When starting a new business or going through a redesign, you’ll need to make a lot of decisions in terms of your new branding, and one of those is the font style you go with, specifically when it comes to your outdoor signage. It might sound insignificant, but the way your signs look on your building’s exterior will have a massive effect on who decides to walk into your store—and who keeps on walking. That’s why we have made a guide on how to choose the right font for your outdoor business signage.
When rebranding or developing your brand for the first time, the type of font you choose can make or break your business. Imagine if a western-themed restaurant decided to use a fancy-looking cursive font more appropriate for French cuisine. That wouldn’t look right at all and would probably turn people off before they even saw the menus.
Obviously, that’s something you’ll want to avoid. Look at all your options and figure out which one best fits your company’s style and theme. If you can, take the time to ask some of your valued customers what they think. Figuring out what has worked for them in the past can give you a great insight into the future of your brand.
Now, in terms of your outdoor signage, you’ll want to make sure it’s legible to people passing by. This is very important if most people passing your establishment are in a car since they will have much less time to see it. If you think the font you chose for your logo and primary marketing materials might be too hard to read, don’t be afraid to change it to something more legible on your outdoor signs.
Let’s look at the western restaurant example from before. Imagine if, on top of the fancy font, the lettering’s primary colors were pink and purple. Sure, that’s a good combo for some things, but it doesn’t feel appropriate or distinguishable for a place with a western theme.
Bottom line, color is just as important as font type, and the legibility of how it will look outside is crucial for your success. It’s OK if you need to change the color for your outdoor signs if you don’t think people will be able to see it, but whatever you choose should still a good fit for your overall color scheme. We suggest avoiding bright or faded colors, as they can be difficult to see on a sunny day.
Size is way less important for your standard branding, but it’s vital for your outdoor signage. If your font is too small, nobody will be able to see it, especially if they’re in a vehicle. Luckily, you can enlarge all fonts. Do some market testing before you commit to a font. Some styles don’t look the best when enlarged, so make sure yours does before you give it the go-ahead.
We hope that our guide on how to choose the right font for your outdoor business signage gave you some good ideas for how you should structure yours. If you are in the market for your own outdoor business signage, check out our website to see if we can help you bring your branding image to life.
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