Should You Use Black and White Designs for Retail Signs?

In everything from photography to cinema, black and white configurations have often stood out, making a powerful statement. As the use of color is prevalent in signages, black and white might be an excellent, unique alternative.

However, the truth is, despite having a small niche in advertising and signage, black and white are generally not as effective as color-filled design in retail signages.

If you're contemplating using black and white for advertising or retail signage, continue reading to understand why a spectrum of colors in advertisements is generally more efficient than limited black and white designing.

Black and white isn't as memorable as color

How many advertisements do you recall seeing daily? Though we encounter thousands of ads daily, only an exceptional few remain etched into our memories, primarily after we've viewed them multiple times.

Color is a crucial factor for content recollection. We are more likely to recall signages and advertisements using striking, vivid colors rather than a black and white retail sign or advertisement.

A/B tests between monochrome and color advertisements and signages have confirmed this. An ad test by Airgas showed that colorful ads were remembered by 33% more people than black and white printed ones.

Effective branding hinges on your message's recallability. A black and white ad may seem highly stylistic, but it is often a hindrance for business in terms of brand recognition.

Color signages almost always get more attention

Besides being more memorable, color signages generally draw more attention than black and white ones. This is due to various factors, such as our eyes naturally leaning towards colorful content, or color simply being more conspicuous.

Though black and white are at each extreme, the design options between them are limited. Various gray shades are available, but they seldom stand out in a design like colors such as blue, red, or yellow.

When using black and white in your advertisements, gray becomes a necessary addition for other elements. This diminishes contrast, making your signs harder to identify from afar.

In full-color designing, you can utilize contrasting colors that don't decrease contrast but enhance it. This implies your signage and advertising can procure a more observable look, making it more successful at capturing audience attention.

Black and white make it tougher to showcase detail

Though seemingly more artistic compared to full color, black and white confine you when it comes to showing detail. As only gray serves as an intermediary color in black and white, it captures less detail than color.

Everything from shadows to mid-tones, all colors between stark black and pure white, become gray in black and white designs. This makes it hard to highlight your product in any detail or genuinely capture a scene in your signage and advertising.

On the other hand, full-color designs capture detail beyond what's possible with black and white. From photographs to stylized cartoons, your advertising can showcase an array of details.

Color provides numerous benefits to marketers, from standing out from afar to enhancing your signage's memorability. While black and white might carry a certain artistic and stylish appeal, it's seldom the appropriate choice for your signage and advertising.