<![CDATA[DEMANDPRINTGRAPHICS.COM

<![CDATA[DEMANDPRINTGRAPHICS.COM - Blog]]>Tue, 09 Jun 2026 01:17:18 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[why use banners?]]>Thu, 14 Dec 2017 16:25:45 GMThttps://www.demandprintgraphics.com/blog/why-use-banners

Despite their ubiquitous presence in the market, printed signs and banners, still offer great economical marketing advantages to businesses.

Inexpensive
Where production costs for more advanced advertising media may hold back small businesses, banners remain a method that is still inexpensive to produce.

Targeted
Although other forms of media offer targeted marketing, a well placed banner guarantees you're reaching the customers you need to reach.

Repetitive
If placed in a high-traffic area, a banner may reach the same customer several times a day.

Reusable
Banners are easily portable and have no hidden or recurring costs once created.

Effective
When designed with effective use of color, image, and space, banners are a very cost-effective means of advertising.

curated from ravenprinting.com

]]><![CDATA[the psychology of signage]]>Thu, 14 Dec 2017 16:14:07 GMThttps://www.demandprintgraphics.com/blog/the-psychology-of-signage

curated from www.signindustry.com
Signs have many functions, but POP signage is designed to advertise a product at the location in which it’s displayed. Experts say effective POP signage is a critical component of a merchandising program.

According to the Small Business Association, effective POP signage develops a memory for a location of the products or services, reinforces a memory and extends recall of other advertising efforts, attracts new customers and modifies customary purchase decisions or habits.

In essence, the underlying principles of POP signage are the same: to communicate the price, features, value and benefits of a product in order to close a sale.

While choosing the right signage can help boost revenues, a careless approach to promoting products can put a damper on otherwise well-conceived merchandising plans. To be sure, signage is a cornerstone of any profitable merchandising program.

Developing Effective Signage
The first step is to understand the needs of your customer. The most important function is to convey information that speaks to the needs of the consumers. But experts say many inexperienced retailers struggle with what information to include in signage.

“One of two things tends to happen,” says George Whalin, president of Retail Management Consultants, a retail consultancy in San Marcos, Calif. “Either there’s too little information or too much. It can be difficult to find a middle ground.”

Price is obviously an important element, but it may not be the most important. Since you want the sign to help sell the product to the consumer it should also include product features and benefits. For example, all shirts are not created equal. So if the customer carries more than one brand, size or shape, then more than one sign is necessary to promote the product styles.

“You need a certain amount of signage at the point of sale because it does draw the unintended purchase. Consumers go through the facility for something that they came to buy, but it’s the signage that usually makes them buy something else, too. That’s one of the beauties of good signage. It can also close a sale,” says Don Longo, associate publisher and editor-in-chief of Retail Merchandiser magazine. “But you can have too much signage and produce clutter in the store. Then all the signs compete with one another and no one message is dominant. That can get confusing.”

Figuring Out Fonts
Fonts, also called typefaces, are another important ingredient in successful signage. Deciding which font to use can be a challenge for your customer, and could lead to an ugly sign that you are embarrassed to admit you made.

But there are some guidelines to follow. If you can communicate these guidelines to your customers, perhaps in an informational sheet, you can cut down on the time you spend on the customer education process and on the number of revisions.
“Signage has to be clear and easily-read, so the type can’t be too small,” says Mike Doyle, vice president of strategic sales for Creative Retail Services, Inc., a merchandising firm in Alpharetta, Ga. with clients like Home Depot. “If you have to squint to see it, then you are working against yourself.”

The typeface of the client’s company logo may be a good choice if it is made up of bold letters. Taking this route gives your client more branding power and yields a consistent theme throughout the store. “Use one typeface on all signage,” Longo says. “You wouldn’t want to have stenciled signage in one aisle and block lettering in another aisle. Consistency is key.”

Sizes, Location and Education
Signs come in all shapes and sizes, but experts say they should be appropriate to the rest of the merchandising scheme. Much of signage is common sense. You wouldn’t want to put a poster-sized sign over a small fixture, for example, or a postcard-sized sign over a large display. Signage needs to fit the environment.

“Use signs that are within the eyesight of the customer,” says Whalin. “Signs that are too high above a customer’s head or too low below the customer’s waist tend to be worthless.”

In a facility with very high ceilings, hanging signs work well, Longo says, and can convey that popular warehouse feel. But signs that are right above the shelf are a safe bet.

Then there’s educational signage that explains product use to a customer. Experts say this can be impactful with products that have a how-to element or where the consumer needs additional information to make a wise purchase.

“If you are selling locks, then it’s a safety issue and people need to be educated in order to choose the best product for their needs,” says Doyle. “Consumable products, like tape, don’t lend themselves to educational signs.”

To Change or Not To Change
Once you have your scheme in place there isn’t much need for your client to change the standard signage. But there are still opportunities for special event signage that you can cash in on.

“If a store is having an event, then you definitely want to change the signage as much as possible so that it makes the environment different,” says Whalin. “Stores also need to change the signage when it starts to look ragged, torn or faded due to sun exposure and doesn’t represent a business well.”

In a nutshell, experts advise simple signage: “Use short bullet points. State your facts,” says Doyle. “Consumers are smart and if you confuse them they get angry. ‘Keep it simple, stupid’ is a good rule of thumb.”

curated from www.signindustry.com

]]><![CDATA[Effective Sign Design]]>Thu, 14 Dec 2017 16:04:35 GMThttps://www.demandprintgraphics.com/blog/effective-sign-design

curated from www.signindustry.com
An unconventional method of advertising that is on the rise is a well-coordinated signage program. From banners to site signs, window and vehicle graphics, even trade show exhibit graphic designs—if signs are a part of your advertising budget, then you’ll need to know the right tips to make sure that your signage dollars are never wasted.

Get the basics right
To do its job, your sign has to be highly visible and easy to read. Some of the questions that sign experts will ask are—where will your sign be displayed, and for how long? How far away will viewers be? Will they be walking or driving? How long will they have to read and react to your sign? If the sign is outdoors, does it need to be visible after dark?

These are just a few of the points you and your sign consultant should consider in determining what material your sign should be made of, how large it should be, and the size of the lettering and graphics you'll use on it. If you get these basics right, you can ensure that your sign will be seen—but that's only the beginning.

Send a clear message
Whatever your sign says, you can enhance its effectiveness by choosing a typestyle, color combination, and graphic treatment that reflects the nature of your business, your product, and your setting.

For example, if your sign will be seen from a distance, you'll need a typestyle with strong, simple strokes about one-fifth the full height of the letter—but if such a bold style doesn't suit your business, you can soften the look by using a more traditional "serif" typestyle (similar to that used for the text in books) rather than a stark "gothic," and by adding an elegant graphic or a graceful border.

When distance isn't a factor, more options are open to you —but sign experts generally advise against very convoluted scripts and heavily ornamented typestyles, which can be difficult to read even close-up. A good compromise might be to use a novelty typestyle on a key word or initial as a focal point, then switch to a simpler, more readable typestyle for the rest of the text.

Show your true colors
Color is another powerful message-enhancer. If your company has an established color theme you can carry those colors through on all your signage to reinforce your image and identity—or you might choose your colors on the basis of the moods they evoke.
For example, many restaurants are decorated in shades of red, because warm colors are known to enhance appetite. Deep blues and greens suggest dignity and stability, and are often favored by banks. Companies which want to appeal to the traditional feminine nature often use soft pink and yellow in their signage, while youth-oriented businesses tend toward bright lime, orange, and fuchsia.
Whatever colors you choose, your sign consultant will want to be sure they provide sufficient contrast to make your sign easily legible. And because the eye perceives colors differently in natural light, incandescent, fluorescent, halogen, and other types of illumination, you'll want to view your selections under all the lighting conditions that may occur at your site.
Use a time-honored trick
Once you've made the best possible choices for all the elements of your sign, consider giving it one more advantage: a design trick that helps get your message across. Research has shown that certain added elements can improve the noticeability, readability, and memorability of your sign.
For example, you might want to put the most important piece of text on your sign in a second color, because the special color helps people remember that information longer. Similarly, adding a border to your sign helps people focus on your message and read it more quickly. And a quality color photo or graphic will attract more attention to your sign, while also enhancing your professional image.

curated from www.signindustry.com

]]>