Frequent or Impulse Needs

Businesses designed to meet frequent or impulse needs must reach out and pull people in on the spot.  Examples of these include grocery stores, gas stations, hotels, video stores, restaurants, convenience stores, and car washes.

 

Many of these business’s customers need to make a quick decision to stop.  Therefore, their signage should be eye-catching with a brief, simple message that can be read and understood quickly.  The businesses must be noticed and recognized at precisely the right time by those ready to buy.  Often these businesses rely heavily on attracting tourists and need to be sure those unfamiliar with the business can tell right away what is sold there.  

 

The typical McDonald’s is a good example.  The “golden arches” are such familiar icons that the McDonald’s sign can be easily recognized long before the sign’s lettering can be read.  This gives a driver plenty of time to notice the sign, make a decision to stop, and safely maneuver through traffic.  An independent fast food restaurant with a poorly-designed sign that is hard to see, hard to read, and hard to understand, will have great difficulty competing for the frequent need customer even if the food, service, and pricing are superior. 

 

If your sign is going to convince the impulse customer to stop at your business, it must be designed so that the important information is easily recognized at a glance.  People driving down the street can take in a great deal of information.  Seventy-five percent will pick out the key word on a sign the first time they pass it.  Make sure the first time someone reads your sign they immediately understand the most important information – what you are selling.  Any additional information should be designed to keep your repeat customers interested in your sign and your business so they remember to come see you again. 

 

Because we read from the top down and left to right, the key word, graphic, or logo should be located at the top of the sign and read from left to right.  Otherwise, the reader can get confused and take longer to understand the sign’s message.  This delay can mean the person who is seeing the sign for the first time is unable to read and react to it before driving past your business