Business signages need to be clear, attractive, and memorable. They can bring more traffic and increase brand awareness. However, businesses often make some mistakes that make the signs a failure. It can be the wrong choice of colour, font, spacing, materials, or installation. They create signage visibility and message clarity issues. Avoiding them is crucial to get a higher return on investment. Ensure proper lighting and durability, maintain visual hierarchy and colour theory to solve signage readability problems. You will get more attention, traffic, and sales.
10 Common Signage Mistakes You Need to Avoid
It’s not enough to know the mistakes. You have to be aware to avoid them to experience maximum benefits from business signage.
Not Having A Strategy
A signage campaign needs to start with a proper plan. Set your goals and what you want to achieve. This will help you stay focused on the goal and make effective signage strategies to achieve them. Many brands often don’t have a plan. They just make a few signage and place them here and there. This fails to draw attention and bring in profit. Therefore, you should make a proper strategy first that will include:
- Number of signage needed
- Their location and placement
- A consistent colour combination that matches the brand’s personality
- The size of the signage according to different places
- Making a balance between digital and traditional signage
Poor Choice of Colour
The colour combination is a vital part of business signs. Poor choice leads to poor sign design. For example, red text on a green background can be hard to read for people with colour blindness. Plus, it causes discomfort even to healthy eyes. Another example can be light grey text on a white background. This will affect readability, and the message will be unclear.
Signage colour contrast is important to solve this problem. Choose two contrasting primary colours so that the text is visible. You should also avoid highly saturated colours as they cause visual discomfort, according to researchers.
Improper Spacing on the Signs
Space is essential in business signs. They allow some breathing space for the audience. The lack of space makes the sign difficult to grasp or understand. However, too many spaces are not ideal either. The blank spot may draw more attention than the original message. Or the message may not appear important. You have to be perfect in maintaining space. A 40/60 rule is commonly followed by experts. This suggests that the text should cover 40% of the space. The rest 60% should be white or blank space. This makes the sign comforting and soothing to the eye.
Font Choice Errors
Choosing the right font is important. The goal should be to make the text easy to read. Business owners often tend to choose cursive and hand-written styles. Though this adds elegance and uniqueness, they are often not easy to read. And your primary focus should be on readability.
To solve this issue, avoid using fancy fonts. Instead, choose the more common ones. Studies show that Serif fonts allow faster reading than other commonly used fonts. So, if you want to add a long message to the sign, you can use this font. Arial, Calibri, Georgia, Times New Roman, etc., are some other font styles with high readability.
Placement and Signage Installation Errors
Placing and installation are crucial for consistent signage branding. If they are not properly installed, they may affect visibility and readability. Plus, it can fall or become damaged. This poses a safety risk and increases cost. Your business reputation will also be at stake. Take professional help for the installation. Here are some signage placement tips:
- Place signs at eye level for better visibility.
- Ensure clear, unobstructed views.
- Use appropriate lighting to increase readability.
- Avoid overly crowded areas to prevent distractions.
- Keep signs consistent with branding.
Wrong Signage Materials Selection
Business signage errors often start with choosing the wrong materials. You must not opt for cheaper materials to save money. It will eventually cost more in the long run. Low-quality materials wear out quickly. This affects durability and appearance. You have to select durable and environment-friendly materials for effective branding and signage.
Overlooking Lighting
Lighting makes your signs more attractive and visible at night. It should be done by experts and experienced people. Common signage lighting problems include the following:
- Overly bright lighting
- Uneven lighting on the sign
- Wrong colour temperature
- Poorly placed light that offers inconsistent illumination, etc.
These digital signage mistakes may affect the delivery of the message. To avoid this, experiment with the lighting to ensure it complements the sign. Make sure the lighting is even from every angle.
Poor Graphic Designs and Size
Graphics are the most important part of a sign. It’s the images or graphics that people notice first. If the graphic design is poor, people won’t stop to notice the sign again. The sign will be lost in the midst of thousands of other signs a passerby sees in Brisbane. You will lose potential customers.
Having good graphics is not good enough, though. It’s important to maintain a visual hierarchy. This makes a sign clearer and better. Make sure the important message gets highlighted. Use easy-to-understand, simple, and creative graphics.
Spelling or Grammar Errors
It presents you as unprofessional. There is no way you can have spelling or grammar issues on a business signage. Yet, many companies make this mistake. People lose their confidence in such companies and may also make fun of them. This will promote negative marketing about your brand and affect your reputation.
You must check the text message numerous times. Take help from different writing tools if needed. Ensure there is not even a single error. This will help you maintain professionalism and credibility.
Not Working with Experienced Professionals
For big or small businesses, you should work with experienced professionals. DIY business logos, signs, and banners often don’t bring results. Professional companies are aware of advanced design theories and regulatory compliances. They will use the right font, space, and elements to avoid cluttered designs. Their service may seem expensive, but they bring in more profit in the long run.
Final Words
Signage represents your brand in and out of the shop. An engaging and well-made sign can make people curious. They may care and share the signs online and do publicity for you. However, you need to avoid the above-mentioned errors for that. Signage 4Business Group guarantees error-free, perfect designs, making, and installation. Our expert designers understand the Brisbane community and know what they like. We can help you with clear, efficient, unique, and more engaging signs for your business.