What Happens When Your Wayfinding Signage Fails
Clear, easy-to-navigate wayfinding signage is crucial for any retail store. They may not be the first thing you think of when setting up a store, but...
4 min read
Well-designed business signage serves a variety of important purposes, including displaying critical information, helping customers find you, and contributing to your branding. However, poorly designed signs can sabotage your well-intentioned efforts. Keep reading to find out what characteristics bad signs have in common and how you can avoid these problems.
5 Characteristics of Poor Business Signage
Bad business signage can have a negative impact on a company's branding and customer engagement. Here are some ways to identify bad business signage and what can be done about it:● Poor Visibility: Bad business signage may be hard to read or see from a distance, due to factors such as small font size, low contrast, or poor placement.
● Inconsistency: Inconsistent branding, such as mismatched font styles, colors, or images can make it difficult for customers to identify a business and can create confusion.
● Lack of Information: Poorly designed signs may not provide enough information or may be too cluttered, making it difficult for customers to understand what is being offered.
● Outdated Design: Using old or low-quality images or graphics, can make a business appear unprofessional.
● Not Compliant With Regulations: Poor business signage may not comply with local or national regulations, such as regulations regarding size, placement, or illumination.
To address bad business signage, the following steps can be taken:
● Conduct an audit of all business signage, both inside and outside of the building to identify any issues.
● Review branding guidelines and ensure that all signage is consistent with the company's branding.
● Consult with a signage expert to determine the most effective design and placement for business signs.
● Ensure that all signage is compliant with local and national regulations.
● Utilize modern sign making technology, such as LED signs, digital displays, and dynamic message signs, to make signs more visible, engaging and informative.
Identifying and addressing bad signage can help improve a business's overall visibility, credibility and professionalism.
Avoiding Top Traits of Poor Signage
Signs that are too "busy" - When a sign is too cluttered and full of information, people often won't take the time to read it all or to find out what the actual important details they need from the sign are. You only have three seconds to capture a person's attention and a cluttered business sign just looks like too much "work" to the average person. They will move on to the next business with clearer signage that is easier to understand.
To fix this, use a professional designer who is experienced in business signage. Remove all but the most important details - the business name, contact info, and how to get more info - ie. website, phone number, and social media profile. Another option to decrease sign clutter is to use a QR code on the sign that contains the information you want to give without cluttering up the sign.
Signs that do not have enough contrast - If a person that is driving by your business sign cannot read it easily, the sign is not helping your business. Combinations that do not give enough contrast between colors make business signs hard to read. For example, white signs with light blue, light pink, or yellow lettering are hard to read. Black signs with brown lettering also would be hard to read.
What can you do about this? Again you could work with a professional graphic designer who understands color theory and how to test the readability of a sign. If you are unsure about the color combinations you want to use, order a sample, or just one side (if budget allows), and test it. View it yourself in different settings and pass by it at different speeds to see if you can read it. Ask others to help you with testing the sign and find out their opinion.
Signs with outdated pictures - If you offer a service, you may have a picture of yourself on your business sign. If that picture is very outdated, customers can feel misled. It can also lead to confusion when you meet them in person. If you have an outdated location picture on your business sign, this will lead to difficulty finding your location for customers.
The fix is easy. Use updated pictures on your business signs.
Poor Design Choices to Avoid When Putting up Business Signs
Your business signage is a key factor when you own a brick and mortar business. It is what helps to create brand awareness, [and] aids your customers in finding you. Some signs of bad signage include it being too dark, illegible, pixilated, not installed properly, and, in general, too small.
When your sign is too dark, it can be tough for a person to read it. You want to use bright or light colors to help attract attention, as well as make it easier for people to [read] both day and night. A sign with lighting is ideal, as it can showcase your sign even when you’re not open which helps greatly with awareness.
When you have a font that is too small or lettering that is difficult to read, you have a bad sign. You need to be able to read the sign from a great distance so you can get passersby interested.
When your sign is too small, or not installed properly, it hinders the ability for the sign to be taken seriously. Always make sure to draft a sign before committing to the size and design so you can ensure it is accurate and well done.
If you end up with bad signage for any of these reasons it’s important to try and rectify them. Putting up a temporary sign until you get a replacement is helpful, so people can still recognize your business for the time being.
Ensure Your Sign is Legible
One way to identify bad business signage is by noting a lack of contrast in the business's sign. Contrast refers to the legibility of the text on the background color of a sign. The text should be easy to read and the contrast between the text and background should be high enough to ensure that the text is easily visible in distance and low-light conditions. Certain color combinations can be problematic, as well as certain fonts. To make sure it's accessible for all, it's recommended to stick to color combinations that work for people with all vision abilities.
This is a crowdsourced article. Contributors' statements do not necessarily reflect the opinion of this website, other people, businesses, or other contributors.
2D Vs. 3D Signs: Which Is Better for Your Business?
Retail signage is everywhere. Whatever your business, you must invest in quality signs to grab attention, help visitors find you, advertise...
What Signage Should I Have for a Start Up Business?
First impressions are critical for a new start-up business without recognizable branding and messaging. Your team will be busy developing a marketing...