Magnetic Sign Design: What Should My Sign Say?

What is the most important element of your sign?

What is it,that you want to convey to those who view your sign?

What is it that you want those people to do?

How long do you think people will be able to see and read your magnetic sign?

Before trying to design your own magnetic signs, you should consider those questions.

One of the first things you need to incorporate into your design thinking is "KISS" (Keep it Simple
Sweetheart, that sounds so much better than Stupid). This will help you immensely in your endeavor.

If you are using your magnetic signs for advertising, how long do you think your potential customers
have to view your sign as you are going down the road. They will not bother to try to interpret an
overcrowded sign. Six to eight words should be the maximum for a sign that is only 12"x24". So in this
case, less will always be more, as the old saying goes. So, try to keep your design simple and easy to
understand.  With fewer words, the letters can be larger and more legible.

And what about the fonts? One or two different fonts is the norm for signs. And these should be
readable fonts, not ones that, once again, you have to interpret what they say. These are signs, not art
that is hanging on a wall for people to admire, these need to be able to get a message across in 3-4
seconds.

Upper and lower case is another element to take into consideration. There are some fonts, like Old
English or any script, that should NEVER be used in all caps. People do it. You can't read it, especially not
going down the road. If that is your sign, you already know what the word is, and your brain interprets
it immediately. So, if you don't care that you are the only one who knows what it says, then it is OK. But,
for advertising purposes, absolutely not.
There are places that ALL CAPS are used effectively, but their use should be limited. Even though all
capitals are larger, they are not more easily read from a distance compared to upper and lower case.
Scientific testing has determined that our brains distinguish the shapes and therefore we can interpret
the words faster in upper and lower case, which is what is necessary when people only have very few
seconds to read the sign.

Contrasts and color combinations are choices where people often make mistakes. Either of the
examples below, being black and white, have the greatest amount of contrast possible.

But which of them look larger. Obviously, the white letter on a dark background makes it appear larger
than dark on light. This can give a hint of something that can be done when designing signs.

Using a strip or patch of dark colors with much lighter lettering is a good way, not only to make a break
in the text, but it will stand out as well.

To design magnetic signs online, go to http://mac1signs.com and try out the sign generator tool.