Top 10 Signage Mistakes
1. Overcrowding
While we are so often told not to judge a book by it’s cover, people generally do so and your signage is essentially the book cover to your business. This is why it is so important to get your signage right, so here to help is our list of the top 10 signage mistakes you should try to avoid.
It’s so easy to look at the large area available for your signage, be it on a building or a vehicle, and think that you need to fill it with masses of information.
Less really is more, most people will only glance at your signage, everything needs to be concise and to the point!
2. Missing The Basics
At the other end of the scale it’s amazing how many business signs that trade to the public forget to include what it is that they actually do/sell on their signage. Your name might already include this, but if it doesn’t make sure to include a simple and short tag line so everyone knows what you do.
3. Overlooking The Surroundings
Don’t forget to consider anything that is likely to block the view of your signage.
This might be something permanent (like a lamppost) that you could easily design around, something temporary that needs a certain consideration (such as the likelihood of vehicles parking in front of your sign) or even possibly moving parts on your vehicle (such as sliding doors) that might change the wording of your livery in unfortunate ways.
4. Daylight
If your busiest hours are in the evenings (e.g restaurants/bars) then making sure you’ve included good lighting for your sign is essential.
As daylight hours are shorter in the winter you’ll need to make sure you consider this even if it seems fine during the summer months when the signage first goes up.
5. Seasonal Changes
Changing seasons can cause other problems you might not have considered, if there are trees around your signage are they likely to cause an obstruction in the spring/summer that you can’t see while putting up signs in the autumn/winter?
6. Low Cost Is Not The Best Value
While there are some effect ways of managing the budget of your signage it’s always best to remember that the cheapest price is not necessarily going to represent the best value.
Cutting costs on materials could lead to needing to replace signage more frequently, costing more in the long run.
7. Visible Fixings
The average passerby might not notice a couple of screws showing, but when you consider how cheap screw caps are it will make signage look cheap if basics like uncovered fixings haven’t been considered.
8. Spelling Mistakes
Remember it is always your responsibility to check, double check and triple check your proof to weed out any spelling mistakes.
We live in a world of spell checker and auto-correct, but most design software doesn’t automatically check spellings so it is especially important when checking proofs to make spell checking a top priority.
9. Upkeep
For the most part, signage requires little in the way of regular cleaning etc, however if something does start to look off ignoring it will have a major impact on the appearance of your business.
Mending wonky letters, replacing damaged vinyl or even just given your signage a spring clean will make sure your customers know that you care about attention to detail.
10. DDIY (Don’t Do It Yourself)
Making your own signage might seem like a good way to save some money, and while some people might have the necessary skills and materials to do so, most people won’t have both.
That great saving can quickly become false economy if your signage starts to warp in the sun, colours get washed out or even worse starts to fall down.
It’s always worth remembering that your signage is going to be one of the first things potential customers judge your business on, so getting the help of a professional will always pay off in the long run.
