Have you ever wondered why so many signs, banners, vehicle graphics and other displays have simple blocky fonts and more standard red and black on white background or vice versa? Well there’s a very simple reason, readability! The creative scripts with thin lines and swooping letters in a pale yellow on a white background, just are not going to do it. Big and bold is! While it’s not that simple and you do want to stand out in the crowd, some things to consider are those things and a few more. 

Being Creative and keeping it simple stupid don’t seem to go together very well, and may even be insulting, but sometimes there’s such a drive to have the next creative look and feel, that the message get’s lost and the ROI becomes frustrating.

1: CONTRAST IS IMPORTANT

Yellow on orange reminds me of a local restaurant chain that has opened up more and more locations, but every time I look at their signage it hurts my eyes. Black, red, other darker vibrant colors and or variations of these colors on a light background or vice versa is what I would encourage, at the very least be aware of contrast.

3: WHITE SPACE

White space is something you don’t have to be afraid of; it helps with readability. Too often due to cost or lots of things to share, signage is laid out with too much text and imagery. What this does is crowd everything, making it to busy, and hard to read. As a lot of great Art Directors and Designers I have known over the years say, “don’t be afraid of white space. “