Sign shop owners are constantly seeking new sources of income. Recurring projects are highly valued in this regard. That’s why FASTSIGNS of White Marsh/Joppa, Maryland eagerly seized the opportunity to collaborate with their local Amazon fulfillment organization. Their goal was to establish recruitment centers for the renowned online shopping company.
FASTSIGNS is Amazon’s preferred vendor, so there is a connection between the two. Owner Bobby Jordan explains that when local Amazon affiliates, especially the hiring recruiting stations, require signage work, they reach out to FASTSIGNS. That’s how we got connected here – through a referral from another location.
“They have been renting physical stores to recruit employees. Before, they used to rent hotel ballrooms for this purpose. Now, instead of renting those rooms, they are signing leases. This was the second location we worked on for Amazon, and we really found our rhythm.”
Some of the branded work done for Amazon recruiting in hotel ballrooms, prior to their move to leasing commercial buildings.
Amazon wanted their recruitment centers to be welcoming and encouraging places, so Jordan and Kaitlynn Mayers, who were nominated for Top Young Sign Makers earlier this year (April 2023), collaborated with Amazon. They used pre-set designs provided by Amazon and also created some new logos on their own.
“The process is a little bit of show and tell,” says Jordan. “The recruiting center has certain warehouses that they fulfill with employees. So it was our idea to take their organization logos and put them on a repeating pattern.
“With all the icons, it came out really well. We created a couple of icons for them; some of them are just icons for the pins they receive at the warehouse. We tried to use as many characters as we can to make it more interesting and fun in there.”
The icon design wall wrap that Mayers put together for Amazon was a big hit with the recruiting services team.
Mayers, just twenty-three-years-old, helps FASTSIGNS Joppa/White Marsh in multiple realms (design, production, and installation) and was responsible for the repeating logo wall graphic design installed at the Amazon recruiting center.
“Having Kaitlynn’s help has been amazing,” says Jordan. “She has huge potential in this industry.”
Jordan and his team used an Epson SureColor S60600 Bulk Ink Printer to print the majority of the installations in the recruiting center, printing onto 3M IJ40C Vinyl Wrap.
However Amazon requested custom curtains for certain areas of the room, which Jordan accomplished by relying on a third-party provider.
“We don’t print fabric at our shop, so I worked with Indy Imaging,” says Jordan. “I told them, ‘They want to have curtains. What do you recommend as far as curtain material?’ And then I talked it over with my team and realized we can just sew it at the top, make a pole pocket, and just get a curtain rod and slide it on so that it’s adjustable.
“We made them a little long, so that it looked like a curtain. But they’re eight-ounce heavy-knit fabric.”
Good news! FASTSIGNS Joppa/White Marsh is planning to set up another Amazon recruiting center in the fall. They will adopt the same design as before.
With the increasing number of Amazon warehouses being established nationwide, it’s a smart move to follow Jordan’s example and promote your services to them and similar companies that may be ramping up hiring as the holiday season approaches.
A straightforward wall graphic or banner can effectively distinguish your local hiring business from the competition. Ensure that they are aware of the capabilities of your shop!
