Whether indoors or outdoors, the one thing that makes a business stand out is their signage. It catches the eye of customers, communicates the quality of products or services and makes passersby aware of a location in mere seconds. But an average sign isn’t going to cut it, especially if you’re in a heavily saturated area like Los Angeles. Make your signage stand out with our 5 business sign design tips!
1. Be Smart About Color
The number one business signage tip is to be smart about color. In graphic design and signage, color can affect everything from visibility to brand impression. You need to choose color(s) that appeal to your target market and will be easy for passersby to read.
We associate certain colors with feelings and emotions. This is why so many fast food restaurants include yellow (happy) and red (excitement and stimulation) and brands across all industries use blue – an honest and loyal color – in signage. Consider what emotions you want to stir in the minds of customers. But remember to stick to just a couple so your sign isn’t overwhelming to look at or hard to read!
2. Use Contrasting Colors
Signs, especially outdoor signs, should also have contrasting colors, such as black and white or other colors across from one another on the color wheel. This is critical for readability of graphic design and signage. If customers can’t see/read your sign, they won’t know you exist or what you do. Make sure your background color is significantly different from text color to stand out and ensure that it can be seen from a distance without difficulty. This can also be achieved with a contrasting border on channel letters.
3. Choose a Unique Font and Graphics
The last thing you want is for your signage font to be boring or even worse: hard to read. Think outside the box with your graphic design and signage! Our business sign design tip to businesses wanting to stand out is to choose a creative font and clever graphics that are consistent to the look and feel of your business. This will help create visual interest with your signage and differentiate your business from the competition.
You should also stick with a font that’s bold and legible. Curly and cursive fonts can be difficult to read. Try a simple sans serif font like Arial and Helvetica instead.
4. Opt for High-Quality Materials
Another one of our business signage tips is to invest in high-quality materials. While it may not seem as exciting as color with graphic design and signage, you shouldn’t underestimate materials when it comes to sign success.
Flimsy, cheap sign materials can give the wrong message. High-quality materials last longer, are made to withstand wind loads, communicate the quality of your products/services and can even save you repair and maintenance costs. They also help you stand out!
Communicate the quality of your business and draw customers into your establishment with a unique, high-quality material. Aluminum, acrylic and metal are long-lasting and durable, making them some of the best materials available for custom dimensional letters and other indoor/outdoor signage.
5. Illuminate Your Sign
Factors like streetlights and neighboring highways can make certain graphic designs and signage difficult to see, especially at night. One of the most helpful business sign design tips to stand out among the noise is to illuminate your signage. Front lit, reverse lit or front and back lit channel letters not only provide identification but help to create an eye-catching storefront sign that passersby can see day and night.
Worried about the power costs of this business signage tip? Energy-efficient LEDs use up to 80% less power than fluorescent bulbs and help cut your power and maintenance costs!
Stand-Out Graphic Design and Signage
Business signage needs to be memorable, attractive, and easy to read to reap all the benefits signs have to offer. By following one or more of our business sign design tips, you can help distinguish your business from the competition and make your sign stand out in an instant.
With over 30 years of industry experience, you can count on California Sign Company to design, fabricate and install custom signage for your business. We’re one of the most trusted sign companies in the state thanks to our unwavering dedication to high-quality craftsmanship and superior, personalized service. If you’re ready to get started with your custom commercial signage project, contact us today for a fast and free quote.