Commercial sign design isn’t just about aesthetics; it is “a significant component in a successful retail endeavor,” writes Ellis et al. (2012) in a groundbreaking study jointly commissioned by the International Sign Association and the Sign Users Council of California.

In fact, the results of their study, titled “The Economic Value of On-Premise Signage,” indicate that commercial signs are one of the most powerful known drivers of sales revenue, being “significantly more cost-effective than other types of advertising.”

As part of their research, Ellis et al. (2012) studied the impacts commercial signage had on the sales revenues of 162 businesses in Southern California. At the end of their report, they found that the addition of a single well-designed commercial sign increased sales revenues by 5 to 15 percent, which was “an impact greater than the increases brought on by a larger building, longer hours, or longevity at the location.”

Are your commercial signs performing on par? If you’ve recently added to your on-premise sign system and you’re not seeing these kinds of returns, there may be an issue with your commercial sign design.

1. But don’t worry—the team at TM Signs & Graphics is here to help! Whether you’re about to place your order or you need commercial sign remediation, we have the tools, experience, and training needed to optimize your design.

Read on to learn 3 design tips to stand out and drive more sales, or call (661)-379-6545 to speak directly with a commercial sign design specialist in Bakersfield, CA.

3 Ways To Level-up Your Commercial Sign Design In Bakersfield, CA

1. Define the role of every sign. Cramming your brand name, promotional information, business hours, website URL, and major value propositions onto a single sign might be economical, but it’s not very effective. These cluttered commercial sign designs try to do it all, and they tend to fall flat, in part because they burden the reader with a heavy “cognitive load,” overwhelming your audience with dense blocks of text and multiple graphic elements. And when most people see complicated, overcrowded signs that require real cognitive effort to decipher, they just tune them out.

Instead of trying to squeeze all of your marketing messages onto a single sign, assign each commercial sign design one or two “jobs.” This is what we mean by “defining the role of your sign.” For example, your main storefront sign should only display your brand name and perhaps a logo, in order to facilitate wayfinding and support local branding. Leave the promotional information and business hours for your other on-premise signs.

Applying this simple principle will prevent your commercial sign design from being over cluttered, and it will make your message eminently more readable to passing audiences. If you need help setting a goal for your commercial sign design, just ask the experts in our design department!

1. Strive for consistency. While it is important to differentiate your commercial sign design from your neighbors’, it is equally critical to keep your brand colors, fonts, and voice uniform. In other words, consistency is key in commercial sign design. But why?

As the old saying goes, repetition is the mother of learning. According to a meta-analysis of marketing research by the Journal of Advertising, “multiple exposures to an advertisement increase consumer awareness of the advertising message and facilitate consumer processing of the included information (Schmidt & Eisend, 2015, p. 415). Thus, the more your local audiences are exposed to your brand colors, logo, fonts, and voice, the more likely they are to spot, read, and act upon these messages in the future.

Staying consistent can be complicated, especially if you order from multiple shops, but at TM Signs & Graphics, it’s easy, thanks to the talents of our team and the power of our advanced color-matching technology.

1. Keep the environment in mind. This point is not about eco-friendly practices, although you’ll find plenty of those at our shop; it’s about optimizing your commercial sign design to stand out from the surrounding environment. In most cases, this boils down to creating contrast between your sign and the background, which is just a matter of choosing colors that “clash” with the objects and natural features around it.

For example, if your commercial sign was to be displayed against a concrete wall, you’d want to avoid gray tones with your font—you don’t want to blend in; you want to stand out! Cool grays pair well with cool blues, greens, and light purples, whereas warm grays better complement reds, oranges, and yellows.

Get More Help With Commercial Sign Design In Bakersfield, CA

To learn more about commercial sign design best practices and see some real results in Bakersfield, CA, you can call (661)-379-6545, email [email protected], or fill out our online contact form.

References

Ellis, S., Johnson, R., & Murphy, R. (2012). The economic value of on-premise signage. Sign Users Council of California / International Sign Association.

Schmidt, S. & Eisend, M. (2015). Advertising repetition: A meta-analysis on effective frequency in advertising. Journal of Advertising, 44(4), 415-428.