what system are you on?
if its ps3 I cant help
easy chat is to hit the / button (which puts a / into chat) and typing p (so it looks like /p) will talk into party chat which is default color of blue.
the signs are as mentioned within your post in a menu but you can set any of the marking icons onto your bars to use them with quick access. This also works on emotes (if your doing battle-craft leves I recommend having soothe and beacon set as they are used often)