Legibility and Color Combinations Help Make Your Messages Seen

Signs are how a business or establishment conveys its branding to the world and attracts potential customers. Done right, a good sign will project a brand to new heights of visibility and contribute to a bustling business. Done wrong, a bad sign will undermine a brand, diminish people’s confidence in a business or just do nothing to promote it, resulting in tepid or even lessened sales.

How can signs have such an effect?

Because signs send messages, that’s why. Here’s some advice on making a sign that’ll do just that:

A tasteful sign conveys the ideals of the business and those running it – a neat sign suggests that the establishment is run in a likewise orderly fashion. A bold and impressive sign shows that the brand is similarly audacious.

And, most importantly, legible sign can be comprehended by potential customers. The message it has can be understood clearly.

A sign that’s not legible won’t be understood, so onlookers won’t know what a business is about, or they’ll get the wrong impression. A messy sign makes a business seem disorganized. These will turn customers off.

Rule of thumb:letters should have 1 inch in height for every 10 feet of distance (i.e., 3-inch letters are visible from 30 feet away)

When it comes to signs, Legibility is Life

The featured image above displays crucial tips on how to make a sign legible and viable. The rule of thumb is that letters should have 1 inch in height for every 10 feet of distance, so 3-inch letters are visible at a distance of 30 feet.

Other tips include:

• Keep The Copy Simple: Keep things short and to the point. If your banner or poster has text, make sure it’s concise. A long manifesto won’t be easy to read no matter how well designed the sign is.
• The Fewer Fonts the Better: Two fonts max, three is pushing it. The more fonts you use in a sign the messier it’ll look. There’s no need to cram a lot of fonts into a sign or a banner. It’s not a font buffet where you’ll lose out if you miss a few fonts.
• Use Simple Fonts If Possible: Complicated fonts might result in signage that’s hard to read. An informational sign, banner or poster shouldn’t be in complex cursive font.
• Never Use Comic Sans: Never. Or else you’ll be the laughing stock of designers across the land!

Color Combinations to Consider for Your Signage

And there’s color combinations… the image below shows just how they can help make signs legible and visible by contrasting well with each other. It also shows how other blends of colors do the opposite, when the hues, shades or palettes blend into each other and make the whole thing a hard-to-read mess. Bad combinations can also result in garish displays that just hurt the eyes.

Color combos can make or break a sign. Which is why experienced sign makers or branding and marketing specialists have to be in the loop to ensure the best possible results.

The Right Colors for the Right Brand

Should a fast food joint have branding that features cold, tech-y colors?

Do bright, kid’s birthday party-style colors go well with a law firm’s signage?

Would punky black and red signage fit banners meant for a family-oriented event?

No, those don’t work because those aren’t the right colors suited for the brands or the events in question. The appropriate color combinations must be considered when you want to make your message seen. It’s also part of Getting The Colors Right.

So be sure that the sign you are using has colors that go well with your brand and your establishment. If you already have an established color motif, then go ahead and use that for your signage.

Sign Making, More Than Meets The Eye

So there’s more to sign making than is apparent to the layperson. That’s the nature of our trade, dealing with the intersection of visual arts, advertisement and marketing, and product design. It takes years of study and practice to hone sign making skills that’ll produce eye-catching works rather than generic ones.

And that’s what we offer, a crew of talented and dedicated sign makers who will create signs that stand out. So if you’re looking for signage with an impact, that’ll make your brand memorable… then contact us.