Houston is a big city, so Houston outdoor signs need to stand out any way they can. Increasing your sign’s visibility may translate to more business simply from recognition. There are many reasons to make your sign stand out. Once you understand those, you will want to know how to do it. We’ll discuss both in this article.
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Importance of Visible Houston Outdoor Signs
Houston is home to 2.3 million people, so getting lost in the sea of signs is easy. One study found that 76% of American customers have visited a store they had never seen before based on its sign alone. In addition, 68% said they purchased a product from a store because the sign caught their eye. The more appealing and eye-catching your sign is, the higher the potential to convert signage into sales.
How to Make Your Houston Outdoor Signs More Visible
Now that you have an idea of how Houston custom signs can positively affect your business, you are probably wondering how you can set your sign apart from everyone else. Luckily, there are many ways we can customize our Houston outdoor signs to catch the eyes of passersby.
Lighting for Houston Outdoor Signs
You want your customers to be able to see your sign 24/7, which requires lighting options. In a city as bright as Houston LED signs are a great strategy because they are brightly colored and can have some movement, both of which attract the human eye. If an LED sign is not your style, you can also add architectural lighting to point toward your signage. Either option makes your sign visible no matter the time of day or weather.
Location
As a business owner, you know location is important. That idea also trickles down to where your sign is placed. You want your sign to be in view of high-traffic areas, including motor and pedestrian traffic. In addition, your Houston custom sign should be tall enough that nothing is blocking it from view, like street signs, parked cars, or trees and bushes.
Size of Houston Outdoor Signs
The size of your sign may be the most important overall aspect of the sign. You don’t want your sign to be comically oversized, but you want it to be large enough to be seen from a great distance. As a general rule, fonts can be seen at a distance of ten feet per inch. For example, a 3-inch letter can be read from as far as 30 feet away. A 30-inch letter can be read from as far as 300 feet away. The sign needs to be big enough to comfortably accommodate the font size you want. However, you also don’t want to have a sign that is too big and throws off the look of your property.
Legibility
Seeing is not the same as reading. People should be able to look at your sign and read what it says in the half-second it takes to drive past a sign. Too often, business owners try to add character to their signs with flamboyant fonts and font colors. These may catch the eye, but they’re difficult to read. So, ultimately, they don’t work. Having the wrong font can even make the words on your sign look like different words and lead to confusion or even embarrassing misunderstandings.
Colors
Bright but contrasting colors are best to make a sign stick out and more visible to people. For example, white and pastel yellow probably aren’t a good choice because they’re difficult to see against each other. These are a few color scheme ideas to think about when deciding what colors you want on your sign.
Triadic Color Schemes: These color schemes pair colors based on their position on the color wheel. Triadic schemes use two contrasting colors on the wheel, for example, yellow and purple. These color schemes can also use three colors equally spaced on the color wheel, like light orange, purple and green. This gives the font a strong contrast that stands out, almost like a photo negative.
Gradient Schemes: Gradient schemes choose a single color and then accent it with other shades of the same color, which is why they are also known as monochrome schemes. These schemes don’t stand out as much as triadic schemes, but it is still visually appealing and often give the sign a polished, high-end look.
Split Complementary Schemes: This is close, but not exactly like pairing gradient and triadic schemes. You first choose a dominant main color like purple, then compliment it with colors on either side of yellow since that is purple’s direct opposite. So, for purple, you might pair it with shades of orange and green. These schemes give the best of both worlds with a brighter, more defined look. However, they are also the most challenging color schemes to balance attractively.
Other Ways Your Sign Can Stand Out
While many businesses like to be conservative with their signage, sometimes it takes a little outside-the-box thinking to set your sign apart from the rest. There are ways that your Houston outdoor signs can make an even more significant visual impact.
Add Graphics
Signs are a visual medium, so sometimes, you need more than words to catch the eye. Adding a graphic to your sign may be the thing your sign needs to draw attention to your words.
Add Features
When you use your imagination, there is quite a bit you can do with a sign. Human eyes are drawn to movement, so if you are in a competitive market, consider doing something like choosing a sign that rotates 360 degrees or making your architectural lights flash toward your sign in an attractive pattern.
Get Quality Signs in Houston from 4D Signworx
Your business sign is an integral part of your business and something that people will remember after they’ve left your shop. We know a thing or two about signs since we’ve been serving the Houston area as a sign company since 1968 and offer comprehensive services for business signs of all types. We design, manufacture, and install signage for businesses and specialize in indoor and outdoor signage. If it is time to update your signage in the Houston area, get in touch for a free quote.