Save Money By Designing Your Own Signs and Banners

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by: PhillipPfeifferhorn
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Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2011 Time: 12:54 PM
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Possibly you have wondered if you could create your own signs and banners and never have to seek the services of an expert. The fact is yes! There are several factors that play a larger role in how your design will look. One factor that will determine your success is your personal talent. If you don't have much talent for visual design, perhaps you should simply call a professional sign maker. However, if you're able to put text in a box, you can create some simple signs on your own.

Obviously, some people will be more skilled than others with regards to cosmetic graphic design. If you're not creative, don't be concerned! If you follow the recommendations below, you should have absolutely no trouble creating a good sign or banner, regardless of your artistic ability.

1. Edit your information! A serious problem faced by many people who make signs is that they put too much information on the actual sign. Too many words. Too many instructions. Too much information. Give your intended audience just enough information to have the details they need, and then stop there. You will destroy the effectiveness of your sign the more you try to overload it with text and graphics. Keep it simple. Eliminate anything that doesn't address the main point in your sign, and put in just enough information to make your point. That will keep your design more interesting to look at overall.

2. Colors: Pick colors that don't blend and lean towards combinations which happen to have very good eye appeal. For example, putting yellow letters on a white background is not a very good choice for a readable sign. Of course, if those are your company colors, then go ahead! But otherwise, there are better and more readable choices. Just be aware that if you select colors which are so closely lined up, you risk making your sign thoroughly unreadable. You can separate color with borders, and often that proves effective. For example, if you have grey letters on a white background, consider putting a dark border (perhaps blue) around the lettering so it pops out from the background and is easier to read. Something you may never learn from your potential customers is that if they can't easily read your sign, they are probably going to be ignoring it. Over the long haul, that can result in a significant loss of business. A decent rule of thumb for the effectiveness of your sign colors is that if you can read the text from a distance, you're in fine shape. The specific distance will change depending on the measurements of the sign. A good choice for signs is the color yellow. Try black words on a yellow background. That will be very easy to read and quite dramatic. Don't be afraid of using the color white. Combine white with just about any dark color and you'll have a sign that is easy to read from a distance. Green text on a white background looks great and is easy to read. Again, think about using a color wheel so that you can select colors which combine very well.

3. Third, use the available space, but don't crowd your information.: Take advantage of the space you have available for your use. Pay attention to simply how much space you will need to properly balance your copy and images. You want some white space remaining as "breathing room". Simply make sure your text can fit, remembering that it's easier to read large letters from a distance. After you have the key text elements in place, add your other design elements like graphics and borders. This is where you can have the freedom to get a bit creative and make the sign more interesting to look at by your intended audience. Extra white space is good. It helps your audience to focus their attention appropriately on the important elements of the content that remains.

4. Shapes: You want to select a shape for the sign that fits with the over-all style and design idea. Square and rectangular signs tend to be the more widely used, although oblong signs are widely used choices, as well. In the instance that you have more than simply a few words of copy, you'll want to opt for a rectangle-shaped sign as opposed to oval or square. In the event you used a square sign, you would need to use more compact characters and plenty of squandered room or space. The most popular choices for signs tends to be rectangular, followed by oval signs. Of course, just because it's popular doesn't mean it's right for your particular application. You should also consider getting ahold of a local sign professional for more guidance on what is appropriate for your particular application.

5. Add Artwork: You'll be able to bring your sign design and style to a completely new measure of effectiveness just by adding extra features along the lines of edges, paintings, photographs and many more colors. These parts will help the sign stick out and also be seen. Try becoming daring and experiment with incorporating a few of these components to observe exactly what the result is; chances are you'll take pleasure in the result. Contact a professional sign company if you want to include these elements but don't know how to go about doing so.

6. Finally, pay attention to visual alighment. Pay attention to the overall alignment of text and graphics in your design. It can take your design to a whole new level of professionalism. Make sure that each element in your design fits in the desired arrangement you are seeking. For example, if you have portion of the design that should be centered, make sure that it is actually centered. This is a detail you need to watch. If the element don't balance the way they might be expected to, make it clear that was your intention in the first place. Your sign should have a strong and balanced look to it. If you haven't paid attention to how the text and graphics lineup, people will be confused by the sign and may not take you seriously.

Wrapping Up

Overall, you don't have to hire a professional to design your next sign project. You can create a reasonably good sign by simply following the guidelines above. Of course, this article can't make you an expert in sign design. If you still feel like you need help with designing your next sign, I recommend contacting a professional. A professional sign company can help you make a sign that looks super professional, and meets your exact specifications in less time than you could probably do it yourself. Why not just outsource your work to the professionals? So, contact your local sign company for help and excellent customer service.

About the Author

The good thing about modern technology is that you can contact a franchised sign company anywhere in the United States that can have your designs made close to your location. You don't have to work locally, though. Even if you create signs in Cleveland ohio, for example, you can usually have the final results shipped to any city, or actually created in a local branch of a franchised store. You might also find these sign design ideas useful. David Caban is a freelance writer based in Ohio.