My name is Mike, and ever since I was small, I have loved making celebratory signs. I was always the kid with the 'welcome home' or 'happy birthday' sign at my house, and as soon as my parents bought our first computer, I started making signs using software programming. I followed that path later in life and have helped many friends design their signs. I love special occasion signs in particular. If you own a business, are planning a party, or have a special event coming up, please explore this space. It has everything you ever wanted to know about signs and hopefully more!
When you're designing window signage for your retail business, there's a lot to think about. Since this is one of the first things people will see before they even walk through the door, it needs to look professional and present a clear message. Then there's your branding to consider, with fonts, graphics and colours being important.
Something often forgotten when it comes to signage design, however, is how easily it can be read by people who struggle with their sight. While some people can see so little that they rely solely on audio or tactile cues for navigation and other information, there are others who are legally blind but have some limited working vision.
Here are some ways to make sure your signage is more easily readable for people with partial sight.
Choose a clear font
Although ornate fonts look good, they can be extremely difficult for partially-sighted people to read. Avoid anything curly and decorative, and preferably use only sans serif typefaces.
With serifs and overly-decorative fonts, it's very easy for people to mix up different letters, so the choice of font is one of the most important when designing an easily-read sign.
Make important text larger
Limit the amount of text on your signs so you have space to make the text large enough for it to be read easily. If there's a lot of text that needs to be included for legal or other reasons, at least ensure the important bits are in a big font.
If you're forced to include a section in a small typeface, you could add a large message instructing customers who are struggling to read it to ask for assistance.
Use contrasting colours
The easiest colour schemes for people with partial sight are black on white or black on yellow. Other colours shouldn't cause too much difficulty, as long as there's a strong contrast.
You should avoid using two different shades of the same colour, or anything that's close enough in the spectrum that they could blend into one another if they're not seen clearly.
Place signage carefully
Some partially-sighted people have a very limited field of vision, which makes it difficult to locate signs. The ideal placement for anything important is on the door, or at least very close to it. It should also be fixed at a logical eye level so people don't have to look up or down to find it.
Although there's no one-size-fits-all location for signs to be found easily, with a bit of thought you can come up a good spot.
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