Any graphic display intended to introduce a business to a certain audience or market can be considered a signage. The best examples include the posters, stickers, and banners that you see outside retail stores in downtown Chicago. If you own a business in this bustling city, you wouldn’t survive the fierceness of the competition without putting up a signage that effectively speaks of your business.

An article for ExhibitorOnline.com provides ideas on how to make good signage. The author highlights several elements that an effective signage design must have, and how these elements may be arranged to effectively communicate the advertiser’s message.

According to graphic-design guru Milton Glaser, “To design is to communicate clearly by whatever means you can control or master.” Simple enough. So why, then, are so many exhibit graphics unappealing, cluttered, and ineffective? Turns out, the key to successful graphics isn’t just pretty pictures. You also need a basic understanding of hierarchy, color theory, fonts, and density. After all, a picture may be worth a thousand words, but that means nothing unless those words communicate your key message.

The combination of images, text, and ideas in a signage is called graphic design. A skilled Chicago graphic designer arranges each of these elements based on the potential psychological interpretation an audience might have. In other words, professional graphic designers do not rely solely on their own preferences and aesthetic sense, but instead consider the information they’ve collected from statistics, observations, and trends.

Density and size of graphic design elements are very important to the success of a signage. Images and texts have to be properly balanced, or properly “sized”, not only to attract, but also to keep audiences’ attention for as long as possible.

Size — Break down text into bite-size chunks. A wall of text is useless (unless it’s being used as a design element), and does a disservice to the importance of the information that needs to be conveyed. If you can’t shorten the text, use bullet points to differentiate longer lines of copy.

The principle observed when choosing color, however, doesn’t change. Complementary colors remain the most effective in any graphic design. They allow for high contrast, which aids in the focus of viewers.

The right combination of all these elements will give you signage that can effectively convey what you are offering your market. Professional Chicago graphic design artists from companies like Controlled Color, Inc. have the right skills and talent to provide you with the kind of signage and other promotional materials that will make people take a closer look at your business.

(Source: Five Steps to Successful Signage, ExhibitorOnline.com)