Simple Strategies for Effective Sign Use
Spectrum Signs is here to help you navigate the tricky waters of designing and implementing new signage for your business. These strategies for effective sign use will help you maximize profits by attracting the attention of new customers.

Pick Compelling Colors
Picking a compelling color can be tricky. The color of your sign should be compelling enough to attract attention without competing with your brand’s color scheme. The colors in your sign should “stand the test of time”. Modern colors and color pallets might be attractive now and make sense for the short term, but, if your sign is being designed to stay up for as long as your business does then those modern colors will eventually be outdated making it look like your business is unaware of current trends. Strong, solid colors normally work best and if you want to explore why color is important for your brand then check out this post.
Contrast for Readability
A dark color on a light background or vice versa would be the best option in almost every situation. Legibility and readability are key when designing your signage. The sign needs to be legible from a distance and often needs to have all of the information on the sign conveyed in a very short amount of time especially if the average viewer is seeing it from their car as they’re driving past it. If your sign is black then all of or most of your text should be white or a bright color that matches your branding and if you have a white background then the best option for legibility would be rich black (if it’s printed) or a very dark color that matches or compliments your branding.
Large Text
While imagery and colors are definitely important and can help convey emotion and personality the best thing you can do for your signage is have large text. All the color and imagery in the world won’t convey that you have a sale going on from this week to next week. Whatever your main focus is, make sure that it’s the biggest thing on the sign. Consider the hierarchy of information of what’s going on your sign. If the information being displayed is a sale going on for your business and you sell red coats then the biggest thing on that sign is going to be the dates of the sale with some text mentioning you have a sale going on, followed by your business name and logo, and then somewhere else on the sign will be that you sell red coats, which, for this example isn’t necessarily part of the sale, though does directly relate to the business. Consider what information is most important to your customer and make sure that’s conveyed in just a few seconds.
Placement of Signage
Where you place your signage can make all the difference in the world. Your beautifully designed sign with compelling colors, high contrast, and large text is useless if no one can see it. Consider placing smaller informational signs, such as wayfinding signs and POP signage, at eye level and your larger exterior building signs should be in an area that faces the most foot or vehicle traffic. Consider natural elements like trees and foliage where applicable. If your placing your signage in the winter months and the foliage around you is bare, come spring time you might start to notice that nature is covering up your signage. Interior sale signage should have a clear sightline with minimal clutter to help make the message clear.
While there are many factors to take into consideration when designing and implementing your signage Spectrum Signs makes it easy by offering intelligent design by our creative design staff and professional installation by our 3M certified installers. Get in touch with us today to find out how we can simplify the sign making process to give you better results and maximize your ROI.

Spectrum Signs is here to help you navigate the tricky waters of designing and implementing new signage for your business. These strategies for effective sign use will help you maximize profits by attracting the attention of new customers.
Pick a Compelling Color
Picking a compelling color can be tricky. The color of your sign should be compelling enough to attract attention without competing with your brand’s color scheme. The colors in your sign should “stand the test of time”. Modern colors and color pallets might be attractive now and make sense for the short term, but, if your sign is being designed to stay up for as long as your business does then those modern colors will eventually be outdated making it look like your business is unaware of current trends. Strong, solid colors normally work best and if you want to explore why color is important for your brand then check out this post here.
Utilize Contrast for Readability
A dark color on a light background or vice versa would be the best option in almost every situation. Legibility and readability are key when designing your signage. The sign needs to be legible from a distance and often needs to have all of the information on the sign conveyed in a very short amount of time especially if the average viewer is seeing it from their car as they’re driving past it. If your sign is black then all of or most of your text should be white or a bright color that matches your branding and if you have a white background then the best option for legibility would be rich black (if it’s printed) or a very dark color that matches or compliments your branding.
Large Text
While imagery and colors are definitely important and can help convey emotion and personality the best thing you can do for your signage is have large text. All the color and imagery in the world won’t convey that you have a sale going on from this week to next week. Whatever your main focus is, make sure that it’s the biggest thing on the sign. Consider the hierarchy of information of what’s going on your sign. If the information being displayed is a sale going on for your business and you sell red coats then the biggest thing on that sign is going to be the dates of the sale with some text mentioning you have a sale going on, followed by your business name and logo, and then somewhere else on the sign will be that you sell red coats, which, for this example isn’t necessarily part of the sale, though does directly relate to the business. Consider what information is most important to your customer and make sure that’s conveyed in just a few seconds.
Placement of Signage
Where you place your signage can make all the difference in the world. Your beautifully designed sign with compelling colors, high contrast, and large text is useless if no one can see it. Consider placing smaller informational signs, such as wayfinding signs and POP signage, at eye level and your larger exterior building signs should be in an area that faces the most foot or vehicle traffic. Consider natural elements like trees and foliage where applicable. If your placing your signage in the winter months and the foliage around you is bare, come spring time you might start to notice that nature is covering up your signage. Interior sale signage should have a clear sightline with minimal clutter to help make the message clear.

While there are many factors to take into consideration when designing and implementing your signage Spectrum Signs makes it easy by offering intelligent design by our creative design staff and professional installation by our 3M certified installers. Get in touch with us today to find out how we can simplify the sign making process to give you better results and maximize your ROI.