![\"What](\"https:\/\/www.speedpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/2-What-Goes-Into-Eye-Catching-Outdoor-Signage.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIt\u2019s simple, right?\u00a0 Create the most engaging, unique, distinguishable, and on-brand representations of your business, print them on a sign and watch as passers-by are drawn into your store like bees to honey.<\/p>\n
Sure, it sounds easy enough on paper.\u00a0 Yet the mere presence of an outdoor sign shouldn\u2019t be confused with the power of an outdoor sign \u2014 a power that, when done right, is vital to connecting with target consumers and shaping brand recall and retention.<\/p>\n
How can you better attract customers with your outdoor signage?\u00a0 More goes into designing successful best outdoor signs than you might think.<\/p>\n
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There is no single, magic formula generating universally successful outdoor signage ideas.<\/p>\n
There is, however, a way to guarantee a more strategic framework when creating your outdoor signs.\u00a0 Conceiving out-of-home advertisements<\/a>, such as signage, using this formula helps revitalize a sign\u2019s purpose and impact.\u00a0 Designed for both form and function, outdoor signs are likely to create strong impressions within target consumers\u2019 minds, planting lead-generating seeds that gradually sprout into loyalty.<\/p>\n Attracting customers with outdoor signage is made more successful \u2014 and more strategic \u2014 with the following guiding questions:<\/p>\n This concept is often referred to as your unique selling proposition (USP).\u00a0 Yes, businesses with clear USPs know what they\u2019re selling and who they\u2019re selling to.\u00a0 But their self-awareness goes one step further, clarifying what problems they simplify or issues they solve for consumers \u2014 plus how they solve them better than anyone else.\u00a0 In short, your USP denotes what your business stands for.\u00a0 Once you understand your USP, you understand your business\u2019 purpose.\u00a0 You now have a lighthouse guiding your outdoor signage decisions.<\/p>\n Create your company\u2019s elevator pitch, a one-to-two sentence explanation of your identity inspired by your USP.\u00a0 Use as few words as possible, concentrating less on perfection or sounding like the best and more on impact and authenticity.\u00a0 Play around with as many drafts as it takes.\u00a0 Again, you\u2019re focusing on purposefulness, on what your organization stands for and seeks to put out into the world \u2014 not on grandiose claims or false, “salesy” slogans.<\/p>\n This might seem hard at first.\u00a0 Yet remember, outdoor signs are still visual media.\u00a0 It\u2019s important to complement any verbal messaging with graphical ones, rounding out authentic identity representations.\u00a0 Plus, stating in words who you are and what you\u2019re about only sticks to a certain point.\u00a0 Creating an image complementary to your company identity gives it an icon to attach your words to.\u00a0 Sign graphics are also likely to become intertwined with your very brand.\u00a0 Just think of Starbucks\u2019 siren, Nike\u2019s swoosh and Apple\u2019s, well, apple.\u00a0 These pictures have become so synonymous with their parent brands, consumers recognize them independent of any words or descriptions.<\/p>\n Decades of research have gone into understanding color psychology, the science of how certain colors elicit specific reactions within viewers.\u00a0 Businesses harness color psychology to pick branded color schemes, selecting colors and shades that trigger a set of emotions they want to be instantaneously and even subconsciously associated with.\u00a0 From playful to authoritative, contemporary to classic, youthful to mature, luxe to price-conscious, colors help convey your company\u2019s \u201cpersonality\u201d \u2014 and therefore your USP.<\/p>\n In the end, your sign still needs to be read.\u00a0 Even the most sublime, eye-catching and noticeable outdoor signage design only goes so far if passers-by can\u2019t make out what it\u2019s saying.\u00a0 Round out your sign strategizing by adopting a branded font \u2014 one that is clear, legible and on-par with your brand\u2019s overall personality.<\/p>\n Congratulations!\u00a0 You\u2019ve mastered the basic understanding behind hyper-strategic, visually compelling, conversion-happy outdoor business signage<\/a>.\u00a0 Continue to learn even more tips and tricks to create your best signs yet.<\/p>\n Three out of four shoppers<\/a> will visit a new store for the first time based on its signage, while many shoppers say a store\u2019s signage is a direct reflection on its product and service quality.\u00a0 Numerous studies from both industry institutions<\/a>\u00a0to public research universities drive this point home \u2014 your organization\u2019s outdoor signs have the power to increase \u2014 and then retain \u2014 store traffic, leading to higher sales.<\/p>\n You\u2019re not alone if statistics like this inspire a revitalization in your business\u2019 signs.\u00a0 Use the following outdoor signage design tips to create your company\u2019s best, most attractive signs to date.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t have to get a Ph.D. in color theory to harness the power of color psychology.<\/p>\n Signs can use one of three established\u00a0color-theory methodologies<\/a>\u00a0to boost professionalism, legibility and their overall, on-brand appearance:<\/p>\n Legible signs follow what\u2019s known as \u201cwriting in headline text,\u201d a process that strips away any unnecessary content.\u00a0 Signs written using a headline text strategy are direct, clear and concise, relaying core information like a company\u2019s name, a USP-related sentence and \u2014 at the most \u2014 a call to action.<\/p>\n Readability also means sign font and lettering size.\u00a0 A good industry rule of thumb is the 10-by-1 rule, which states one inch of letter height can generally be read at a maximum of ten feet away.<\/p>\n Writing readable signs may seem obvious.\u00a0 Yet so often the \u201cobvious\u201d elements of design are the ones that get most overlooked.<\/p>\n Texture provides contrast for outdoor signage, which increases both its readability and general appearance.\u00a0 Signs that include these visual elements also have an easier time distinguishing themselves from the crowd, their detailing allowing them to pop on the street.<\/p>\n Noticeable outdoor signage is unique outdoor signage.\u00a0 Your visual media can\u2019t be entirely unique if it parallels your competitors \u2014 or worse, looks identical to businesses even outside your industry.<\/p>\n Evaluate the outdoor signage of your competitors.\u00a0 Look out for both the types of signs they use as well as their designs and placements.\u00a0 Drive around town if you have to, taking notes on what stands out.\u00a0 The goal is to survey your competitive landscape proactively to avoid the waste \u2014 and embarrassment \u2014 of branded materials that end up being brand-less.<\/p>\n Humor is a powerful means to capture audience attention \u2014 and elicit a positive response. \u00a0Decades of research<\/a>\u00a0maintains that brands using humor effectively forge quicker and more lasting recall rates and social connections with their target audience, using trends of the moment to fuel smarter marketing outcomes.<\/p>\n Humor is subjective though, and highly demographic.\u00a0 Humorous advertising works best when it connects with a targeted audience and plays with conventions, either adding to or spinning off pop culture or other widely-known references.\u00a0 Your signs can playfully connect with passers-by in several ways:<\/p>\n Digital signage<\/a> shakes up the conventional, static signs spotted along the street.\u00a0 Since these signs use screens instead of printed substrates, they are innately brighter and flashier, plus are more readily customizable.\u00a0 Businesses can easily swap and replace the text and images on its digital signs without having to install something new every time branding efforts change.<\/p>\n Digital signs are especially beneficial if your operation changes its products and services frequently.\u00a0 For example, an ice cream parlor could advertise its flavor of the day, a restaurant its weekly menu and a gas station its daily fuel prices and snack specials.<\/p>\n Adding a light source to your signs will turn your outdoor signage into a 24\/7, weatherproof advertising canvas.<\/p>\n Backlit signage<\/a> comes in a few varieties.\u00a0 The most common use LED lights and frames surrounded by a fabric overlay that serves as your sign\u2019s front face.\u00a0 When switched on, your sign illuminates text and graphics from the inside out.\u00a0 The results are enhanced sign aesthetics, clarity and readability, plus one of the easiest ways to stand out from other signs on the street.<\/p>\n Consumers often glean a company’s character or “personality” based on its outdoor signs, making outdoor graphics that much more important.<\/p>\n Researchers believe this success comes down to heuristic cues.\u00a0 Signs with graphics can relay additional, branded information about a business or service.\u00a0 Compared to text-only signs, graphics are language-less and have the potential to be instantly recognizable.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a Goldilocks ideal when it comes to sign height \u2014 too short, and your sign\u2019s visibility and reach will be dramatically reduced.\u00a0 Yet too tall, and you risk decreasing readability and legibility while increasing the complexity of sign installation.<\/p>\n In general, larger signs will capture more attention because they\u2019ll be easier to read, whereas smaller signs won\u2019t be as visible from a distance.\u00a0 However, ensure you\u2019re not placing signs at heights identical to your surrounding competition.\u00a0 Otherwise, you risk getting lost in the landscape.<\/p>\n Your sign\u2019s most appropriate height comes down to two variables \u2014 it\u2019s marketing purpose and the timeline of that purpose.\u00a0 Short-term marketing or advertising initiatives have more height flexibility, whereas long-term branding efforts rely on height for impact.\u00a0 Typically, the longer you intend for a sign will be mounted, the higher you\u2019ll want it installed<\/a>.<\/p>\n Where\u2019s your business most likely to \u201ccatch\u201d its ideal customer?\u00a0 While they walk on the sidewalk?\u00a0 Drive down the road?\u00a0 Is that sidewalk or road directly adjacent to your storefront, meaning customers won\u2019t have to sift through a strip mall or similarly store-busy environment to find you?<\/p>\n Opt to place your outdoor signs where they\u2019ll functionally attract the most customers \u2014 and where those customers will have the easiest time navigating from sign to storefront.\u00a0 It does no one any good if you\u2019re installing large-format branded materials<\/a>\u00a0on the nearby busy road \u2014 and theoretically capturing more attention \u2014 but that road doesn\u2019t allow easy access to you.<\/p>\n Outdoor signage represents your business.\u00a0 It conveys a tone and a personality, as well as what customers can expect when they step foot inside your space.<\/p>\n However, your goal with outdoor signage is still to attract customers.\u00a0 A huge part of successfully doing so involves capturing attention in the first place.\u00a0 What better way to do so than by tactfully surprising viewers?<\/p>\n1. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF YOUR BUSINESS?<\/h3>\n
2. TRANSLATE YOUR PURPOSE INTO ONE SENTENCE<\/h3>\n
3. TRANSLATE THAT SENTENCE INTO AN IMAGE<\/h3>\n
4. PICK AN EMOTIONALLY RELEVANT COLOR SCHEME<\/h3>\n
5. PICK A LEGIBLE FONT<\/h3>\n
HOW CAN I MAKE MY OUTDOOR SIGNAGE MORE NOTICEABLE?<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n1. USE COMPLEMENTARY COLOR SCHEMES<\/h3>\n
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2. PRIORITIZE READABILITY<\/h3>\n
3. DON\u2019T FORGET SIGN DEPTH OR TEXTURE<\/h3>\n
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4. CHECK OUT THE COMPETITION<\/h3>\n
5. MAKE THEM LAUGH<\/h3>\n
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6. GO DIGITAL<\/h3>\n
7. LIGHT IT UP<\/h3>\n
8. ADD GRAPHICS<\/h3>\n
9. REACH FOR THE SKIES \u2014 WITHIN REASON<\/h3>\n
10. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION<\/h3>\n
![\"Location](\"https:\/\/www.speedpro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/4-Location-Location-Location.jpg\")
<\/p>\n11. PLAY WITH EXPECTATIONS<\/h3>\n