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Nowhere does the phrase dog-eat-dog apply more than in a mall or on the high street.
In order to attract customers to your shop, you need to have an awesome location, a great shop front, and, more importantly, a striking and unique shop sign. Unless you have any experience in marketing, logo, or graphic design, that last bit can be quite tricky to pull off!
There are some basics to check for when creating a shop sign, and this article will help you to spot whether or not your shop sign is good enough to pull in customers. So, enjoy!
Creative Colors
OK, so if you have ever studied graphic design, you may have spent an abnormally long period looking at the impact the colors play on a piece of work. Just a tip to start with; the worst color for any logo or sign is pale blue. It’s dull!
The color will make your shop signage stand out and so aim for a color that reflects your shop’s identity or your corporate image. Red signs are associated with power or being bold, greens are seen as more naturally focused, yellows are more kid-friendly, and darker blues are seen as authoritative. So, do your own research, and have fun!
Contrast
Now, a shop sign will have letters on it (usually the name of the shop), and you will need to think about contrast.
The letters need to be bold, to the point, and not blend in with the background color. After all, you want people to be able to read your shop sign! This can, once again, be tricky, and this is why it is always useful to have a design team to hand at this stage in creating a shop front.
Font
The font can make your shop seem more professional, more playful, more serious, or more formal. Imagine you walked past a shop that was labeled ‘Rob’s House Of Lights,’ but the font was very swirly and on a black background with gold writing. You would assume that those lights were pricier solely based on the font.
So, aim for a high-impact font that will be noticed from a distance and, most importantly, keep it simple!
Match It
This is where branding comes into play.
If you have a shop sign that does not match the other signs in your store, your branding will be lost. So, when you have gotten your shop sign to stand out, you can further emphasize this by ensuring that the other signs in the shop or the window also match it perfectly. Otherwise, your shop will look lower-end, and you will be less likely to attract customers.
Lighting
If your shop is open past 4 pm in the winter, you won’t want your sign to fade into the background. One way you can keep it spottable at a distance is to invest in lighting. This can be placed under the sign, over it, or next to it. As long as the name of the shop is highlighted, it will be seen and will showcase that you are still open.
