The purpose of any sign is to put your brand and logo into the minds of your customers. When we go to the grocery store, we buy products that we know for the most part. The reason why we feel that we “know” a particular brand of cereal, for example, is because we have not only bought that brand before and we know we like it, but also we have seen the advertisements for that brand over and over. Most customers shop this way. They stick to what they know. The trick for businesses is to make customers feel like they know a brand before they buy the product. Small businesses especially have to master this trick, because if they want to expand, they will need more than only a few loyal customers. Customers get to know products before they buy them through effective advertising, and one of the most cost-effective ways to advertise is with a well-designed sign. Here are the first three things to remember when you create a sign for your business:
- Stick to the basics. The basic elements of an effective sign are: your logo, the name of your business, what you do, and where/how to find your business. Big companies don’t have to do this, because their products are ubiquitous. Your products aren’t, at least not yet. In order to put more people in your store, they need to recognize who you are, what you do, and where you are.
- Simplicity is king. Your sign should have a clearly defined focal point, an area of the sign that people will see within a microsecond of looking. Too much clutter on the sign and people won’t know instinctively where to look. If they don’t know what stood out most about your sign, nothing will stand out at all.
- Color doesn’t hurt. Your sign should be simple and have all the pertinent information you can put on it, but that doesn’t mean it should be drab. Bright colors are a great way to catch eyes. You only need a microsecond of a potential customer’s time to glance at your sign.
These are just the starting components. The most effective signs are those that take these basic tips and build off of them.
