We all know that in the world of signs, less is more. According to artist Antoine de Saint Exupery,
"You know you've achieved perfection in design, not when you have nothing more to add, but when you have nothing more to take away."
Keep the message short and sweet and you are bound to grab the attention of prospective customers. While all signs should us simple, clear language and design in the world of outdoor signage keeping it to the point is crucial. A carefully chosen message placed in an outdoor medium can reach more viewers than more focused marketing schemes. They key to achieving major results with one giant outdoor medium, such as a billboard, is creating a killer sign. Simple enough? Actually, it is. Designing outdoor signs puts your creative skills to the test; follow these tried and true steps for success:
  1. Understand the point of the sale or brand you are marketing.
  2. Boil it down to a single thought and translate that thought into one image.
  3. Take away everything else.
  4. Use bright colors.
  5. Use few words.
  6. Make the product and logo bold.
Obviously it is not always easy to take the whole ad campaign idea and break it down into something that can be encompassed using one picture. However, the more you practice the easier it will get. Gather ideas from businesses around you with outdoor signs, and while driving on the highway. You will quickly recognize the signs you want to imitate thanks to their simple, clear designs. Outdoor ads have the potential to achieve greatness, but they can also fail miserably. If you use too many colors or ideas, or fail to clearly identify the product, large outdoor ads are completely useless. On the creative side of things we have a responsibility to do our best in creating simple, effective outdoor signs for our customers. Having trouble keeping things simple? Post these quotes on the wall in your office to help you remember the importance of clear, focused content:
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler," Albert Einstein "Simplicity is the key to happiness in the modern world," the Dalai Lama
SIGNWarehouse.com