Ever been walking down the street or driving around Raleigh and said to yourself “man, that’s a good looking sign?” Well what you probably didn’t know is that a local sign shop probably made that sign and, in partnering with their client, put a lot of time and effort into making sure that sign not only grabbed your attention but also looked good while doing it. Here’s the first tip of many in this post, it’s all about design.

To best promote your event or company and make the most out of your advertising budget, keep these tips in mind when creating your next sign:

Simplicity

Effective sign design quickly displays a message using as few words as possible. Why? Because potential clients only have a limited amount of time to figure out your messages. For example, drivers only have a few seconds to read a sign. Point of sale signage, however, can display more informative content. Spend time figuring out the message you want to get across. In other words, the shorter the better.

Sometimes, It’s About What’s Not There

Leave plenty of white space – a blank area surrounding text and images. Having about a third of the sign be white space is best. Too much text and graphics can overwhelm viewers.

Your Grandma Needs To Be Able To Read It

Hard-to-read typefaces will ruin a sign. Even for novelty stores, fancy script or other typefaces are probably not the way to go. While getting creative with your typefaces is no problem, it is good to note that the human eye much more easily reads block letters and proper capitalization. Go with straight typefaces that are easy to read, using bold letters or larger text for emphasis.

Know Your Colors

Using black, dark blue or red text on a yellow or white background is the most readable combination. White text is harder to read.

Need Help? Turn To Your Local Sign Shop

Don’t have a top flight designer on staff but want a good sign? An experienced graphic design and marketing team can help you figure out what will look good and be most effective for your business. And the best part, Jack Rabbit Signs is happy to help — 919-571-1185 or come see us in Raleigh!