Sign

[godsman24_7]

Hello,

Hows everyone doin? Doing well here. I thought I would post this first sign that I did and get some feedback on design.....I know I did several things wrong....or at least things I would do different. So do your worst critics. I had a BLAST doing this thing and would like to get some more jobs. I am young and inexperienced and would love to learn all you ole timers can teach me. Have a great day

John
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[dakers]

John, everything is subjective. The way i learned was to look at good signs and remember what was good. After awhile i had the "feel" for what worked and what did not.
But you can only criticize yourself based on your current knowledge. You said you would do things different if done over. That is the mentality i had and it was what i needed to improve. The road to improvement is not a straight line either. There are dips. ]
It is a nice sign. It is also about pleasing the customer too. I have had to kill my ego many times because i did it my way and the customer did not want it my way.
you did a great job for first sign. Better than most could do. Keep growing and learning.

[dubliner]

You didnt use enough glue on the dot over the i ? :-) I'm a rank amateur compared to Dick Akers and his class, so I can't comment but as you say yourself you see things you would do differently, you should be darned proud of your first attempt.

[phil_o]

Are you sure you spelled the names correctly? I hate it when that happens.

[joewino]

John, layout and design are subjective matters and each of us fall into a style that is comfortable to us, so my suggestions are based upon what I think is good layout.

First of all, the shape of the substrate seems to be predetermined before the copy was added. In my opinion, that is just the opposite of how it should be. The copy and graphics are arranged in a pleasing manner and then that arrangement determines the shape of the background.

For me, I would have made the name and Law Offices in the optical center and larger than they are now, with the scales smaller at the top. The scroll work is subdued (which is good) but doesn't match the rest of the design.

All the negative space on either side of the scale draws my eye to that area, but there is no information there.

I prefer a wider border around my layouts - gives it a little more weight and stability.

Sorry to be so rough, but you did ask.

Most important - let the copy arrangement determine the shape of the background. Don't try to force copy into a predecided substrate.

[ken_rychlik]

I am not a sign guru, but I would have considered curving the text on top and putting the scroll pieces in the blank spaces on each side on the bottom.
Kenneth