How to Use Color to Create Impressive Custom Signs
Customers interested in custom signage often focus on specific elements, such as text, images, and the use of logos. One area that can go neglected is color choice. The right combination of colors can make custom signs stand out, and here are 6 things to consider when picking a color scheme.
Number of Colors
There's nothing inherently wrong with using a lot of colors, but it's usually wise to use the fewest colors that will get the job done. At the starkly contrasting end of the range, using a spot of color on a black-and-white background can stand out in an environment full of noisy signs. You might only use bright red text, for example, to make the sign pop.
Color Schemes
As the number of colors used for a sign goes up, it's worth thinking about different color schemes. Complementary colors, in particular, will guide you toward a scheme that will work. Bear in mind that you can choose something outside of the color wheel. For example, a series of near-complements can make for a stylish sign.
Bright Colors
One of the simplest ways to stand out is to go with several bright colors. It has worked for birds for eons, and you'll see the same idea at play in many commercials too. A combination of orange, red, and yellow, for example, is hard for viewers to avoid.
Staying on Brand
If you've established a brand with strong visual components, it's often wise to stick with those branding elements. For example, the Coca-Cola company is popularly associated with a red-and-white color scheme. Even when Coke deviates from this scheme, the company almost always works in the red and white scheme somewhere. Numerous popular brands use this approach, and you can use it to simplify the decision-making process.
Contrast
When deploying colors, you need to think about contrasts. If a sign uses several shades of the same color, for example, you'll want the text to potentially be a contrasting tone. You might contrast a light-green background against a dark-brown text block.
Considerations for Types of Signs
Making custom signs means committing to certain physical constraints. If you're going to have a printed sign, for example, how the colors might bleed into each other is an important consideration. This can constrain certain types of highly contrasting color schemes. A plastic sign might be limited by the ability to quickly shift from one color to the next, possibly ruling out gradients.
For help creating your sign, talk to a company like DHS Signs.