Maybe it is the sign overload from the current local political campaigns, but I am tired of all the bad signs – campaigns and businesses are both offenders. I hate the droopy banner signs, unattractive colors, the tilted/slanted/all askew signs, small print, ugly colors, unreadable fonts, confused messages, no directions, too little/too much info, etc., etc., etc.
As an economic development professional, bad signs may get my attention for their ineffectiveness, but no signs at all are bad, too. No matter how techie our customers get with their Internet research, Google-ing, GPS units and smart phones; it is hard to replace the communication potential of a really good sign.
Joanne Steele with RuralTourismMarketing.com recently had a great blog post on signage for rural communities and businesses, “Good Signage. Helping Visitors Get Around in a Rural Tourism Town.” In addition, I ran across this web page, “What Color is Your Business?“, that I found helpful with the design of a marketing piece that I am working on and it can also relate to the design of signage.
So, if we are blocking out a little of our scenery, let’s pleasantly communicate our message to our guests without breaking their mind.
