Business signs really have one purpose: get people’s attention. If they don’t, they’ve failed. But while it’s easy to determine what your custom business signs should do, making them actually serve their purpose and get attention isn’t always as easy as it should be. That’s because your signs are competing with many others. If you’re in a business district or shopping area, there are signs everywhere, and every one of them is trying to grab potential customers. What can you do to make your signs stand out?
If you don’t feel like your business signs are getting the job done, it’s time for a revamp. If you’re just starting out and don’t have any signs, you’ll want to be sure they’re designed from the ground up to get attention. Here are some tips for drawing in customers with your signs and what TNT Signs can do to help you achieve your goals.
Include Your Branding
The first thing you should do to any marketing material is include your branding. This can be your company name, logo, or other identifying information. Sometimes, if your logo is very recognizable, you don’t need anything more. If someone can take one look at your sign and know what business it’s for, you’ve achieved your goal.
Having branding on a sign does help it grab people’s attention because it adds something unique. Plain signs that are nothing more than a few lines of text and a graphic can get the job done, of course, but they don’t really tell the reader anything about the business behind the sign. With branding, especially unique or colorful branding, your sign will stand out.
This doesn’t mean you need to redo your logo in bright colors or spell out your company name in neon yellow. You want to remain true to your business and the reputation you want to communicate. For example, you don’t often see banks use overly bright colors. That’s because according to color psychology, cooler shades such as blue convey dependability and trust. That doesn’t mean you can’t make your blue logo stand out, though. Placement and the color of the elements surrounding the logo can make it stand out.
Think About Your Audience
Similarly, you want to think about your audience when designing your business signs. What’s going to stand out to them? If you’re marketing toys, you want to appeal to the children. You’ll want to use bright colors and focus more on images than on text. If you’re selling technology, you may want to highlight brands or features because that’s what buyers are likely looking for.
For services, you want to make certain your signs clearly indicate what you offer in a manner that’s easy to read and understand. For example, if you offer medical services, the caduceus symbol featuring a stall with wings and a spiral is known as the symbol of medicine. Including it on your sign will immediately tell people you’re in healthcare. Likewise, a dentist’s sign that features a tooth or a mouth will convey what you do without the need for a lot of text.
To determine what colors, fonts, and images to use, think of yourself as a customer. What signage would attract you? When you’re out shopping for a specific product or service, what signs do you see? What marketing materials do the businesses you work with use? Figuring out what draws you to a company can help you determine how to draw people to your business.
Placement is Important
Design is absolutely important, of course, but the best design in the world won’t get any attention if your custom sign isn’t in the right place. If it’s off in a corner, in a dark area, or somewhere off the beaten path where few people will see it, it’s not going to be very effective at all. You want to carefully consider where to put your signs in order to get the most attention.
The first thing to consider is where your signs are needed. If you’re putting up signs in your business or office, they may be used for both marketing and information. Either way, they should be in the most logical place. For signs advertising specific products, you may want to have one sign outlining the reasons why someone should buy that product near the shelves where you stock it. You may also want signs near the front directing people to that part of the store.
For marketing signs, you want to get your branding in front of as many of the right people as possible. It’s important that you know who the right people are for your product or service. You might put up a custom sign or banner in an area that thousands of people pass by every day, but if none of these people are interested in what you’re offering, you’re not going to boost your customer base. You need to be sure your signs are in the right place. This requires a little market research and a bit of trial and error.
Don’t be afraid to move signs around if you don’t think they’re getting the attention you want them to get. You might want to experiment with placement or, in some cases, move the sign intentionally around. For example, sidewalk signs can get more attention if you move them from place to place each day. Other signs, especially informational ones, likely need to stay in the same place.
Size Matters
Small signs may take up less space and be less costly due to the use of fewer materials, but they don’t always catch the attention of people. It’s easy to overlook a sign the size of a standard piece of paper. Even signs that are a little larger can get lost, especially if you have a lot of colors or other things hanging on the wall, in your store windows, or in other locations.
On the other hand, giant signs may also not always be that effective. Large banners take up a lot of space, and they can look awkward in tight spaces. They may also not stand out like you’d like them to. Be sure to step back and take a look at your sign after you hang it. If it doesn’t stand out from the background, it’s probably not going to get the attention you want it to. Large signs can blend in, even though they’re very large.
You also need to think about where the reader is going to be in relation to the sign. If your sign is fairly small, it’s not going to be easy to read from far away. You want to be sure the text on each sign is legible, so keep that in mind when considering where people will be standing. Signs in the aisle or near products can be on the small side because people will be closer, but signs in your store windows designed to attract potential customers need to be fairly large.
Understand White Space
White space or negative space is just as important as images, text, and other elements on a sign. There is a science to using white space around an object to make it stand out more. Putting signs right up against other items, even doorframes, can stop them from standing out as well. A wall full of large signs with little to no space between them tends to become a noisy background. White space and the right size help direct the eye.
Likewise, you should also apply the principles of white space to the signs themselves. A sign that’s crowded with different graphics and text isn’t going to be easy to read. People may not even notice the sign because it will be so crowded nothing will stand out. That’s not to say that your sign should be the only thing on the wall. Just don’t crowd it. On the other hand, a small sign with a lot of blank space around it can also get lost. Sometimes it can help to tape pieces of paper together as a template and hang it on the wall. If it looks too small, you can increase the size of the sign before it’s printed.
TNT Signs is Here for All Your Custom Sign Needs
Whether you need a single custom sign or several signs, banners, stickers, and other marketing materials, TNT Signs is here for you. Our team is ready to print and even install a wide range of custom signs. We’ll even help you design them. We have expert designers on our team who can work with you to create the signs you need. We can take your finished design and print it as-is, create a design for your ideas, or help you finish a design you’ve started. Our goal is to create the perfect signs for you, no matter what it takes.
We use high-quality materials and inks in every one of our signs and other products, so you don’t have to worry about them fading or falling apart after only a few months. We take great pride in our work, and we know you’re relying on our products to attract attention and bring in new customers. If you have questions or want to learn more, give us a call today at 707-528-8523.