Outdoor signs are an important part of a business’ promotional activity. They can help draw customers into the store, provide useful information to them and ultimately influence purchasing decisions. Outdoor signs can come in a wide variety of materials, sizes and colours, all of which will have a direct impact on the benefits experienced from creating the sign. Below are some of the best tips and tricks to help your outdoor signs achieve their full potential and create custom.

Colour Schemes

The colours used on your outdoor signs can really help to attract your audience. As colours have subliminal connotations, people end up associating things with certain colours. For example, red has the connotations of danger, this is reinforced with red lights indicating the need to stop or to look out, as it is not safe to cross the road.

Most recent studies indicate that over 80% of a brand’s recognition is done via colour and colour schemes. This means that your outdoor signs must use the colours associated to your brand’s logo throughout, in keeping with the positive reinforcement to a perspective buyer. Eye catching colours will naturally draw in customer’s attention, but it is important to not over saturate the customer’s eyes. 

Layout

Layout is considered the most important element when creating your outdoor sign. Before starting to design it you should remember that less is more and you need to keep it free from unnecessary clutter. A minimalistic approach to outdoor signs should be taken to keep your audience interested and hopefully wanting to find out more. 

Keep text to a minimum, only including key information that is integral to the purpose of the sign.  A good way to check your layout is to use an online printing service. Printmoz printing offer their clients the ability to see their sign before it is made to check it is presented as they expect it to. 

Fonts

When considering which font to use on your outdoor signs bold is best. You should be considering the more striking fonts, to catch the eyes of your potential clients. The clearer the font is, the easier it is to read for your customer, so try to steer clear of cursive based fonts if possible. Heavy fonts can get lost in the rest of the sign or their shape can be distorted, so if possible, veer away from these too. 

The most favourable fonts for your outdoor sigs would be Helvetica, Sans Serif, Serif and the Display font. This is due to their ability to naturally stand out on a background as compared to other more well known fonts.

Materials

Outdoor signs can come in a myriad of different materials. From fabric, to vinyl, mesh to plastic, all of which are a great choice that should not be overlooked. It is important to opt for a material that can withstand the test of time, harsh weather and be created at a reasonable price. You should use your common sense with this one. For example, you would not invest in a fabric sign if you hope to house it outside your store in wet and windy conditions.

The material you use to create your outdoor sign should be durable; you would hope to use these signs for many months or even years. Investing in cheap or unsuitable material for your climate could drain funds and leave a negative connotation of your business or brand if it looks dishevelled. 

Size

The overall visibility of your outdoor sign is extremely important when hoping to attract your target audience. The sign should allow your audience the opportunity to understand what your product or service does or what you are offering in store. Naturally you don’t get a long period to influence this decision, most customers will spend seconds looking at your sign. If it does not influence them into coming in store, or going online afterwards to see what your brand or company can do for them, it is pointless.

The size of your sign can depend on budget, space and the need to captivate your audience. Some brands showcase their print promos on large billboards with very little details to increase interest into their offering, giving just enough to make customers do the digging. Others use smaller, more business-focused information on their outdoor signs. In this case bigger is not always better. 

Conclusion

The five tips to helping you create great outdoor signs are a good starting point for any business or brand hoping to use them. Outdoor signs can really influence the footfall in your stores and online shop, if they are created correctly. Keep in mind the importance of these design-based features, along with good product or service research and designs to ensure your audience are happy and interested in your business for years to come.