The Art And Science Of Custom Indoor Sign Design: How To Choose The Best Sign Color
Today’s post reviews some of the artistic and scientific principles at play when choosing the best colors for custom indoor sign designs. Call 972-428-3200 for a design free quote in Carrollton, TX.
What Is The Art And Science Of Indoor Sign Design In Carrollton, Texas?
We understand art as something intuitive, instinctive, and subjective; in contrast, science is researched, measured, and objective. For the best custom indoor sign results, we need to borrow from both ends of this spectrum, trusting artistic instincts informed by good science to produce beautiful and effective designs. And that’s exactly what we do at SignCraft and Graphics.
What follows is a look at some of the artistic and scientific principles at play when choosing the best colors for custom indoor sign designs.
Choosing The Best Custom Indoor Sign Color In Carrollton, Texas
Science says that sign color matters: studies by the International Sign Association show that logo color is responsible for up to 80% of trademark recognition.
So what colors are the most noticeable? That’s a difficult question; there is no general consensus in the scientific community. However, there is some agreement that “brighter is (usually) better,” as various authors have identified a “visual saliency bias” in brand choice that leads consumers to choose brightly packed products over alternatives. Similarly, one study by the Journal of Sport Management found that sponsored signs with “hot” colors (e.g. red) tended to attract more eyes than “cold” colors (e.g. blue). These conclusions were consistent with findings reported in psychology literature, but they’re ultimately unreliable since their study used no controls for well-known attention drivers like exposure duration and sign size.
The truth is that there’s no universal right answer. The best color for your custom indoor sign will depend on a lot of different factors, and this is where the artistic side of your sign design starts creeping in. Some locations and market segments will have different aesthetic sensibilities. You’ll also need to ask yourself what emotions you want your design to evoke, and at a more basic level, what colors you like—you’re the one who will be staring at that sign every day, after all. The presence of any colorful images or logos also factors in. But don’t stress about this subjective decision-making—our in-house graphic design experts are there to help.
Once you’re set on the color of your text or background, science can help you choose an effective pairing. In Visual Communication Through Signage, James and Karen Claus ranked the following color combinations from most-to-least readable:
- Black on yellow
- Black on white
- Yellow on black
- White on blue
- Yellow on blue
- Green on white
- Blue on yellow
- White on green
- White on brown
- Brown on yellow
- Brown on white
- Yellow on brown
- Red on white
- Yellow on red
- Red on yellow
- White on red
Free Custom Indoor Sign Design Consultation In Carrollton, TX
Visit the SignCraft and Graphics website or call 972-428-3200 for more help with the art and science of custom indoor sign design in Carrollton, Texas. All consultations are 100% free, and same-day quotes are available.
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