Design Tips

The thing about graphic design is that it is not all about skill. Everything from personal taste to raw talent plays a big roll in how your design will turn out. It was for this reason we set out to develop a web site full of tools that would allow our customers to create their own designs.

However some people are better at it than others. Not to worry. If you follow these guidelines you should be able to design a very respectable sign, banner, or vehicle layout.

  1. Choose colors that will not blend together. Red on Black is not a very readable choice. If red on black are the colors you want, fine but you are sacrificing some readability in your project. In most cases the farther away you can read your advertising the better. Some good color selections are yellow with black, yellow with green, white with any dark color, blue with white, red with white, etc. The key is choosing colors that jump apart from each other. If you want to use red on black consider putting a white outline on the edge of the letters. This will provide a separation between the colors and will be more readable.
  2. Choose a shape that fits what you are doing. If you are designing a sign that has long rows of text then use a long rectangular sign. Do not try and put it on a square sign. A square will cause you to use smaller letters with a lot of dead space. The same goes for if you have a design that requires several short rows on top of each other. Put this on a sign shaped to fit it.
  3. Do not get carried away with information. The more you put in your design the more it takes away from the design. If it needs to be said, say it. If not, leave it off.
  4. Fill as much of the sign as possible. Now don't get carried away and start adding designs on every square inch of the design. However, fill it with the text. Then Play with it to make it look good.
  5. Graphics, colors, borders, shadows, etc., all add their own flavor to your design. I will not say much here other than we have the ability to create them if you wish to use them.
  6. Alignment is important. Our toos have the ability to align center, left, or right. If the design is meant to be aligned, make sure that it is. If not, make it obvious that the design was purposely misaligned. It is obvious if they are not in proper alignment.
  7. Our last piece of advice is look at other designs. We are adding new design templates on a regular basis. Use them or copy them.

If you are still not comfortable designing your own sign, send your request to our customer service staff. They will be happy to work with you to create a design you will be thrilled with. You can reach them at info@signsbyyou.com

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