Graphic Artist Not Required!  Tips for Designing Effective Signage on Your Own.

Contrary to popular belief, graphic design is not all about artistic skill. A variety of external factors, including everything from personal taste to raw talent, play a big role in how your design will turn out. Recognizing the importance of these outside influences on the success of the design process, we set out to develop a web site chock full of tools that would allow our customers to confidently create their own designs.

While anyone can dabble in the craft, some people are just better at it than others. If you're one of those less fortunate, not-so-artistic types, not to worry. By following the guidelines we've set forth below, you should have no trouble designing a respectable sign, banner or vehicle layout, no matter your pre-existing artistic ability.

Our first tip is to choose colors that will not blend together and opt for combinations that are easy on the eyes. While red on black is not a very readable choice, if that is what you want, fine. Keep in mind, however, that by choosing tone-on-tone variations you are sacrificing readability. If your potential customers can't easily read your sign, chances are they'll ignore it. Over the long haul, that can result in a significant loss of business. In most cases, the farther away you can read your advertisement the better. Some good color selections are yellow with black, yellow with green, white with any dark color (i.e. blue with white, red with white, etc.). The key is to choose colors that sharply contrast each other so as to leap off the design. If you're still set on using dark combinations, like red on black, consider outlining the edge of your letters in white. This technique allows for separation between the colors and will attract your audience's eye much better.

Next, choose a shape that fits your design's intended concept. For example, if you are designing a sign with long rows of text, then opt for a long rectangular sign to accommodate your lettering. Do not attempt to squeeze it all in on a square sign. Doing so will force you to use smaller letters and will result in a lot of wasted space. The same rule of thumb applies if your intended design requires several short rows of text, one on top of the other. In this instance, opt for a sign shaped to fit your lettering.

A lot of our customers want to put as much information on their sign as possible.  However, don't get carried away with information overload. Give your audience only the details they need and no more. The more you try to squeeze into your design, the more it detracts from the sign's effectiveness. General rule of thumb: If it needs to be said, say it. If not, leave it off.

That said, use as much of the sign's area as possible. This doesn't mean you should get carried away and start adding text or graphics to every square inch of the design. Fill as much of the space in with your text as you can (remember, large letters can be read from a farther distance) then get creative with the remaining free space to make it as attractive and eye-appealing as possible. Keep in mind, your sign should have a good balance of "white space" (blank areas around the words and images) so your customer's can process your message easily.  Cramming text and images into every space possible leads to information overload and your customer's won't get the information they need.

Graphics, colors, borders, shadows, etc., all add their own flavor to your design. Be bold and experiment with a few of these techniques to see what you come up with; you might be pleasantly surprised with the results. We have the ability to create any or all of these enhancements if you wish to incorporate them into your design.

Alignment is also extremely important in a design's overall visual appeal. On our design website, we have tools that can center-, left- or right-align all of your text for you. If the design is meant to be aligned, make sure that it is. If not, make it obvious that the design was purposely misaligned. You don't want your advertisement to appear amateurish. If your design's elements are not in proper alignment, it will show.

Our final piece of do-it-yourself design advice is to examine other designs. Search for some existing designs you like for inspiration. To that end, we add new design templates to our database on a regular basis. Feel free to modify or copy them as you see fit.

If, having reviewed all these design tips, you are still feeling uncomfortable about the prospect of designing your own sign, you can send your request to our customer service staff.  At Sign-A-Rama of North Fort Worth, we have a full-time design team and actually encourage business owners to schedule a time with our Keller location to develop their sign concepts together. While most sign companies charge excessive design fees for signage, we understand the importance of getting a great design along with high levels of customer service. On many occasions, our customers walk in with nothing more than a business card and came away with a design they were thrilled with!

When you are ready for more customers to find you, whether it is with Channel Letters, Banners, Window Graphics, or a fleet of wrapped trucks, Sign-A-Rama of North Fort Worth is here to help you!  We are proud to offer a 15% discount to Keller Chamber of Commerce members along with free estimates, and free local delivery for all your signage needs.  Contact us at 817-741-7446 or visit our website or shop online at www.signarama-nfw.com today!  You can also check out our catalog at www.sarcatalog.com.

     

Bob Williams
Owner/Operator
Sign-A-Rama of North Fort Worth
817-741-7446
817-741-7470 Fax
http://www.signarama-nfw.com