Signs of Success^®

Excellent sign design is crucial to attracting customers to your business. From choosing suitable materials to optimizing readability and incorporating branding elements, we will cover the key factors contributing to effective signage design. Additionally, we will explore strategies for effectively communicating your vision to your sign company, to ensure alignment and clarity throughout the development process. Whether revamping existing signage or creating something entirely new, our mission is to equip you with the knowledge and tools needed to navigate the signage design journey confidently.

1. Research

When designing your company’s signage, it is crucial to consider all of the signs, exterior and interior, that you will need to keep your business running at optimum levels. Your sign project plan should start with a survey of the signage you need. When creating new signs, updating existing signs, or rebranding your signs, you must research how effective your current signage is in terms of visibility and clarity and carefully consider proposed updates and where your new signage should be placed.

2. The types of signs businesses need include:

• Exterior building or standalone signage 
• Exterior wayfinding and regulatory signage
• Interior signage for lobby or reception areas
• Interior wayfinding signage
• Safety signs and regulatory signs
• Accessibility signage 

All of these signs should reflect your brand’s image, with cohesive branding that helps customers, staff, and others easily navigate your building or campus. 

You will likely want to enlist a trusted sign company, such as YESCO, to perform a brand audit to determine the number and type of signs you want to replace and to determine where you might need to add signs, if the area around When approaching an initial signage project for your company, starting with your exterior signage is a good idea. 

3. Sign design

Once you have determined where you need signage, good design is essential to standing out from the competition. Your brand may have an in-house art department to create the most effective sign for your business, but if not, you will probably hire a designer or prevail upon the creative services at a reliable sign company, such as YESCO, to help with your sign design. An effective exterior sign design should follow some basic guidelines. 

4. Placement of your exterior signage

While an effective sign involves careful consideration of logos, fonts, and images, other factors, such as readability and traffic patterns, come into play when designing an effective sign. According to the International Sign Association, signs mounted on the front of buildings parallel to a roadway need to be 70% larger than signs mounted perpendicular to roadways for drivers to read in time to make a decision. In terms of speed and sign visibility, the distance your sign can be visible at different speeds has been determined in the table below. For instance, for a speed of 35-40 mph with a lane change, drivers need to be able to read your sign from 550 feet away. 

Minimum Required Legibility Distances in Varying Situations

Speed (MPH)	With Lane Change (in feet)	Without Lane Change (in feet)
25-30	410	155
35-40	550	185
45-50	680	220
55-60	720	265
>65	720	280

 

5. Size and scale of exterior signage

Sign experts, such as YESCO, recommend that the scale of letter size be a minimum of one inch tall per every 25 feet of distance needed for drivers and pedestrians to be able to read your text. Keeping fonts simple and easy to read also factors into the effectiveness of your signage. Lighting can also make a huge difference in your sign’s visibility.

6. Illuminated signage

Illuminated signs add more visibility to your exterior signage, especially at night and during unfavorable weather conditions. LED lighting makes an ideal choice for illuminated signage, depending on your sign and location. An added benefit of illuminated signs is that they always advertise your business, even when you are closed. Signs can be illuminated in a variety of different ways: 

• Bulbs mounted outside of the sign and aimed to shine on your sign’s face
• Internal illumination, such as lightboxes that illuminate the entire face of your sign
• Back-lit signs and signs that illuminate individual channel lettering

If you want your sign’s lighting to match the corporate identity PMS colors for your brand, you should choose a lighting source with a high Color Rendering Index (CRI) rating. Also, read the ISA’s Sign Brightness Recommendations before creating your sign so that your signage stands out but isn’t annoying and doesn’t exceed the brightness limitations in your area. Color choices matter when it comes to lighting. Perhaps this is an excellent place to address the graphic design elements that make for outstanding signage.

7. Graphic design elements

Along with simple, easy-to-read fonts, the design of an effective sign will also focus on color choices, the placement of logos and taglines, and the inclusion of images, such as full-color photography. Including corporate colors in your sign helps promote brand awareness and fosters familiarity with your brand. 

An effective sign design typically focuses on contrasting colors for the background and any text you want to include on your sign in the foreground. When following through with your color scheme in your wayfinding signage, a good rule of thumb suggests that the background of signs should consist of a matte finish with a more reflective finish for text elements. Full-color photography can say more about your brand than words, as people process images more efficiently than we do words. Keeping your sign uncluttered with straightforward messaging is crucial to boosting brand awareness. Effective sign design will make including branding in your signage easier.

8. Wayfinding signage

Proper wayfinding signage is necessary and appreciated to help your customers, vendors, and other visitors navigate your parking areas and easily find their way to their destinations inside your business. 

To determine where you need additional exterior signage to keep traffic flowing smoothly, start with the intersections in your parking areas. While your branded signage will help visitors make fast decisions, regulatory signage, such as speed limit, accessibility parking, and crosswalk indicators, should comply with local and state guidelines. Sign companies, such as YESCO, can help you with the requirements and locations for traffic, safety, and regulatory signage. Your interior signage should reinforce your branding design.

9. Cohesive interior signage reinforces your brand

The lobbies of many businesses may act as the first contact for many of your clients, patients, and vendors. Using a corporate design element, such as your logo as an artistic element, can make a powerful statement about your brand. Carrying your design throughout your business, reflected in wayfinding signs and location signage, can enhance your brand awareness, put people at ease, and reduce the stress involved when navigating uncharted territories. Branded directional signage should be as clear and direct as possible, especially at intersections where too many arrows and information can be confusing and misleading.

10. Effective communication strategies with your sign company

Effective communication with your sign company is essential to ensure that your signage projects meet your expectations and deadlines. Before you meet with your sign company for a consultation on your project, you should be able to articulate clearly your vision, objectives and any specific design elements you want to include in your sign design. Come prepared with information about your brand’s identity, target audience, and messaging for your sign. Set up a schedule to view mockups of your signs, carving out time to make informed decisions. Maintain a consistent dialogue with your sign project manager to check progress, address any concerns that arise about your sign design, and make sure your sign project aligns with your goals and objectives.

With more than a century of experience in designing and producing high-quality signage, YESCO is well-versed in helping you achieve your design goals and choosing the correct sizes, materials, and color palettes to ensure your signs grab consumers’ attention. Our sign pros at YESCO make a point to stay current with the latest trends and innovations on the market so that your message remains relevant and rises above the competition in today’s competitive marketplace. Contact YESCO to learn how we can help you with your sign project!