What’s that in my Yard?

If you’ve spent any time at all in America, chances are you’ve seen the little pieces of wireframe and plastic that pop up to dot everyone’s yards so often. Particularly, around the first week of November these apparitions appear, disappearing as quickly as they came into being. We’re speaking of course about yard signs. Drive through any neighborhood in suburbia on any given week and you are sure to see lawn signs for all sorts of different purposes. 

More uses than you can imagine

Of course, political messaging is the classic use case of these signs. Politicians love to get their names out there in front of as many people as they can every year, and what better way to do that than by claiming some of the precious yard space in front of their homes. However, lawn signs are by no means limited to this use. All sorts of different businesses utilize them as well as a convenient way to advertise for their services. It seems like any time a plumber or any other kind of handyman comes to a house to do some work he brings with him a yard sign to plop down, marking out his territory and advertising his business. Others like to use their signage as a way to dissuade unwelcome guests. Just think of signs advertising home security systems. Sometimes, the person displaying this doesn’t even have a system in place, but potential thieves do not know this.

Still other businesses find ways to use these signs. Real estate agents find a common purpose with them. Placing one of these outside a home they are trying to sell lets every passerby know that they the home is up for sale. Of course, no neighborhood wants to see too many of these signs decorating its lawns, but that is another issue. Whatever line of work you are in, chances are there is some kind of use for lawn signs. It seems inescapable.

Where do they come from?

With all this talk of the multiple uses of lawn signs, you may be asking yourself, where do all these come from? After all, something so ubiquitous has to be produced somewhere, right? Most businesses find an online vendor for their signs, selecting off a number of different criteria including price, design options, quality and reputation. There are a number of different businesses out there operating in this extremely competitive field, so those that are shopping for signs generally have their pick of the litter. Still, a few different characteristics help the best companies stand out. 

For one, it helps to have some kind of interface where customers can upload their designs. The best companies will allow you to upload your image and then visualize on one of their signs. Usually you can vary the size of the sign and have some kind of representation of what it would actually look like in front of someone’s house. 

Typically, you will also be allowed to choose the material that goes into your sign. Higher quality materials are of course more durable but also more expensive. You can also adjust the thickness of the material depending upon your purposes. One of the advantages of the custom sign industry is that things are often extremely customizable. You also have to decide whether you want your signs to be printed on just one side or both sides. Will your messaging be symmetrical or differ from front to back? A lot of thought has to go into a yard sign, much more than you would initially think. 

After you’ve designed your sign and placed your order, you simply specify where you would like them to be shipped to. Most companies that sell yard signs are happy to ship to just about anywhere, provided that you pay the costs. The process for ordering signs really couldn’t be easier, so if you think you will need some for your political campaign, business, activism or any other purpose it is worth investigating your options! A quick Google search will show you that there are plenty of businesses out there trying to earn your business. There’s no reason to wait!