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Importance of Sound Design in the Sign Industry

June 9^th, 2011 - Wes Button

Typography, color theory, and balance are three major design concepts that help create a professional sign. Although it is often overlooked in our industry, sound design in your signage absolutely effects how potential clients perceive your business or brand.

Part 1: Typography

There are many millions of pages written on the topic of Typography, and many of the basic tenants of solid typography apply to signs, vehicle graphics, banners, and so on. An often overlooked area of importance is whitespace. The space that surrounds your content, the spacing between lines (leading), and the spacing between individual letters (kerning) are very important.

 

Fig. 1: Ensuring that each letter is spaced according to the volume that appears between the letters, and not a linear measurement between the edges of each letter, is key.

 Fig. 2: Appropriate whitespace between multiple lines makes text easier to follow.

Fig. 3: The whitespace surrounding the sign’s text (padding) gives the text ‘breathing room’ and lets the reader easily navigate the message while reading. Although using up more of the space may seem like getting ‘more bang for your buck’, in reality you are getting a less effective and legible sign.