Channel letters
Individual aluminum letters lit from inside by LEDs. They carry your exact logo and color, glow after dark and are the sign type many shopping center criteria are written around.
Explore channel letters
Storefront signs · Dallas Fort Worth
Storefront Signs That Stop Traffic in Dallas Fort Worth
The sign over your door is the first thing a new customer sees and the thing a regular looks for. We design, permit, fabricate and install storefront signs and window graphics for shops, salons, clinics and restaurants across Dallas Fort Worth.
What type of sign works best on a storefront?
For most storefronts, illuminated channel letters are the most versatile choice: they carry your exact logo and stay readable after dark. Dimensional letters suit boutiques and daytime businesses, and cabinet signs work where a logo needs a full background. Window graphics then put hours, services and brand at eye level. Your fascia, your lease and how customers approach decide the final mix.
- On the fasciaChannel letters, dimensional letters or a cabinet
- On the glassWindow graphics, hours and door lettering
- LightingLit or non-lit, to suit the lease
- ApprovalsLandlord criteria, then the city permit
Storefront visibility
A storefront is read from the road first and the door second.
Most people meet your business through a windshield. They are scanning a row of storefronts for a name, a color and a reason to turn in, and they have a few seconds to find it. Your sign has to deliver all three from across the parking field, then hold up to a close look at the entrance.
That is why we start with the approach, not the artwork. Where do drivers first see the building? What is next door competing for attention? How deep is the fascia, and what does the lease allow? The answers decide the sign type, the letter height and whether it needs to light up.
- Legible at road speed and from the far side of the lot
- Your exact logo, colors and typeface
- Sized to your fascia and your lease, not a template
- Glass and door graphics that finish the job at eye level
See the difference
Same storefront. Before and after the sign.
Drag across a bare storefront to see what a fascia sign and window graphics change. Then switch to night, when an unlit fascia disappears into the row and a lit one becomes the easiest thing on the block to find.
BeforeAfter
Interactive illustration
By day, letters and window graphics give the storefront a name, a color and a reason to walk in.
Sign types
Choose the sign for the fascia, then dress the glass.
Most storefronts pair one primary sign above the door with graphics on the windows. These are the options we build most often, and where each one fits.
Dimensional letters
Solid letters cut from acrylic, aluminum or PVC and fastened to the fascia, often on stand-offs for a crisp shadow line. No wiring, a clean architectural look, and a strong fit for boutiques, studios and daytime businesses.
Cabinet and lightbox signs
A fabricated box with a translucent face, lit from inside. Cabinets handle logos with fine detail or a solid background color, and a cabinet can be shaped to a logo outline and paired with channel letters.
Panel signs
Letters or a logo on a flat aluminum or acrylic panel mounted to the fascia, lit or unlit. A tidy way to add a tagline or a line of services under the main name.
Window graphics
Printed and cut vinyl on the glass: logos, hours, services and full-coverage imagery. They sit exactly where people slow down and decide whether to walk in.
Window graphics
The glass is sign space too.
Your windows are the only part of the storefront customers see from arm's length. Window graphics use that space for your logo, hours, services and imagery, and they are usually the simplest part of the storefront to change when an offer ends or a brand refreshes.
Perforated window film prints a full image on the outside while people inside still see out. Cut vinyl handles hours, phone numbers and service lists on doors and transoms. Frosted films add privacy for clinics and offices without blocking daylight. Some leases and some cities limit how much glass can be covered, so we check before anything is printed.
- Perforated film for full-coverage imagery
- Cut vinyl lettering for hours, services and doors
- Frosted and privacy films for treatment rooms and offices
- Colors matched to the sign on the fascia
Landlord sign criteria
What your lease probably says about your sign.
Most shopping centers and retail buildings publish tenant sign criteria, and it is worth reading before you fall for a design. These are the rules that come up most often. We design to them from the first sketch.
01
Sign type
Many centers require channel letters, and some specify front-lit or halo-lit. Cabinet signs are often limited to logos or not allowed at all.
02
Size and placement
Criteria usually cap letter height or total sign area and fix where the sign sits on the fascia, typically centered over your frontage.
03
Color and logos
Some centers require one letter color for every tenant. Others allow full logo colors or national brand marks.
04
Mounting and power
Raceway or direct mount, where the electrical feed comes from and whether the sign runs on your meter or the landlord's.
05
Windows and temporary signs
Criteria can also limit window graphics, banners and anything else applied to the glass or hung from the canopy.
06
Approval process
Most landlords review shop drawings before a city permit is filed. We prepare the drawing package and handle revisions until it is approved.
After sunset, the lit storefront is the one people find.
In a row of shops at dusk, an illuminated sign is often the only thing a driver can read from the road.
Design, permits and installation
From a photo of your storefront to a sign that is switched on.
Design starts with a photo of your storefront and your logo files. We place the sign on your actual fascia at real scale, day and night, so you and your landlord approve something you can picture, not a logo floating on a white page.
Next come landlord approval and the city sign permit. Most DFW cities require a permit for a new exterior sign, and every illuminated sign needs electrical work by a licensed electrical sign contractor. We handle both. The sign is then fabricated at our Carrollton facility, installed, powered up and checked from the parking lot before we call it finished.
- Scaled mockup on a photo of your storefront
- Drawing package for landlord approval
- City sign permit prepared and submitted
- Fabrication in Carrollton, installation across DFW
Project gallery
Storefronts across the Metroplex.
Storefront work from the Signs Express portfolio: lit letters over busy retail centers, dimensional letters on quieter facades and graphics that put the brand on the glass.
How we deliver
One team, from survey to switch-on.
Every storefront signs project follows the same six steps. Here is what each one means for this sign type.
- 01
Discover
We photograph the storefront, measure the fascia and glass, and read the tenant sign criteria before design starts.
- 02
Design
Your sign and window graphics are drawn onto a photo of your actual storefront, by day and at night.
- 03
Engineer
We detail the mounting method and fasteners and trace how power reaches the sign from inside the space.
- 04
Permit
Landlord approval comes first, then the city sign permit, with drawings revised until both sign off.
- 05
Fabricate
Letters, cabinets and panels are built at our Carrollton facility, with window graphics color-matched to the sign.
- 06
Install
We install the sign and graphics, power up and check the result from the road, the lot and the sidewalk.
Related projects
Proof, not promises.
Dallas Fort Worth
Storefront signs for every kind of DFW retail street.
A storefront in Dallas Fort Worth might sit in a brand-new center off the tollway, a strip center that has been re-tenanted a dozen times or a walkable downtown square. Each setting brings different rules. Newer centers tend to publish detailed tenant criteria, older centers often have mixed signage and aging raceways, and historic districts may add design review. We survey the storefront in person, build the sign in Carrollton and install it anywhere in the Metroplex, from Dallas and Richardson to Frisco, McKinney and Arlington.
- Dallas
- Carrollton · HQ
- Richardson
- Plano
- Frisco
- Allen
- McKinney
- Arlington
- Fort Worth
Free project review
Show us your storefront.
Send a photo of the front of your space, your logo and your landlord's sign criteria if you have it. We will recommend a sign type, show it on your fascia and map the route through landlord and city approval.
- A photo of the building or site, even from a phone
- Your logo or brand files, if you have them
- The city where the sign will be installed
- Landlord sign criteria, if the space is leased
Straight answers
Storefront Signs: your questions, answered.
Something else on your mind? Call (469) 901-3108 or send the details through the quote form.
How big can my storefront sign be?
Two sets of rules decide it. Your landlord's sign criteria usually cap letter height or sign area for each tenant, and the city sign code limits total sign area, often in proportion to your frontage. Within those limits, we size the letters for the distance customers read them from and confirm everything before design is final.
Will my storefront sign meet the shopping center's tenant criteria?
Yes. Most shopping centers publish tenant sign criteria covering sign type, size, color, lighting and mounting. We design to those rules from the start and prepare the drawing package your landlord needs to approve before we file for the city permit.
Are illuminated storefront signs available?
Yes. Channel letters, cabinet signs and logo cabinets can all be lit with LEDs, and channel letters can be front-lit, halo-lit or both. If your business is open after dark or your storefront faces a busy road, lighting usually earns its place.
Do you make window graphics too?
Yes. We produce logos, hours, service lists and full-coverage window graphics, including perforated film that prints an image outside while keeping the view from inside. We match the colors to your fascia sign so the whole storefront reads as one brand.
Do you handle the sign permit?
Yes. Most DFW cities require a permit for a new exterior sign, and each city has its own sign code. We research the rules for your address, prepare the drawings and submit the application after your landlord has approved the design.
Where can I find a storefront sign company near me?
If your storefront is in Dallas Fort Worth, Signs Express is local. We fabricate at our head office and manufacturing facility in Carrollton and install across the Metroplex, including Dallas, Richardson, Plano, Frisco, Allen, McKinney, Arlington and Fort Worth.
Can you replace the sign left by the previous tenant?
Yes. We can remove an existing sign and install your new one, and we check the fascia and the existing electrical feed while we are there. If the old sign is a cabinet in good condition and your landlord allows it, a new face panel may be all you need.
Keep exploring
Related sign types
Channel Letters
Individually built, LED-lit letters that turn a fascia into a nighttime landmark.
Illuminated Exterior Signs
LED-lit letters, cabinets, monuments and pole signs that keep your name readable after sunset.
Restaurant Signs
Lit storefront letters, glass graphics and feature walls that bring diners from the road to the table.
Business Signs
A starting point for business owners: find the right mix of signs, from the road to the reception desk.
Start with the space. End with a landmark.
Your next landmark starts here.
Tell us what you are building and where. We will help you choose the right sign system and handle the approvals, fabrication and installation.