Design for Business, is my business.

Signs have been shown to be the most cost-effective means of promoting a business. A well-designed sign will promote your business 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. It doesn't ask for benefits or days off. It will make a positive impression on those who see it.

The signs that you choose for your business should be a component of your marketing plan. Give them the same consideration as your other advertising and promotion activities and include them in your budget.

Design your sign with the customer in mind and focus on conveying basic information. When designing a sign, think about your marketing plan, mission statement and objective of your business.

Also, consider the sign's purpose. Its size, position and message will depend on what you want to do. Do you want the sign to direct traffic flow, attract new customers or announce a special event to attract past customers?

FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN DESIGNING A SIGN:

Where is your audience?

If your audience is passing traffic, an exterior sign is a good choice. Pole signs, lighted box signs, channel letters, monument signs and post & panel signs are excellent choices for permanent extenor signage.

Banners, lightweight corrugated plastic are good choices for temporary signs. Post & panel signs on sturdy wood posts are often used to announce a coming business, the construction company or perhaps the financing company at a construction site. Some Realtors use these signs to advertise the availability of commercial properties.

If the target audience is inside or is walking, other types of signs will be better suited to convey the desired message. Signs aimed at a pedestrian audience include window graphics, address panels, small pedestals, A ­frames and other media that are small enough to be near eye level.

Important information you want to communicate?

Signs typically advertise a business name, product or service and phone number or street address.

If a sign is not at your business location, such as graphics on a vehicle or a billboard, it must communicate what your business offers and how a prospect can reach your business.

On-premise signs usually include the business name, but some have opted to promote a product instead. Consult your marketing plan when making this decision.

Don't try to convey too much information on your sign. Stick with a simple message. Resist the temptation to write a complete sales call or to overcome all objections on a Sign.

If the business has a recognizable logo, use it. Logos often incorporate specific fonts or colors that your audience will come to associate with your business. Repeated exposure to your logo helps the audience relate quickly to your message. Once a logo is put into use, it should be used whenever possible.

Resist the temptation to make a good business card into a bad sign. A well-designed business card is very important to convey information to customers and prospects; however, a business card design is not necessarily a good sign design.

While a specific font or color may be quite attractive on a business card, it may not translate well to a sign. A card can be held at arm's length and studied; a sign must be perceived quickly.

A businessperson recently ordered a sign to look like a business card. This person insisted on no adjustment. When the sign was made exactly as ordered, the businessperson was disappointed because the stroke of the letters was much too thin to be read from a distance. The audience for the sign would be driving past and would not be able to quickly perceive the message the sign was intended to convey.

A sign for a business, whether on a vehicle or stationary, should be looked at as an investment in the business. Just a few new-or additional-customers will provide the return on investment.

The size of your sign will be determined by what local codes allow, what your budget allows, what the landlord allows and what needs to be communicated.

The letters on a sign have been shown to have maximum impact when letter height is about one inch for each 10 feet from the sign audience is. Be aware that the speed at which the audience is traveling will affect the ideal letter size.

Ordinances.

Because sign size often is regulated by local code, it's best to find out what is allowable and how much signage may be permitted at your business location-before you set your heart on a scrolling message board with a searchlight.

Your sign supplier can help you with code information. The local sign-regulating agency also will supply this information, sometimes for a small fee .

Be color careful. The data on a sign's impact was developed based on a dark color (red or black) on a white background. The less contrast between colors, the less the visible impact will be. For example, yellow text on a white vehicle or dark red text on a black background will be difficult to read.

Keep your color pallete simple. Too many colors will confuse the eye and distract the audience from your message.

How are decisions regarding signs used for an event made?

The collaboration between signmaker and event planner is key. Effective meeting signage is one of the most overlooked, yet vitally important, tools a meeting planner has. As early as possible in the planning process, engage the help of your signmaker. Although tentative, try to approximate the number and types of signs required.

Do you require banners and A-frames to advertise in advance of the event date? If so, these require completion first. But even before the A-frame is placed outside the venue, or the banner is hung on the building, check with the city-zoning department for required permits. Also, check with your meeting venue for assistance, and costs, for hanging signage on the interior or exterior of the building.

Your next step is to supply the signmaker with as much copy and artwork as possible so they can prepare layouts and designs for the completed signage. Review all of the layouts as they are prepared. Verify that the meeting times and location are accurately input, that unusual words are spelled correctly, and all of the sponsors' logos are included. Starting the sign process early helps your sign vendor keep up with the unavoidable last minute changes.

Getting People From Here To There.

How often have you been at an event and wondered where a specific meeting was to be held, but you could not find a sign directing you there?

Often order additional signage to make sure people can find their way around. We almost always assume people are going to need lots of help getting from place to place.

Consider this.

With the invention of signage software and hi-tech output, sign making is as technically advanced as any print product. Full-color output is not only possible, it is commonly requested. To make the most of color, consider the images you'll use. They're great photographs, but you can't expect a low resolution picture to be enhanced through enlargement. Request high quality artwork from your meeting sponsors.

Does your composition leave space for text that can be read from several feet away? Are your colors high contrast for quick recognition of key words? Is the text in high enough contrast with the background to be easily read from several feet or more!

How much text are you using?

Remember, less is more with signage. Key words are just that, a few words that draw attention or provide vital information and move people in the right direction.

When organizing an event, consider your use of graphics and logos. What works on a piece of paper does not necessarily work when enlarged a hundred-fold for use as a sign. Now consider your fonts: Are they readable from a distance? For instance, Garamond is a lovely print font, but its delicate serifs and narrow strokes are ineffective on a banner that requires visibility from the highway one-quarter mile away.

Signs are ubiquitous. They're on our roads, buildings, and vehicles. They guide our way, promote businesses and impart information. We can't live without them and yet, they are often a meeting necessity that is considered on or at the last minute.

Mo. Morris is a Broadcaster, Film maker, Exhibiting Artist, Writer, Illustrator and Cartoonist.

www.morrisartworks.com

www.blindmelonhead.blogspot.com