Is Your Storefront Readable?

Three Visibility Concerns for Retail Storefront Signage

Signage Provides the “Can”
New York, the nation’s largest city, (and 25th in the world), is concerned about the ongoing success of their retailers. And they very well should be, and so should our cities and towns here in Virginia. As a former small business owner, I knew not having enough capital was the top reason for a small business to fail, but I also understood the value of marketing capital and the one visual asset that can make or break a retailer’s location: and that is storefront signage.
“When executed well, the storefront can serve as an invitation to the shopper, increasing business for individual merchants and improving the overall shopping experience. Well-designed storefronts can create an environment where people will want to linger, shop and return again,” according to a brochure written by The O Group for the New York City Department of Small Business Services.
Notice the word “can” as it appears twice in the above quotation. It is an important auxiliary verb offering positive results only under certain circumstances, as in this case when executed well, or in other words, it works if you know the right recipe. Good signage is an important ingredient of a retailer’s success, or “can”, so let’s look at what makes good storefront signage for retailers by analyzing what does not…
Contrast
These days there are lots of materials to choose from for storefronts! Brick, block, stone, stucco, painted wood and metal, glass, natural woods and metals, and plastics to name several options, and the list goes on. It is good to select materials that fit the brand, but be careful that the colors of the facades don’t detract from the readability of the signs placed upon them. Work with a professional sign consultant or sign manufacturer who understands contrast. Sometimes in the name of good contrast, a standard brand has to be modified to fit a location. This could mean changing the colors or adding contrasting color bands between the letters and the background.
The example shown is a set of gilded dimensional letters on a plain white wall. During the mid-day sun, the lettering is so bright that it is hard to read against the light-colored wall. Low-key, high quality design may be part of their brand statement, but perhaps visibility could have been improved by adding a dark rectangular backer panel, or by adding dark-colored “clouds” behind each gold letter to make them stand out from the background.
Obstructions
I noticed several stores with trees planted right in front of their main identity signs. Don’t misunderstand that landscaping adds great value to the ambiance of a shopping space, but it is important to plan for plantings outside of a sign’s viewing angle. Trees, especially as they mature, can completely block the valuable icons that lead shoppers in, thwarting further return on investment. To eliminate chances of any store branding obstructions, developers should coordinate early on with city planners and landscapers (if possible) just where certain trees should go or not go by delineating planned signage viewing zones on the site plans.
Shadows
Depending on the graphic design, shadows can either create negative or positive readability. If the letter faces are white, shadows usually help the letters pop off the wall. If, however, the background walls are light color and the letters are dark without an outline, the effect of the shadows can make it nearly impossible to read because the letters and the shadows all blend together like in the example shown. The shadow challenge can be overcome by incorporating light color faces with outlines and dark returns.
Another design strategy is to keep the widths of the letter strokes wider than the shadows if it helps with legibility during bright lighting. Letter width also affects the viewing angle at which the lettering can be read. The wider the stroke of a letter, the wider the horizontal viewing angle, and viewing angle is important for sign visibility by potential customers passing at close proximity.
Contact: Mark Hackley