When competing with other businesses in the area, corporate signage is important for every company. How your signage looks can make the difference between success and failure in a tough marketplace. Signage has to be eye-catching, attractive and clear. It also has to carry your brand so it’s instantly recognisable.
If you’re working on new corporate signage for your place of business, or perhaps a new location you’re opening up, the following tips will help you make that signage more effective:
Tip 1: Simple is Better; Less is More
It really sounds like a cliche, but it rings so true that less is truly more when it comes to signage. Just look at brands like Apple, often relying solely on their logo to denote the location of an Apple Store, and not a single word. Ask yourself the following questions when you’re looking at proposed designs or drafts of your signage:
- Is it eye-catching? Does it grab my attention when I glance at it?
- Does it keep my attention once it has it?
- Does it have any impact on me? Does it evoke emotions, or brand recognition?
- Is it memorable? If I walk on by, will the image of that signage stay in my mind all day long? Or longer?
Keep signs down to the bare necessities and follow the two great cliches: less is more, and quality over quantity.
Tip 2: Add a Smart Angle
If your signage is an advertising piece, then while you’re keeping it simple, you should also try your best to add an element of intelligence, wit or insight. It’s the most challenging aspect, but it’s what you might pay a marketing agency for and it’s part of their value. The ad should be striking, but also thought-provoking.
Tip 3: Make it Easy to Read
No one is going to stop to read signage or try harder to read if it proves difficult. If it can’t be understood at a swift glance from somebody walking or driving by the sign, then it’s not easy enough to read. It should be visible from the road, and from multiple angles that people might walk to and from in that particular location.
To make it easier to read, use clear and contrasting colors such as blue on white, or black on white. Many colour pairings can create issues when it comes to readability, like red on blue, for instance. Fonts should also be clear and unambiguous, and large enough to see from a distance. The mantra of “less is more” should definitely apply to the number of words you use in any signage – stick to the bare necessities.
Tip 4: Make Your Brand Visible
Words, colours and scale aren’t enough if you can’t also include your own brand on there. As we mentioned above, companies like Apple are relying exclusively on their brand and logo as signage to mark their physical store locations. You don’t have to be that minimalist, but you do need to give your brand pride of place where everyone will see and recognise it.
Tip 5: Lighting Matters
If your business is open during hours when light outside is limited, then you must include effective lighting on the signage. It’s critical that lighting be incorporated into the design process so that it looks equally attractive and clear when both lit up and illuminated by daylight. Lighting can sometimes affect colour schemes, as well, so you should take that into consideration when you’re choosing how to light the signage.
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