Your sign is the face of your business as it is the first thing that people see. However, many people fail to realize that signage is more than just having a label on the front door. There are many elements that go into giving a good first impression and color is one of them. Color is a vital element in any form of signage, whether it is a banner, flag, rigid sign, awning, etc. That’s because colors have deeper meanings and can influence both mood and emotion.
The color or hues you pick for your business signage will evoke certain emotions in your potential customers. You can use color to deliver a subconscious message regarding your brand and personality. This powerful tool can make or break your business and so, it is important to learn what message varying colors portray. That being said, here is a closer look at the best colors for business signage and what they mean.
1. Red
Red is an intense color that’s often associated with energy, passion, blood, and fire. It signifies life and importance and evokes feelings related to intense emotion, movement, and danger. It goes without saying that you should use such an energized color with moderation. A good idea is to use red to highlight your signage instead of saturating it.
2. Yellow
This is another eye-catching color, usually associated with happiness, cheeriness and optimism, probably due to its association with the sun. Due to its vibrancy, yellow is usually used for items that need to stand out like school buses, taxis, and warning signs.
Yellow is known to promote logical thinking, mental activity, decision-making, and creativity. However, too much of it can promote stress and anxiety, particularly for individuals who are already stressed. Similar to red, you should use yellow in moderation as a highlight in order to evoke cognitive activity and creativity.
3. Orange
Another vibrant color that evokes warmth, excitement, creativity, etc. Given it’s a combination of red and yellow, orange still carries their distorted representations. It has some of the aggression associated with red, but it’s more of flamboyant and spirited aggression because of the calming effect of yellow. As a result, orange is used in signage to showcase excitement, fun, and optimism.
Similar to yellow, orange stimulates mental activity and enhances understanding, decision making, and the feeling of assurance. In addition, it motivates people to take action, explaining why it’s one of the common colors used for call-to-action buttons on sites.
4. Blue
This is another common color used in business signage. Due to its abundance in the hue of the sky and water, it’s often associated with nature. It’s an inoffensive neutral color that is usually associated with focus and productivity. According to research, weight lifters tend to achieve better results when they work in a blue room.
Blue comes in many shades, all with varying meanings. Darker blues evoke professionalism and trust while the lighter shades are more playful and innocent. Numerous brands tend to lean on the darker blues for the reasons mentioned. Examples include Facebook, Dell, IBM, and Ford.
5. Green
Green is another common color in nature and so, it is not surprising it elicits feeling about wealth, trust, growth, healing, health, and calmness. Green is usually used to represent the earth due to its abundance on the planet. Lighter shades of green represent excitement, freshness, and rejuvenation while darker shades tend to represent trust and wealth.
Green is one of the most powerful colors as it represents life in the natural world. This makes humans positively relate to the color. It is not surprising that green is used by companies and organizations that have some connection to nature, e.g, Whole Foods and Animal Planet.
6. White
Too much white may seem cold and clinical, but it can be used to represent an array of good things like cleanliness, innocence, and purity. White is usually used to portray incorruptibility and freshness.
In the corporate world, it is used to evoke a clean appearance and when paired with a robust design, it accentuates a sleek design. When used alongside a poor design, however, it aggravates the appearance, resulting in a bland and unappealing product.
7. Black
Black is a great contrasting shade to add to designs. It often represents sophistication, power, security, authority, and wealth. However, it has numerous negative connotations in society such as oppression, evil, mourning, and coldness. As such, it is best utilized in a simple, minimalistic, and elegant design that uses at least one other bright color.
Conclusion
When designing the next sign for your business, it is important to factor in who will see it, as well as the mood and emotions you wish to evoke. The color of your signage should represent what your business stands for, and complements your business.This will help you pick a color or shade that puts your business in the best possible light.
