Imagine this: A wedding planning business decides to invest in a custom sign. On every business card, brochure, and presentation they have a beautiful manuscript font which expresses their elegant theme nicely. Customers are attracted to the elegant appearance of the font. Therefore, the desire to stay consistent in font for the custom business sign is strong. It sounds like a good idea! Right? Take a moment to visualize the appearance of this sign though. Consider how it will look from a distance and its visibility when viewed in a short time frame. Your viewpoint changes. Once realistic conditions are considered, the once ideal font is no longer appealing for the custom business sign. Viewers will not be able to read the message with such an elaborate font. So, now it is back to square one. Don't worry. There are plenty of other fonts which can express the elegant theme wonderfully.



Don't know where to start? There are helpful guidelines for fonts & your custom signage.

There are three suggested guidelines for choosing the correct font:

1)The use of more than two different letter styles in a single custom sign design can cause a messy font jumble resulting in an unclear message to viewers. Stick with one or two font designs to better ensure your message effectiveness.

2)It is crucial for your primary message to stand out. This does not always have to be your business name. Think about what you want your custom sign to do for you. What comes to mind? This is your primary message. With a legible font for your business sign it is very easy to ensure your primary message is perceived correctly.

3)Lastly, get a second opinion. Contact a professional or simply ask a friend. A second set of eyes will guide you to an effective font decision for your custom business sign quickly. Also, more opinions help to give an idea of what can be improved to better interest viewers of your custom sign.

Beware! Font will attract viewers as easily as it can deter them from your business sign.

Take a moment to consider the daily drive you take to and from work. What signs are placed along your frequently traveled path? Are there signs that entertain your eyes and create an impulse which makes you want to stop? Do you also see signs that are poorly designed and barely noticeable? Of course, your immediate answer is yes. Reflect on the signs that grab your attention, what do they have that the other signs do not contain? Their font is not only legible, but it contains elements fitting to the business theme which work to grab a viewers' attention. Now, you ask, how do I do that?

There are so many options! A wide range of choices is usually considered a good thing, but nearly endless options allows for over-customization and train wreck signs. Avoid these common mistakes:

1)As a business, it's important to be unique amongst other businesses. Your custom sign should definitely reflect this, but using fancy "Designer Fonts" is not the way to go. These elaborate fonts and text effects may look good on business cards and stationary, but they are often illegible and considerably take away from the main message.

2)Think about distance before choose a script style. These fonts are usually impossible to read from a distance. Script style fonts are only appropriate when it is necessary to convey a message a certain way and the reader will be close.

3)All upper case is not necessarily great; especially if it is an all uppercase script. Text like that will have viewers instantly thinking, "Yuck!" instead of "Wow!" Also, it has been proven that though upper case lettering is larger, it is easier to view text with upper and lowercase lettering from a distance. This is due to the fact that it easier for our brains to distinguish the shapes of upper and lower case text versus all capital letters.

4)Text effects can really add to your sign, but the wrong text effect can be disastrous. If your text is scrunched together in an odd swirl, how will the viewer read your message? Yes, the effect is interesting and creative, but illegible text will lose a viewers attention quickly.

Still overwhelmed by the font choices for your custom sign? Certain fonts portray your specific business theme better than others.

Answer these questions: What type of business do you have? How do you want people to view your business? Your answers to the above questions will be reflected accurately through the font chosen for your custom business sign. Listed below are the fonts which best reflect the themes of specific businesses.

"Professional - lawyers, doctors, etc.

oPalatino, Goudy Modern, Book Antiqua, Copperplate

"Conservative - traditional, "straight laced"

oMyraid Pro, Helvetica Oblique, Avant Garde, Roamn Serif

"Classic - Formal, refined, restrained

oGoudy Handtooled, Futura, Times New Roman, Arial

"Retro - a look distinctive to a time period

oEurostile, Buahaus, Brewer's Bold, Verve

"Whimsical - full of fun, doesn't take thing to seriously

oAristocrat, New Berlina, Spumoni, Biffo

"Kidsy - the look and feel of childhood, bright colors, childlike print

oKhaki, Ravie, Parade, Kids

"Easy to Read

oTimes New Roman, Garamond, Goudy, Palatino, Beguiat Bold, Bodoni, Century, Bookman, Cooper, Baskerville

The fonts and themes listed above should narrow your options down a bit and help in choosing an effective text display for your business signage. Surprisingly, font and theme are only a small factor in custom sign design. There are so many more options involved in creating an effective business sign.

So, now your curiosity is piqued and this answers a lot of questions, but the more knowledge you have, the better decision you can make. A custom business sign is a big investment for your company. Contact SignsRus by e-mail at sales@signsrus.com or by phone at 1-800-899-6272 for your own free quote today.