Enhance Your Sign Vocabulary A-L

When you have an occasional need for a sign, there’s no reason for you to become a sign expert (that’s us!), but it can be useful for you to be familiar with some of the terms we might use during the process. If we ever use words or phrases that aren’t familiar to you, please ask us to define them.

Art. All the copy, graphics and logos used on your signs.

Candela (cd). A unit of measure indicating the amount of intensity displayed by artificial light.

Channel Letter. A fabricated or formed three-dimensional letter that may accommodate a light source.

 Dimensional Letter. A specific letter, logo or symbol that’s cut out, cast, molded or fabricated in material such as metal or plastic to “raise” it.

Embossing. Design features of a sign face that protrude from the surface.

Face. The surface area on a sign where copy is displayed.

 Flashing. Metal strips used when attaching a fascia or canopy to a building that cover open spaces at the top and bottom.

Kerning. The process of moving letters further apart or closer together to make them appear more evenly spaced, something that used to be done manually but is now automated.

Luminous Tube. Another name for a neon tube.

More to come! Check back to read the blog that will feature M-Z vocabulary words.

Enhance Your Sign Vocabulary A-L