Branding is everything when it comes to promoting your business. How someone portrays your name or logo is especially important as you have only a few seconds to grab attention. To make sure your sign has maximum potential, here are eight common mistakes that businesses make with their signs that you want to avoid:
Poor Readability
So often, we see signs where we have to do a double take to see what it says. The goal of a sign is to display a message, so it’s ineffective and honestly a waste of money if potential clients or customers (as well as current ones) can’t immediately read what it says.
Reading a sign up close has different readability than, let’s say, 100 feet away. This is important to consider when designing your sign. Make sure that the text you choose is in a highly readable font and properly spaced.
Serif is a great font to consider when deciding which font to use.
Color Scheme
There are several reasons why the color scheme of a sign is essential. The color of your sign reflects your brand and catches the eye of people passing by. It’s important to incorporate these colors in a cohesive way that is appealing to customers.
Although, color isn’t just for the aesthetic. There is psychological reasoning behind the color you choose for your sign or brand. For example, lighter shades of purple tend to soothe or calm viewers. This is why the color purple is often used for marketing and branding or massage and skin care brands.
Remember to take the time to find the perfect color scheme that matches your brand when designing your sign.
Too much information
Research shows that you now have eight seconds to grab somebody’s attention before they lose interest. Whatever message you are trying to convey must be portrayed as quickly as possible.
Keep words to a minimum. If you are making a sign for a specific event, only put important details like who, what, when, and where. Try to leave out fluff like why the event is happening or the dress code for the event. These are details that can be posted on your website, social media, or other advertisements for the event that the community can refer to.
Remember to keep it short and sweet white providing all the main details.
Wrong materials
You’re probably familiar with the phrase “quality over quantity.” This is especially true when discussing the quality of your sign.
Outdoor signs need to withstand weather like rain, snow, and wind. Wear and tear is also natural and expected for outdoor signs. No matter how creative or stunning the design of your sign is, it doesn’t contribute to its durability.
Make sure to consider a reputable sign shop when starting the process of making your sign.
Neglect
It can be easy to put things off until the last minute. We advise you NOT to do this with your sign!
Neglecting issues with your sign will almost certainly make them worse. Please don’t ignore problems if they arise. This could be costly to fix later rather than in a timely manner.
In some cases, it could even become dangerous. If parts of your sign become loose or unsteady, you want to get that taken care of immediately before something bad happens. Regular maintenance is recommended to keep your signage in top shape.
Bad Location
Strategizing location is extremely important when deciding where to put your sign. You want to make sure that the chances of someone reading your sign are more likely than not. For example, what side of your building is more visible to pedestrians or people driving by? That is where you want to put your sign.
When considering the location of advertising for your company or event, where does your target market frequently visit? Do they live on a specific side of town?
These are all things to consider when planning the location of your sign or advertisement.
Improper installation
It’s common to think that the most important part of this process is creating the design of your sign, but installation is just as necessary.
For your sign to hold up properly against natural elements like weather, it must be installed correctly. Only consider a professional or your sign shop to install the sign. This will ensure the safety of others as well as the effectiveness of your sign.
A properly installed sign (along with being properly made) will guarantee its longevity!
Choosing the wrong signage team
Businesses’ most common mistake with their signs is choosing the wrong sign shop. Make sure to do your research and ask your friends, family, and other companies who they recommend.
We’ve seen many instances where businesses had to redo their sign because they chose to work with the wrong sign shop.
Optima Signs & Graphics offers a wide variety of sign products and services that get your message out to the world in as little as 24 hours. We avoid all of these mistakes as it’s our mission to create high-quality signs and banners that achieve your goals.