How hard can designing a storefront sign for your business be? It can actually be more complicated than you might think.
We always recommend professional design help for branding tasks like this, but if youโre set on having a friend or family member create your signโor creating it yourselfโhere’s some tips thatโll ensure you create a great sign that accurately represents your business.
Branding
If you already have an established brand style guide for your business. Use those branding essentials for your new sign, including colors, fonts, and moreโitโs an easy choice.
But if putting together your storefront sign is the first time youโre thinking about branding, youโll probably want to take the time to develop your brand style guide nowโbefore you purchase a sign. What if you invest in a lighted sign, and then it turns out to lock you into fonts, colors, or slogans that donโt work in the long term? If you use a script-based font and the Jโs look like Gโs, people may be confused as to what your text even says.ย Thinking about your branding beforehand will give you a chance to work out any of those problems before they’re “set in stone.”
If the sign really is the first thing you needโbefore your brandingโconsider purchasing a temporary sign, such as a banner, that will serve until you can invest in proper brand development.
Sizing and Location
Believe it or not, but bigger isnโt necessarily always better for a storefront sign.
You donโt want your sign to be so large that it overshadows the storefront itself. On the other hand, you donโt want it to be so small that customers donโt notice it. And you want it to be in a place where it catches the eye.
So test out your signs virtually. You can do this by using Photoshop (or a different program) to superimpose different-sized signs on your storefront and try out different styles and locations for your sign. Above the door? In the window? On an awning?
Be sure to look at it from many different angles so you can choose the perfect size and location. A storefront sign is an investment and is integral to your business presence. You donโt want to make the wrong call.
Legibility
Make sure your sign is legible. This means your customers should still be able to read your business name whether theyโre across the street or in a moving carโyou might also want them to be able to read your slogan.
Increase the legibility of your sign by making sure your brand font is properly sized for readability. DGI recommends that you have at least an inch for every 10 feet of viewing distance. This means that storefront lettering should be between 8-12 inches. You can also make sure to leave plenty of space between words and imagery. You donโt want things to squish together from far away.
Unless you have great brand recognition, you wonโt want to use a logo-only sign. McDonaldโs can get away with golden arches, but you are not Mcdonaldโs.
Contrast
Your branding style guide will have a number of brand colorsโprobably between four and sixโto choose from. Youโll likely have a main color and some contrasting or accent colors.
When it comes to choosing which colors to use on your sign, use plenty of contrast.
You wonโt want something like yellow text on a white background. This could be difficult to read even close up.
Instead, choose complementary colors like a nice teal against orange to make your text eye-catching and clear.
Information
Make sure your customers can tell what kind of business you run based on your sign. If thereโs doubt or confusion from potential customers then consider reconfiguring your design. And make sure to double- and triple-check your spelling and grammar!
โDouglass and Smytheโ sounds like a law firm, or maybe stockbrokers, or real estate agents. It could be a million things! If youโre a dry cleaner, youโll want to include a logo with text or icons that clarify what you do. Customers arenโt going to wander into a law firm with their laundry, just on the off-chance.
Include enough information so that they can tell what you do, but not so much that it becomes confusing and overwhelming.
Putting together your own storefront sign can be fraught if youโre not a professional designer. You could make choices that negativelyโor positivelyโaffect your business for years. Best to go with the professionals and guarantee a good result. Contact us and weโll enlist our team of experts for a consultation, and weโll design your next storefront sign.
