Retail Graphic Design Tips
Retail graphic design and visual merchandising for retail stores can help to enhance your storefront and your store’s interior. However, they can also boost sales, improve your brand, and create a more energetic and exciting shopping environment!
In today’s article, our Phoenix printing experts at PRI Graphics have put together a number of tips when it comes to retail graphic design and printing.
Pick Easy to Read Fonts
There are endless choices for fonts but that doesn’t mean you should consider them all. Most graphic designers recommend sticking to just one or two fonts per sign and picking fonts that are clear and easy to read. Avoid cursive fonts and make sure you pick a font size that is large enough to read at a distance, especially if your target market is Baby Boomers.
San Serif fonts like Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, and Avant Garde are a few examples. The more words you add to your retail graphic design the more important it is to pick simple, clean, and highly legible fonts.
Choose the Right Colors
Interior retail marketing graphics may require a different color scheme than exterior graphic design so adjust accordingly. You can also use colored vinyl graphics to promote a specific season (think green, red and gold for a Christmas promotion) or to support your brand (pick colors that compliment your logo or are in your brand’s color scheme). For more information, visit our article entitled, “Why Color Presentation Printing.”
It is also important to consider how people who are color blind may see your sign. The following color combinations are hard for people who are color blind to see, so best to avoid them in your retail marketing graphics design:
- Green and Red (or brown)
- Green and Grey (or black)
- Blue and Purple (or grey)
- Green and Blue
- Light Green and Yellow
Less is More
In an era where people send short text messages and often use abbreviations, it is important to keep editing your sign’s text until it is as succinct as possible. Get rid of any extra words and look for ways to simplify the message.
Be Specific and Give a Reason
Your graphic design for retail stores should tell the customer exactly what they are buying or why they should buy. A good approach is to avoid listing features and focus on the benefits – the solution that your product or service will provide.
For instance, if you were selling hair products then perhaps the sign might read, “Get rid of dandruff once and for all.”
If you were selling roses then your sign might read, “Roses, the easiest way to say you’re sorry.”
Use Graphics to Add Meaning
You never know who may be looking at your retail marketing graphics and trying to read what it says. Try and use complimentary graphics to help convey the sign’s meaning. For instance, add a bathroom logo, an arrow, or a symbol to help translate a way-finding sign for those who may not be able to read (or those who are not confident with English).
Be Memorable and Make an Impression
In order to stand out your retail graphic design needs to be memorable. Often, companies will also use humor or a witty phrase to catch their customers off guard and make a memorable impression.
See our post on using vinyl graphics to promote your business.
Don’t Skip on Quality
Most customers will assume that average signage relates to an average product. You want your retail graphic design to reflect the quality of your products or service. This often means investing in high-quality graphics and visual merchandising like commercial wall coverings that speak to customers and make a lasting impression.
Test Out Your New Retail Graphic Design
Once your retail graphic design is completed and printed it is time to put your signs on display and see how they look and perform:
- Make sure you install the sign at the right angle so people can see it easily.
- Is the sign going in a window? Make sure you can see what it says through the glass and possible reflection.
- If it’s retail interior graphic design, will it have adequate lighting? For instance, if it is installed at the back of your retail space will you be able to read it from the front of the store or from a reasonable distance.
- Account for all times of day too! How does your sign look in the morning and at night once the sun is setting?
About PRI Graphics in Phoenix AZ
For more information on retail graphic design, visual merchandising, and signage, visit our PRI Graphics website and view the Environmental & Way-finding Graphics Printing Services page.
Do you have questions still about retail signage? Or would you like to work with one of our in-house graphic designers?
PRI Graphics specializes in both commercial and wholesale printing. We also offer professional printing services for retail and the franchise industry and would be happy to assist you.
To reach our printing experts at PRI Graphics in Phoenix, please call 1-602-393-3131 or send us an email. We can also be reached by calling toll free at 1-877-409-8889.
Related Articles:
Here is an interesting related article by Forbes entitled, 5 Trends That Will Redefine Retail In 2019.
