A good sign goes a long way for a business. It is a cheap and easy way to accomplish many things such as direct customers, stand out from competition, attract new customers, and even build relationships with clients. While these signs are basically just the name of the business with or without their logo, so many things are actually considered to make a good sign. Here are some factors that take a simple sign and make it into a great one for business.
Font
The first thing that we should talk about is the font. The font is the style by which the text is written as. For example, you may be familiar with typical fonts used for documents such as Arial, Calibri, and Times New Roman. For signages and logos, fonts are often designed specifically by graphic artists and for a good reason: having these specifically designed makes them unique, but also the font affects how people perceive signs and logos. This has something to do with psychology.
For example, a bold and heavy font will make the sign, and thus the company, look strong and well established. In contrast, a lighter and curvier font may convey elegance and luxury. This concept can easily be observed in the market. Check out signs and logos of luxury items such as jewelry, compared to those of a different industry – such as the fast food industry.
Color
Even before reading what’s on a sign, people already see what color the sign is. Color is very important in making a good sign for a few reasons. The first reason is technical. Proper color choices would have a good contrast between the background color and the text. This is imperative as a good contrast would first make sure that the text is legible. A sign’s worth really goes down when it can’t be read as information wouldn’t be conveyed.
Another good reason to have a good contrast between the background color and the text is that it helps make the text pop. This will help attract attention in a world full of signs.
Another way color adds to a good sign is when color is used scientifically. Colors have been found to have a psychological effect on people. This effect may not be super obvious as some people would only perceive these effects on a subconscious level.
For example, blue is known to be a calming and peaceful color so businesses tend to use blue if they want to get this effect. Other examples include red signifying passion and excitement, yellow signifying happiness and joy, and green signifying freshness and life.
Content
Given a small amount of space, how much content should a business put into a sign? Logically, the more content should be better as it would maximize the space given, but it’s not as simple as that. Putting too much content into a sign is actually more detrimental because the busier a sign is, the harder it is to read and internalize. Compare this to a simple sign with a clear message. The simple sign will be way easier to read and store inside the mind of a customer.
Content can be in the form of other design elements, be it the text style, font, and other design elements such as the logo and such. Simplicity is key and cannot be stressed enough. Take road signs for example. Road signs are effectively designed as they are graphically minimal while conveying the message with no problem.
Flexibility
What does flexibility mean in a sign? It means that the sign can be used in multiple settings. Design and layout are both crucial components of a good business signage.The design and layout of a good sign can be used in all other promotional material and products. Imagine getting a random flyer and seeing the sign on the flyer. The effect of a person going to the store will be much more positive upon seeing the same sign on the storefront as it helps connect the experience of reading the flyer to finding the store.
Price
Signs are often inexpensive and that is one of their main benefits. They are inexpensive yet effective tools for information and advertising. Plus, signs are more or less a one-time purchase. Getting a sign will reap benefits for a long time to come.
Information
Signs ultimately strive to convey a message or a piece of information. A good sign is imbued with sufficient details to convey the right amount of information. For example, imagine a typical open/closed sign.
These signs just have one word on each side of the sign that tells people whether or not a store is open. While these are more than enough information, some open/closed signs can also include the opening hours of the store on the closed side to inform people when they would be open again the next day.
Customer Experience
Overall, customer experience and perception are factors that really help make a business stick to people. A good sign with all the aforementioned factors considered well would in turn, leave people with a positive customer experience. A good sign will help make people happy.
Furthermore, people happy with the goods and the services of a business will also have a natural positive reaction to seeing the store’s sign. The sign will serve as a reminder to remind them how good their experience was the last time they were in the store.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a lot of things actually go into a good sign. Businesses maximize the effectiveness of their signs by paying attention to these factors as signs and logos cannot be easily changed. The better the sign, the longer it will stay and the longer it will stay, the better that sign is associated with the business – so it is imperative to get all the things right in the first go.