How to Make Your Signage Text Clean, Simple and Easy to Read

The effectiveness of your retail signage is reliant on succinct communication. After all, you have a handful of seconds to make an impact. This places a heavy emphasis on readability, a factor that all designers should value highly.

If your signage content is difficult to read, chances are it won't significantly contribute to your turnover. By selecting the correct pairing of font and colour, you can heighten the readability of your sign, thus making it more potent in its function.

There are several factors at play in producing easily digestible text. Here are four straightforward tips to help you in creating more digestible, more impactful text for your retail signage.

Opt for plain, sans-serif typefaces

Readability starts with a non-fussy font. While complex fonts like scripted or stylised typefaces can pack a punch when deployed for short headlines, they generally prove too tricky for the majority of readers, rendering them pointless for action-driven signs.

The slower the text on your signage is deciphered by your audience, the lesser the likelihood of them following through with your call to action. To make your signs effective, opt for an uncomplicated font which is easily understood.

Generally, a non-serif typeface is the go-to for headlines, subheadings, and other content that needs to be taken in quickly. Non-serif typefaces can likewise be useful for general sign copy, as long as the text isn't overly packed or extended.

Steer clear of excessively brilliant hues

While text in bold colours may sometimes be visually pleasing, more often than not it proves challenging to read and feels inappropriate. Avoid overbright text unless it's set against a dark backdrop that doesn't compete with the colour of the text.

Colour pairings like yellow-on-white are hard on the eyes and are apt to exasperate viewers rather than draw in their attention. It’s preferable to stick with colour combos that can be easily pieced together without necessitating focused concentration.

Black-on-white, blue-on-white, and other simple colour pairings usually work best. If a colour seems to naturally blend into its surroundings, it's often a safe bet.

Employ a faint outline for large text

An outline – a slight border encircling the text – can make large text more comprehensible, especially when it's set against a background colour similar to that of the text. Provided the conditions are right, adding an outline to your text is suggested.

Avoid outlining small text as it seldom improves readability and can often complicate the understanding of the character's shape. This is especially the case when the outline is placed within, as opposed to outside, the character.

Employ a faint outline – a hairline to pencil thickness on large text – to accentuate the character's shape and render it more prominent without distorting its form and legibility.

Ensure your text is an appropriate fit

Readability is largely influenced by the harmonious marriage of text and the surrounding space. When text 'fits' comfortably into an area, it naturally becomes more readily assimilated. Think about the difference between a single line of text and a dense block of text.

A simple way to enhance your sign's readability is to split up chunks of text into independent lines. Rather than cramming text into a dense paragraph, consider fragmenting your content into a series of bullet points or concise, easy to digest sentences.

Text that 'fits' comfortably within its designated space will invariably be more readable than that which forms part of a dense paragraph. Improve your text's readability by using white space and gaps to set it apart from the rest of the text, helping it to stand out to passers-by.