Recently our agents came across a series of documents from the elusive Society of Sign Aficionados. These documents hold sign secrets never before revealed to the public. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing the secrets with you. Below is Doc. 2, “Color Theory 101,” an excerpt from the Society of Sign Aficionados’s manifesto,
Essentials for Sign Design:
“Color Theory 101”
By M— R——
Color plays an important role in sign design. The colors you choose help you carry your message across to the viewer. It’s kind of like non-verbal cues. Subconsciously humans adjust their moods when viewing a particular color. Red is shown to raise blood pressure, while blue calms people down.
For some cases, you want to pick bold and bright colors to help your design stand out from the competition and the grab the attention of passerby. In others, sometimes a simple, monochromatic color scheme is powerful – just think about Apple’s marketing and how sleek and clean their message is.
So how do you pick the right color scheme for your business? First think about the purpose of your sign. If you’re designingwindow graphics for your spa storefront, you’ll want to go with a calming blue or green. On the other hand, if you’re trying to promote a store-wide clearance sale, red is the best color for job. Red grabs attention and conveys a sense of urgency.
Here’s a quick run-down on colors and their meanings:
- Blue: calm, professionalism, confidence, intelligence, balance, dependability, loyalty
- Green: growth, nature, money, harmony, safety, stability
- Yellow: warmth, cheerfulness, optimism, excitement
- Orange: energy, happiness, warmth, ambition
- Red: passion, energy, movement, excitement, intensity
- Purple: wealth, dignity, power, independence, sophistication
- Brown: stability, friendship, nature, reliability
- Black: power, authority, elegance, mystery
- White: purity, cleanliness, neutrality, creativity
When picking which colors to go together, either go for colors that are grouped together on the color wheel or pick colors on the opposite sides of the wheel. Don’t forget to think about contrast. Make sure that your text or images pop against each other and the background color so everything is easy to make out. If you have a dark background, choose a light colored text, and vice versa. You don’t want viewers straining their eyes when trying to read your message. In most cases, they’ll give up after a couple seconds and move on from your sign; when that happens, you’ve lost a potential customer.
Color can make or break your sign – they set the tone of your message and influence the mood of the viewers. Take care when choosing colors to go in your sign, but don’t be afraid to have a little fun!