Strategic signage is a fantastic method of promoting your business. But signage is also used to announce sales, discounts, and special events. Small business owners on a budget often depend on their skills to design their signs. The design can make or break the impact of your signage. A conscientious entrepreneur understands that properly designed signage evokes emotion and action.

Why a Great Design is Important For Your Business

People identify designs and colors that represent a brand. For example, the red bulls-eye logo used for Target is famous, and consumers know what to look for when driving. Eye-catching signage draws people in, and then your products do their job of selling. Knowing the most important aspects of custom sign printing is essential to marketing and advertising your business.

Understanding the Elements of Design

There are some tried and true elements of design that apply to nearly every area of marketing. This is because a well-thought-out, quality design sends a message that sticks with the consumer. Professional designers use the seven primary elements of design:

1. Color - We all know that specific colors establish a mood. Like orange or yellow, colors in the red spectrum are warm and sometimes perceived as hostile. Blue hues are typically associated with a feeling of calmness. Designers use the color wheel to mix and combine colors to evoke light, depth, point of view, and mood.
2. Lines - Straight, horizontal, and vertical lines in a design draw the eye to where the artist wants the viewer to look first and most often. Conversely, curvy or dotted lines produce texture.
3. Value - Weight is attributed to the lightness or darkness of a color. Drawing teachers often start with a sketch of a ball and include where to add shadows and highlights on and around it. This exercise helps us understand the value.
4. Space - Allowing for enough white space or negative space in a design is a significant part of its success. This is the space around the image. Positive space is the space that the focal point takes up.
5. Shape - Shapes are two-dimensional but are made to appear 3-D with other elements. There are three types of shapes: abstract (nature), organic (occurs naturally), and geometric (angled and mathematical).
6. Form - Designers use various items such as light, negative space, surrounding objects, contours, and shadows to feature an object on a flat surface.
7. The texture is how an object feels or appears to feel. There are two types of texture: tactile, the actual feel of an object, and visual texture, which is the appearance of texture.

Other Things to Consider

• Colors: Choose an attention-grabbing color for the background combined with a contrasting color for the text. This makes it easy to read and provides a memorable experience for the viewer. Contrasting colors are on the opposite side of the color wheel. For instance, blue and yellow or green and red. A classic choice, though not on the color wheel, is black and white.
• Font: Readable text is the best way to convey your message. Although a cursive font may look prestigious, it may be challenging to read. The best fonts for a sign have 'open counters,' with more space inside the letter. Thin fonts, or especially chunky ones, could be easier to read. For the best clarity, use Helvetica, Futura, and Bondoni. Another component to consider is kerning, how close together your letters are in a word. It is hard to discern what the sign says if they are too tight or too far apart.
• Size - A sign needs to be large enough to be seen and hold the font size you choose without crowding. Font size is determined easily by the simple calculation: the number of feet away from reading divided by 10 equals the font size to use. An example is 200 feet away divided by 10 = 20-inch letters for ultimate readability.

How to Select a Great Design For Custom Sign Printing

While the elements of design are an excellent place to start, it is helpful to consider these general ideas:

• Use precise, concise wording to present your information. Sometimes less is more!
• Keep your design clutter-free. White space is vital for every design.
• Choose an intuitive design. Make it easy for your viewers to understand your message.
• Great designs are only great if they are in alignment with your brand. Remember, brand consistency helps people remember you!
• Analyze the experience. How does it make you feel to look at your sign? If it works for you, then it should work for others.

Where Can I Get the Best Eco-Friendly Custom Sign Printing?

What is better than quality custom sign printing? Eco-friendly customer sign printing! At EnvironPrint, we aim to utilize environmentally friendly processes to produce the best products in the industry. Our equipment, processes, and technology are all focused on reducing our carbon footprint so that future generations won't suffer the consequences.

In December 2021, we joined Greenspark. This organization keeps us working toward positively impacting our world. Through collecting plastic, planting trees, and offsetting our CO2 use, EnvironPrint is partnering to improve global warming. We are also participating in several environmental improvement projects. To read more, check out our Greenspark page.

EnvironPrint also offers low-quantity orders. We do this because we know what it's like to be a small company, so if you need one or need 20 or more, we are here to serve you!

When it comes to fast turnaround, EnvironPrint takes first place! Our customer service ensures that your order is ready on time and done right the first time! Let us help with all of your printing needs.