How to Design the Perfect Sign for Your Business

It goes without saying, when you’re running a business, people need to know that you’re there before they can buy from you. In the digital world, that means paying attention to your SEO. In the real world, it means having effective signage, which even in an online world still holds its place as a valuable marketing investment.

To help you get started, professional sign makers; Judson Signs, provide their insight and expertise on how your business can design the perfect sign to attract customers, far and wide.

Cover the practicalities first

Remember the design motto that form follows function. Start by checking out what laws will apply to your sign. For example, you’ll need to think about planning permissions for your business sign. You’ll probably also need to think about the Equality Act 2020 and local regulations. Last but definitely not least, you’ll need to think about the practicalities of your location. In particular, if you want a lit sign, then you’ll need a source of power.

It’s advisable to think about the location for your sign first. This will probably have a strong influence over the practical considerations. Ideally, you want your sign to be at the “decision point”. In other words, you want your customer to see the sign, register it and then react to it by walking straight into your business. Placing a sign before or after this point is setting yourself up for missed opportunities.

Keep longevity in mind

A sign isn’t necessarily going to be the most expensive purchase your business could make. It is, however, still likely to be an investment piece. It’s therefore advisable to design it on that basis. Timeless designs may not be quite as eye-catching as “on-trend” ones. They will, however, provide reliable service for a lot longer.

Similarly, it generally helps to have consistency across your branding. If part of your brand identity is continually ringing in the changes, then your best bet may be to go for a very neutral sign. Then create a display around the sign and change that up regularly.

Start your design with size and shape

As a general rule, bigger is better. It gives you more visual real estate to play with. In principle, your choice of shape is only limited by your imagination (and your local council’s rules). In practice, offbeat shapes tend to have clear disadvantages. Firstly, they’re generally more expensive. Secondly, they tend to date very quickly. Thirdly, it can be hard to design content around their limitations.

This means that sticking with regular portrait and landscape formats is likely to be your best option. If your space can support either then try designing a sign in both formats and seeing which you prefer. Portrait formats tend to throw the main subject into focus whereas landscape formats tend to put the main subject in context.

Some businesses may want to keep in mind that signs in portrait format are more ‘Instagrammable’. This is because Instagram is primarily designed for use on mobile devices. These are generally used in portrait mode so that’s what Instagram favours.

Keep legibility front and centre

Signs ought to be functional decor. To be functional, they need to be legible. Legibility depends on two main factors. These are structure and contrast.

Aesthetically, structure means ensuring that the various elements of your sign are distributed appropriately. Generally, you want them to be evenly distributed over your sign rather than all clumped together. You also want there to be a suitable level of blank space (or negative space). Even though your sign is prime visual real estate, you need to resist the temptation to overfill it.

Functionally, structure means deciding what you need on your sign. Technically, if there is space left over, you can fill it with extra elements you’d like to have on your sign. In practice, however, it often makes more sense just to make the key elements bigger. Remember, in the UK, even the days can get very dark, especially in autumn and winter.

Contrast means exactly what it says. Make sure that your elements stand out clearly against their background. You need them to be sharp enough to be read quickly even in the worst of conditions.