commanding statement. A design that can be read and understood with a quick glance will create the most effective sign. Keep it simple. 

A well-researched and well-engineered Branding Program promotes a better visitor experience, improves traffic patterns to your location, and reflects your overall brand image.

Poyant was approached by Sam Park & Co. to assist in developing a signage package for the brand-new shopping plaza, The Point in Littleton, Mass., the first of its kind in Boston’s Metro Northwest. Developed in phases, it is the region’s only mixed-use destination combining shops, restaurants, grocery, hotel, office, and entertainment. Anchored by Market Basket, Courtyard by Marriot, and O’Neil Cinemas, The Point is more than just a place to shop. 

Poyant’s team of signage and branding experts collaborated to meet the following goals for this project:

1) Work closely with Smook Architecture & Urban Design in order to bring to life inviting signage for the up-and-coming Littleton, Mass. location. 

2) Proper placement of signage to ensure visitors can identify tenants located in the retail shop. 

3) Maximize the visibility and traffic exposure for the new property. 

Focusing on these goals, the Poyant team began work on several signage elements designed by Smook Architecture & Urban Design, that would be installed throughout The Point property. Poyant fabricated and installed a signage package that would align with the main goals of the project, helping to create a striking destination that the local community would be able to appreciate and easily navigate. 

As part of the signage package, Poyant built and installed two new pylon signs, three new monument signs, and one directory sign. The double sided internally illuminated pylon signs consist of custom painted logos, custom wood grain painted tenant panels, a custom aluminum sign body and bottom stone base to match the building stone. When focusing on the custom painted logo, Poyant created the word “The” to be face lit channel letters with digitally printer dual color perf, allowing the letters to look grey during the day and illuminate white at night. The red circle is a halo illuminated channel letter. The “Point” graphic, along with all the tenant panels, are stencil cut with push thru graphics. The monument signage is a single sided internally illuminated monument sign, also featuring custom wood grain painted tenant panels, custom aluminum sign body and bottom stone base to match the building stone. Later down the road, Poyant also fabricated and installed a directory sign that consisted of the same elements of the monument sign, just at a larger scale. 

Overall, the signage comes together to deliver an inviting design for shoppers to enjoy the retail experience.

Poyant was proud to have partnered with Sam & Park Co, LandStrategies LLC, KeyPoint Partners, Smook Architecture and Urban Design on this new development. Our singular focus is and always has been… “Building Your Brand, Building Your Success”. The Point project was completed in 2017, on-time and on-budget, and is considered a huge success by all involved. 

Richard Poyant is the president of Poyant Signs, New Bedford, Mass.