23 Jul Outdoor Signage Mistakes to Avoid at all Costs
Biggest Outdoor Signage Mistakes that Organizations Make
Signage helps to inform prospective customers about your presence. It is definitely important to invest in your first impression! When coming up with the graphics to use on your outdoor signage, it is important to consider a number of factors to avoid repeating some of the common mistakes most people make. Here are a few common mistakes that you should avoid when designing your outdoor sign or banner:
Poor Readability
The main role of outdoor signs is communicating and this makes legibility a priority. When creating your outdoor signs, always ensure that the substrate background you go for as well as your printed graphics have a good contrast to improve its readability from a reasonable distance. A lot of people make the mistake of choosing the wrong background or printed graphics leading to an outdoor sign with letters that cannot be discerned.
Forgetting to Plan for the Nature
Given that outdoor signs are usually erected outside, the material that you choose needs to be weather resistant and strong enough to handle all kinds of outdoor conditions. Outdoor signs made from biodegradable or paper-based materials cannot withstand the harsh outdoor conditions and will disintegrate in a day or two.Light materials are not the best when it comes to outdoor signs as they will be easily torn by the wind. Ensuring that your signs are flexible enough or have holes to allow the wind to pass through will certainly eliminate the challenge posed by wind over outdoor signs. Similarly, your signs of choice should be able to withstand extremely hot or cold temperatures.
Your signs must also be protected from the harmful UV rays of the sun, just like you protect your skin when going to enjoy yourself at the beach. There are specific inks and protective coatings that are designed to withstand UV rays that cause weather induced fading, degradation of color, or loss of gloss.
There is a wide array of materials to choose from and we at Full Sail Graphics can be of assistance in picking the best material to use for a weather resistance outdoor sign.
Sustainability of Outdoor Signage
If you plan for your outdoor signs to stand outside for longer periods, you may find yourself worrying about various damages, like spray paint or bird droppings after sometime. We recommend including a protective film on top of signs to enable faster cleaning in case they happen to be damaged. You should also take precautions to ensure that your signage are securely placed to deter thieves from easily removing them.
Failing to correctly plan and choose your outdoor signage wisely can bring a myriad of problems to your door. You will have to contend with a number of issues as shown above, which will make it more expensive to use the outdoor signs due to the additional costs incurred in repairing or replacing them. You can use your outdoor signs effectively and for long periods if you can avoid all the common mistakes discussed above.
With over 50 years of combined experience in graphics and marketing, the Full Sail Graphics team is confident that we will deliver quality graphics on time and on budget. If you’re looking to invest in a versatile form of advertising, please feel free to give us a call at (714) 274-6706.