Some of our customers have great difficulty in verbalising exactly what they are thinking. They perhaps know what they are going to do, how they are going to do it and why they are doing it but expressing it in a form that their potential clients will understand is another thing all together.

The words you use in your signs are perhaps the most important design element that should be considered first.

The old adage is true regarding first impressions and usually you have under 4 seconds for a passing motorist to view your masterpiece, so your message needs to be clear, precise and in line with its main purpose. That means using 7 words or less, correct grammar and accurate spelling.

Having said that there is a place for misspelling and bad grammar because it creates within our brains a need to fix or correct which can imprint the message even deeper into our subconscious. On my way to work the only sign I seem to remember is the TIRES flag outside a garage, it should of course be spelled TYRES if you are in the UK. It irritates the hell out of me but as I said its the one I remember. The owner is either a genius or his spell checker is set on American. (More about the psychology of signs in a future blog post).

So keep it simple remembering less is more and make sure people know what business you are in and what you are promoting.

Phil Aliphon, Director

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