Is your brick-and-mortar store successful at representing your business?
As more businesses move online, competition on the streets is fiercer than ever. When customers are looking for a blouse or coffee to-go, storefront signs are their guide.
If you're looking to create or update your storefront signs, you've come to the right place. We've listed 7 tips below to design the best outdoor and indoor signage.
1. Practicality Over Aesthetic
Every store should use creative design elements to entice customers. However, if potential customers can't read or understand your signage, you've already lost them.
When you design your signs, prioritize practicality first. This means that your signage in any format needs to be a marketing-forward concept.
To achieve this, you need to set a clear goal. Do you want to show your services? Or grab attention?
Your marketing goal will determine how you approach the rest of the project, so consider this your first step. You can add a creative flare once you've outlined the important information.
2. Approach Font Carefully
Font may seem like the most straightforward aspect of design, but there are many layers to it. At the surface, of course, you need to make sure the information presented is legible.
Here are some tips to keep in mind for legibility:
- Be cautious of cursive fonts
- Use clear and consistent spacing
- Use all caps sparingly - most words should be lowercase
- Leave room for images and any other design elements
All caps in text is a common beginner mistake that actually makes signage more difficult to read.
Think of it this way: you can read a full body of text more easily in lowercase than uppercase. Only use all caps for emphasis.
When you ensure that the font is legible, you also need to think about the font's presentation. What impression does the font give you? Does that impression fit your brand and marketing goal?
3. Use Color Psychology
At its core, marketing is consumer psychology, and this extends to designing storefront signs. Color is one of the most noticable elements in design, so think carefully about how you want to use colors on your signs.
We often think of color psychology as equating a specific color to a broad emotion. For example, red may indicate anger.
However, in marketing, research has specifically narrowed down how colors affect consumers in different environments.
These colors influence the following behaviors:
- Red: encourages appetite and creates urgency
- Blue: promotes trust and evokes maturity
- Green: implies health and nature
- Purple: often used for beauty products and promotes creativity
- Orange/yellow: encourages cheerfulness and promotes enthusiasm
For a full, more in-depth look at color and consumer psychology, you can see the list of colors and behaviors here.
When you design wall graphics/decals, banners, or any format with an emphasis on color, think about how you want potential customers to feel and react. Then, choose the colors to match your intention as well as your brand.
4. Size for Display-to-Customer Distance
Where will your signage be displayed? Will the sign be very high or eye-level and close to the customer?
These questions will influence the size of your signage as well as other elements like font and images. Oversized wall decals may block merchandise, while tiny banners will look awkward and may be difficult to understand from far away.
Menu boards, for example, will have very different sizing compared to large format storefront banners. Try to visualize different sizes in that specific environment if you can, especially for outdoor signage.
You can also visit stores in your business's niche and compare real-life examples. You want your store's marketing to be unique, but for more technical aspects like sizing, it's a good idea to take inspiration from similar businesses.
Believe it or not, it's easier to see what you don't want to do.
You may think you want a cluster of small decals, but you may not like the jumbled presentation in practice. Whenever possible, seeing sizes through real examples will give you the best idea of what you're looking for.
5. What Makes You Different Makes You Money
Your signage, like your services, needs to stand out to be successful. People are desensitized by large volumes of ads - between 6,000 and 10,000 everyday - so you have to make yours count or risk being looked over.
Similar to tip 4, a great method for standing out is looking for inspiration. This may seem counterintuitive, but let us explain.
Some businesses already know how to stand out while maintaining the voice of their brand. By writing down ideas from signs that draw your attention, you can find common patterns in unique designs.
You can go old fashioned and visit other stores, or you can look through Pinterest boards of store signs. Find examples that catch your eye, and then ask yourself why they drew you in.
6. Represent Your Brand
Customers love consistency. The clearer your brand and voice, the more customers understand and trust your business.
This consistency carries over into your marketing.
Do you have a vibrant color pallette in your store? Then don't send your customers mixed signals with a simple black and white.
Do you sell coffee? Chalkboard sidewalk signs are a universal signal for fun expresso drinks in an intimate environment.
Any confusing messaging will put off a customer. Most people won't want to put in the energy to learn about your business - they want a clear sign to represent your products and services.
7. Diversify Your Signage
You've heard the typical business advice - diversify. This advice applies to signage too.
You can have a banner advertising your business, booth displays for featured products, window decals with your mascot, etc. Not every business will benefit from the same types of signage, so get creative with your visual marketing.
Also keep in mind that when we say diversify, we don't mean to put your business's name in different formats. Make sure you have a purpose for every sign you use.
You also don't want too much clutter. If you have too many signs or displays, customers won't know where to focus. Be careful about quantity and placement.
Print Your Storefront Signs Today
Remember: information is key.
You want your customers to see your storefront signs from far away and be drawn in by the information it presents. Whether that's through clever illustration or enticing information, the creative direction is up to you and your brand.
Ready to print your sign and market your business? At AlphaGraphics Wilmington, we offer custom sign design and printing with a focus on results through visual marketing.
Request a quote for your custom project today to get noticed and get business.