You may have asked yourself if you could create your very own signs and banners without needing to employ the service of a trained specialist. The fact is yes! There are several factors that play a larger role in how your design will look. One of those factors is how much raw talent you actually have for visual design. Another factor is your own personal sense of style and taste. A younger person will have once sense of what’s appropriate, but an older person would be much more conservative.
While just about anybody can easily dabble in graphics, quite a few people are merely far more competent at it. If you’re not artsy, don’t be concerned! You should have no issues whatsoever in designing a very good sign or banner if you just follow a few of our guidelines here.
1. Pick Color palette First. Select colors that look well together by using a color wheel. You can find these at any art store. There are also great websites that show off good color design combinations. Stay away from colors that clash. For example, putting orange letters on a yellow or red background is not a very good choice for a readable sign. Of course, if those are your company colors, then go ahead! But otherwise, there are better and more readable choices. Just remember that by choosing such similar variations you are sacrificing how readable your sign or banner will be. One idea is to consider putting an outline around your letters to help distinguish the border between two close colors. For example, if your text is orange, and the background is red, consider putting a white border around the text to help separate the orange from the red. Your customers probably won’t tell you your sign looks bad. They’ll just ignore it. Obviously, that means you’ll lose business! Generally, the easier it is to read your advertisement from a distance, the better off you are. A great color that stands out well on most backgrounds is the color yellow. Try yellow words on a black background. That will really pop out and be easy to read. The point is to select shades that sharply contrast together.
2. Next, take on the shape of the sign or banner. Focus your attention around the size and shape of the sign and ways in which it might best end up being organized to further improve the message as well as total design plan. By way of example, should your sign will have several rows of copy, then you are best off choosing a rectangle-shaped sign to suit the whole set of words. In the event you employed a square sign, you would have to use smaller letters and plenty of wasted room or space. So, pick a sign shape that makes it easy to fit all your text. One idea to consider is contacting a professional sign company for recommendations and guidance instead of struggling to come up with a design all by yourself.
3. Next, trim the number of words. A serious problem faced by many people who make signs is that they put too much information on the actual sign. Too many words. Too many instructions. Too much information. Give your intended audience just enough information to have the details they need, and then stop there. Really think about what you want your audience to gain from looking at the sign. Is the text and wording most important? Or does a good picture or graphic say more than 100 words ever could? Next time you’re on the highway and pass a billboard, pay attention to how little wording is on the sign. Take a lesson from that and reduce the wording on your own sign design.
4. Next, be sure to use all your available space.: You should balance the amount of white space with the quantity of design elements. You want to fill the majority of the space you have available. Now, I am not saying you need to go overboard and fill each and every square inch of the sign with content! That will be overpowering to look at. It’s easier to read larger letters from farther away, so be sure that the biggest text is on the sign first. Those are the most important elements to consider. Once the text is in place, then you can get creative with the remaining empty space to make the sign more attractive and eye-catching. Extra white space is good. It helps people to focus their attention appropriately on the important elements of the content that remains.
Summary
If you follow these general design tips, you will have a better chance of making a sign that looks good, is a strong representation of your business. Most people who have designed their own signs find it isn’t as hard as they originally thought. Even so, they recognize where their knowledge has its limits and are open to outside help. A professional sign company has access to resources you don’t, such as expert graphic designers, a library of effective designs that have worked for others, and the equipment to make great looking signs. Most professional sign companies want to do a good job because they know you could be a repeat customer or give them a good referral. So, they want to do a good job. Contact your local experts and let them help you create something thrilling and appealing!
Sign companies are all over the place in every city. You should have to problem finding one in your neighborhood. You don’t have to work locally, though. Even if you create Cleveland Ohio Signs, for example, you can usually have the final results shipped to any city, or actually created in a local branch of a franchised store. You might also find these sign design ideas useful. David Caban is a freelance writer based in Ohio.