In this post, the Sign World experts apply more than a century of earned industry expertise to break down what makes good signage. Once we’ve laid the foundation for your sign design dreams, we will get into a brief cost analysis to help you understand the value of signage.
3 Characteristics of Quality Signage
- Compelling imagery. In modern society, people get inundated with signage at every turn. If yours is going to stand out, it’s going to need a little more than words on a high-contrast background. Online researchers have found that users respond much better to ads with images – especially moving ones – and the physical signage world could learn a lot from these virtual behaviors. While you shouldn’t necessarily break the bank on “video billboard” signage, you can achieve many of the same benefits by spending time on quality imagery.
- Concise content. Your sign should be laid out in a way that all of its valuable and instructive information can be absorbed at a glance. As a general rule, if it takes more than 2-3 seconds to absorb the important information your sign is trying to convey, you’re being too verbose. Obviously, this rule changes depending on context: a sign giving detailed directions or promotional information will be written differently than one meant to catch a motorist’s eye as they whip by on the highway. Still, though, concise content is always the most effective. Besides, the less words you need, the more space and color you can dedicate to compelling visuals.
- Prominent placement. Your sign needs to be seen to be effective. Make sure it faces the most active point of foot traffic, and don’t bury it below eye level. If you’re using A-frame signs, consider propping them up slightly to move them nearer to your audience’s eye line. If your sign gives directions to your storefront, be careful not to place it too far away. You may be tempted to do so to attract audiences from further away, but this often backfires, confusing reads with convoluted directions.
Breaking Down the Value of Good Signage – Newspapers Ads versus Signage
Now that you know what makes up quality signage, we can get into a brief cost-analysis. Let’s compare the value of quality signage with that of a newspaper ad:
Newspaper ads are very common advertising options for business owners. Taking out a full page ad in the paper can cost upwards of $5000, and that paper is circulated to 100,000+ readers, depending on the size of your community. If you divide the cost of your ad by the number of readers, you’ll get a cost-per-impression of $0.04-0.05 per set of eyes.
Let’s say that a premium-quality signage service costs you $20,000. This might seem incredibly expensive, until you start crunching numbers. If you choose your business location wisely, you’ll easily get 20,000+ cars driving by your location each day. Now imagine how many impressions you generate in a month. After 4 months of newspaper ads, you’ll have spent just as much as you would on a top-level sign, and will have made hundreds of thousands more impression. Furthermore, your sign does not simply expire after one month. You’ll be able to make impressions for 10-15 years, especially if you take a little time and effort to maintain the quality you paid for.
It doesn’t take a lot of mental muscle to see that good signage has big value for your business. Contact our signage experts to find out how we can help you step up your signage game!
About Signworld
Signworld is a national organization with more than 240 independently owned sign companies, which provide commercial custom signage and graphics. It’s personable, creative, rewarding and ideal for people-oriented individuals who have the desire to learn how to manage a sales and production business. Signworld has been a part of the industry’s profit and fun since 1988. With over 27 years in the business, Signworld has established itself as the leader in the no-royalties and no-rules sign business concept. The ongoing support and training along with state-of-the-art equipment helps leave the competition behind. For more details visit – https://signworld.org/
