How to design a perfect lawn sign.

There are so many bad lawn signs out there.

It’s very easy to waste your money on poorly designed lawn signs if they're not created with a few basic design principles when it comes to road side advertising.

It doesn’t matter how many lawn signs you print or how well you position them. If the lawn signs themselves are not effective at capturing attention, efficiently conveying the right message and encouraging next steps then you may as well display a blank lawn sign.

How do you make sure your lawn sign stands out?

The perfect lawn sign design should be all of the following…

CLEAN AND CLEAR

The most common flaw we see with a poorly designed lawn sign is that they’re difficult to read.

This is usually due to someone trying to cram too much onto the sign or failing to organize the content in the right way.

To illustrate, here’s an example of what we consider a less than quality lawn sign design.

If you didn’t have the time to look it over like you are now, would you even know what this lawn sign is advertising? What is all of that stuff on the right side and is that text in the top left corner something we’re expected to read?

Now let’s compare with a clean and clear lawn sign design.

All it takes is a glance at this lawn sign to know what it’s for and when and where it’s happening. It should be that easy.

Think about it, you most often see lawn signs while driving. Are you really going to comprehend and absorb the messaging of a cluttered lawn sign in the couple seconds you have to look at it?

CALL TO ACTION

The best advertisements suggest what to do next.

This doesn’t mean explicitly saying something like “VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO LEARN MORE” (especially since keeping the sign clean and clear is a top priority) it just needs to be implied.

How?

In the case of a business lawn sign advertisement, this implication can be made by ensuring the primary method of contact for the business is prominently displayed.

If you prefer phone calls, make the phone number 1/4 or even 1/3 of the lawn sign.

If you want people to visit the website and make contact that way, make sure your website URL is front and center. When people see a website address they will know what that means so there’s no need to over explain it with needless text that takes up space on the sign.

If there are ways to contact you that you don’t prefer or don’t expect potential customers to use leave them off of the sign. I’m looking at you QR codes!

WELL BRANDED

Since lawn signs are so visible they’re an important way to help build your brand.

The same way you (hopefully) made sure your website was built to match the style and colors your business is known for, the same concept should be applied to your lawn signs.

Even if some people only get a glance of your sign on the way by, they should recognize the theme and colors of the design immediately.

Avoid using conflicting colors or fonts that are not associated with your business or brand.

CUSTOM SHAPED (when appropriate)

Thanks to new technology that allows for custom shaping of corrugated plastic, some lawn sign companies (*COUGH* Sticker-It *COUGH*) are able to offer lawn signs that break the typical square or rectangle molds.

Custom shaped lawn signs are especially great when the shape of the lawn sign fits the theme, style or even branding of the company.

Using an arrow shape in the lawn sign is effective when it comes to directing people to a location. Think about open house signs for realtors or parking signs for large events.

MAKE IT FUNNY (when appropriate)

When used right, humour can be one of the most effective ways of getting your message shared and remembered so don't be afraid to make your lawn sign funny.

There are other factors that help make sure your lawn sign is effective such as the size, where it’s placed and what material is used, but if the design is no good none of that will matter much.

Interested in getting lawn signs created? You’re in the right place.

Sticker-it Signs and Graphics is a leader in print and promotional services throughout the Hamilton, Haldimand and Niagara regions of Ontario.

Contact us anytime to discuss your next project.