Church signs are powerful tools for communicating with your congregation and community. They inspire with poignant quotes, keep us informed on community events, and attract new members with uplifting messages. Signs also share your church’s mission, values, and visual identity. It helps passersby understand who you are and why it’s so important.
A thoughtfully designed sign is a must for every church. If you’re unsure where to begin, let this article serve as your guide. New Style Signs is happy to assist you as well.
5 Stylish Design Tips for Faith-Based Signage
1. Make sure it’s readable.
Readability is the foundation of adequate signage. After all, signs are meant to inform and communicate with viewers. If no one can understand what your sign says, then there’s practically no point in having a sign at all.
As you begin to design your custom church sign, keep readability at the forefront of your mind. The signage designers at Troi Mailing can help, too. With decades of signage expertise, we understand what makes a sign readable… and what will leave viewers feeling confused.
Readability is determined by four major factors: font size, font type, spacing, and contrast. The writing must be large enough that it can be read easily, even at a distance or from a moving object, like a vehicle. Additionally, certain font types or styles are more readable than others.
That’s why religious signage often features sans-serif fonts, such as Helvetica, Arial, and Verdana. These fonts feature clean, simple letterforms that are easy to scan, even from a distance, quickly.
Adequate spacing ensures that each letter stands out on its own without getting lost in a garble with its neighbours. Contrast has a similar effect. Strong contrast between the font and the background makes each letter easier to distinguish.
2. Incorporate lighting for 24/7 visibility.
Whenever someone passes by your church, you want them to be able to read your sign — even if you’re closed for the night! Someone may be moved by your message and stop by at a later date. They might see the information for an upcoming event and decide to attend.
A well-lit sign is a 24/7 evangelist for your church. Consequently, many churches find it worthwhile to invest in a sign that has lighting built into its design. For instance, a lightbox sign, an outdoor LED sign, a changeable letter sign, or a monument sign with an LED display. These types of signs ensure that your sign can be easily spotted and read, regardless of the time of day or night.
You can also position your church sign near an existing light source; however, this doesn’t have the same impact. Signs with their light source are more noticeable, more attractive, and easier to see and read.
3. Customize the design to reflect your church’s aesthetics.
A church is many things. It’s a place for community, tradition, and connection with the divine. However, churches are also brands.
Like other organizations and companies, your church has a unique brand identity that includes its values, personality, and visual elements. A strong brand identity enables people to recognize who you are, what you stand for, and what you can offer them.
Religious signage is a fantastic opportunity to share your church’s brand identity and aesthetics with passersby. Therefore, ensure you include your church’s logo, colours, and font styles. When all of your church’s signage, bulletins, and digital platforms have the same visual identity, it helps to make your church more recognizable.
4. Include service times and other valuable information.
Church signage helps to keep congregations informed. They function almost like bulletin boards for your community, letting your members know what’s happening and when. Although it’s beautiful and meaningful to share inspiring messages with your community, more functional and logistical messages are equally important.
Consider using your church sign to share the following information with your community:
- Share service times and schedule changes.
- Announce upcoming religious dates.
- Promote programs like support groups, summer camps, and new glasses.
- Include information about upcoming community events.
- Celebrate the success of your members.
5. Keep it simple
There are endless design options for church signage. It’s easy to go overboard!
Between sharing inspirational quotes, posting about upcoming events, and including important contact information, your sign might end up looking cluttered and overwhelming. Therefore, it’s crucial to remember the core principle of all great design: keep it simple!
Simplicity works best. You should avoid stuffing too much content onto a small sign, since it can overwhelm viewers. Similarly, too many colours, font styles, and lights can be visually confusing and harm readability. It can also look unprofessional and disorganized.
Instead, stick to one or two font styles, sizes, and colours. Prioritize neutral colours over bold and bright ones. If you have a lot of information to share, consider using a sign that displays a computer-changeable message and rotates through different messages.
More Ways to Make Your Signs More Effective
Update Your Message Frequently
Your church has a lot of valuable information to share. Your sign should reflect that. Updating your message frequently is an excellent way to provide continuing value to your congregation and passersby. You never know who needs to hear precisely what you have to say at that exact moment.
Furthermore, regular updates keep your neighbourhood engaged and interested. Even if a person is not a member of your church (yet), they will always be curious to see what new message your church is sharing this week. Over time, they may be so inspired that they’ll attend their first service at your institution.
Choose the Perfect Spot
Even the most beautiful and thoughtfully designed won’t do much good if it’s hidden behind a tree! It’s essential to pick the best place for your new church sign. You should consider surrounding obstacles, such as a tall tree, a neighbouring building, or a competing sign. Ensure there are no visual obstructions!
Additionally, think about existing lighting. Although we suggest choosing a sign with built-in lighting, a little surrounding ambient light never hurts.
Invest in High-Quality Signage
Lastly, remember that signage is an investment. Invest well. It is always worth investing more in a high-quality, durable, and attractive sign, even if it costs more upfront. Low-quality signage not only fails to last but also doesn’t look good.
With a high-quality sign, your church will make the best first impression on everyone passing by. It will also stand the test of time and require fewer repairs. Ultimately, your initial investment can save you hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars.
High Quality Church Signage from New Style Signs
New Style Signs creates high-quality, custom signage for churches in Southern Ontario. We have served our community for more than fifty years, proving ourselves to be the GTA’s go-to signage company.
Our signs are durable, long-lasting, and fully customized. We also have an experienced design team, ready to help create a sign that aligns with your church’s mission.
To learn more about church signs, call New Style Signs at 866-591-6938 or contact us here.
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