Imagine working in an old drab office that hasn’t changed in decades.

Old offices don’t make for a very motivating work environment. A study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology has shown that the refurbishment of office space will have a vastly positive effect on employee satisfaction. 

And I don’t need to tell you that employee satisfaction is good for business!

It’s not just employees who get a boost from a new look. Customers tend to shop and spend more in recently refurbished retail stores compared to their dated counterparts.

As many offices lay empty during the COVID-19 restrictions in 2020, businesses saw the opportunity to fast track their office spaces’ refurbishment.

And as they slowly welcome back staff, the new looks add a much-needed sense of optimism about the year to come.

The Material that Makes Offices Look Good for Less

Although the demand for office refurbishment was high, budgets were not.

So, we set out to help businesses get the look for less.

For those that wanted a cost-effective alternative to the warm, inviting look of timber, we used 3M DAINOC timber-look vinyl.

And for businesses who were after the luxury look of marble floors, we used marble-look vinyl.

We did it all at a vastly reduced cost when compared to the raw materials.

All you are doing is replacing one material for another, so there’s no compromise in the quality or look!

If you are ready to welcome your employees back to an office with a fresh new look, it might pay to think outside the box when it comes to selecting the materials you choose.

For some more guidance on revamping your building for less, get in contact with me and we’ll work out what’s best for your business and budget.

January is typically a prolonged start to the year – business comes back a few weeks in and things don’t really kick off until after the Australia Day holiday.

But after the year we have just had, businesses won’t necessarily be able to cruise into 2021 in this way.

If you do, you might find yourself running out of money by the end of March when JobKeeper payments are scheduled to end.

This year, more than ever, businesses, particularly larger ones with many staff, need to hit the ground running and come back from the end of year break with sales and work ready to go. 

Delaying will put you in a position you don’t want or need to be in.

We had enough (forced) downtime in 2020 – January 2021 needs to be a typical month for your business. You don’t want to be playing catch-up in February and March, because many businesses are still playing catch-up for the lost year that was 2020.

Show the World You’ve Moved With the Times

It’s not a great time to run a business right now, and with economic pain across the board, consumers are more fickle than ever.

Last year, it was all about showing the world you’re still open and are taking steps to keep your staff and customers safe. But with a COVID-19 vaccine around the corner, safety signage won’t have the same effect anymore and will probably become near redundant by the end of the year.  

This year, I predict that the most successful businesses will be the ones that aren’t resting on their laurels and that are instead moving forward with an updated look.

Bold signs, both internal and external, advertise the fact your business is thriving. Attention-grabbing signs show your customers you are ready to serve them now, not later.

We did a number of these big signage projects with some forward-thinking businesses in the second half of 2020. For example, Sexyland’s successful rebrand has given them a new lease on life.

And right now, we’re helping hotels (such as Pakenham Hotel and Forrester’s Arms) revamp their signage as part of a total refurbishment to make punters excited to come back.

To sum up, a lot of businesses might have felt a false sense of security at the end of last year once they reopened and customers started coming back.

But when the honeymoon period ends, it’s the businesses that put the work into maintaining and updating their image that will thrive in this new era.

Ready to take your business to 2021 and beyond? Get in contact with Resolve to see how we can help refresh your business with high-quality signage.

One of the most recognisable hotel chains in Australia, the Quest hotel chain goes from strength to strength with new locations in all of Australia’s states and territories, as well as New Zealand, Fiji and the UK.

We were called to help produce the signs for Quest’s newest location: Preston in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

Located in the heart of Preston’s busiest precinct, this job was going to need meticulous planning to work around some significant challenges. 

The Signage

To create the iconic QUEST logo, we manufactured fabricated illuminated letters onto large painted frames, as well as metal individual letters with illuminated acrylic faces.

We also put together various lightboxes.

The Challenge

With Quest needing external signage on a busy road, the challenge was putting it all together while contending with obstacles such as traffic, power lines and a small window of time to work in.

The job required complex planning and project management.

A range of permits needed to be obtained, including a road closure permit, traffic management permit, planning permit and footpath permit.

As the hotel was located on a clearway, we could only install the sign between 9am and 3pm, so we still had to contend with daily shoppers.

And to top it off, we needed to crane a scissor lift onto the roof and then crane the sign up for it to be installed.

The Result

Despite the limitations, we were able to power through and deliver an excellent result for the client.

If you’ve got a complex signage project coming up, we’re more than ready to meet any outside challenges the project might face. For peace of mind on your next signage project, get in contact with us today.  

I’ve worked at a lot of signage companies who could pick and choose the jobs they would take on.

At those companies, the ‘too-hard basket’ that was never empty.

We believe a good sign business is one that is prepared to take everything on. 

No matter how big or small, there is no reason why the job can’t be done.

I believe that too-hard baskets shouldn’t exist, so we go into every job determined to give it our best shot. And a good signage company will come up with something that wows its clients every time.

This mantra follows us to work on everything from small stickers, posters and banners to more specialised display work. It’s often simply a case of getting a deeper understanding of the client and what they want and from there working out how you will get it done to their satisfaction.

A good signage company takes jobs on and finds a way to get them done, every time. 

So, when you are shopping around for a new sign, remember what to look for in the people who will make it happen.