Sign Language

Have you ever driven down the highway and noticed a sign on the side of the road that caught your eye, and as you speed you take a glance at it?

The words or image probably jumped out at you. The same way words jump out at you in a magazine or newspaper. Their is a certain amount of psychology that is developed into that message.

One really strong part is those big words or letters that you see. what is it that catches your eye. And more importantly, when you speed by at 100 mph did you get to read those words? Using typography in the correct way and understanding how people see can really help your business. I have seen so many times, small businesses using tiny hard to read signs on the side of a highway that you just can’t read. It really works in a simple equation of your audiences speed and other distractions as the pass by your sign to the relativity of its size. You will notice large companies have huge signs along the highway with very easy and short messages and a simple image to draw your attention. This is a matter of necessity to have a huge basic message sign, because no one has the time or attention span to remember two paragraphs or information written in 20 pt letter size.

If you can’t afford that huge billboard along the highway, then don’t even waste your time putting up a sign. If you want to test your sign, get someone who has never seen your sign or is unfamiliar with your business and drive them by your sign and get them to read the sign back to you. Get as much info back that you can that they were able to get from the sign as you drive by. You may quickly realize how ineffective that sign is. My best advice is, look at what the large corporations and bigger companies in your city or town are doing and do your best to use their techniques. There is a lot to learn from simply looking and analyzing. Large signs at the side of the highway are also alot higher than you may realize as well. If you have ever walked up to a roadside billboard you will see how high they are off the ground. This is a matter of simple geometry. The farther away something is for you to read, the higher and larger it has to be.

This is also a classic mistake people make when creating Garage Sale signs. Even when you are driving a mere 30-40km/h the majority of signs I have seen are written far too small, with far too much information and are far too low to the ground. I would literally have to stop my car, get out and walk directly up to these signs to read the address and the list of items being sold. IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. Your simple solution is to make your stake two to three times taller and post your sign as high up on it as possible with one word “SALE” with an arrow to the next street intersection that then points to the next intersection. Keep repeating until its your street. You can have your address on their as well, but remember, less is more and large and ledgible will get you results.

Heres some quick tips for all signage: Use large readable text, use a basic message with not too much writing, use clean appropriate graphics, make the sign large enough for the appropriate space and user to read easily and quickly and have a good contrast in your colours or greyscale ad. You also need to have a call to action for your audience so they know what to do and how to do it. After all, this is why you are showing your message.

One last thought. Be creative and have fun with your signs, your audience will appreciate it.