Effective design creates a powerful first impression
The business’s sign often makes the critical initial contact with prospective customers
By Dan Antonelli
Posted on Tuesday, April 30th, 2019
Recently, a new restaurant opened up near my office. It had been vacant for almost ten years, and people were very excited for it to reopen. I remember how upscale the inside was and was hoping a nice sign would capture how nice it looked.
But, like many small businesses, they opted to cut corners and simply put one-color cut vinyl on top of the old sign. And to be truthful, it looks awful. Yet, this same restaurant has appetizers all starting at $10, and entrees all starting at $30. Would the average person be able to make the leap in assuming how classy and high end the interior and meal selection was from a drive by? No—they would not.
Image is everything: We’ve all heard that saying before, but it speaks to many truths about how people judge by impressions they have formed. Whether you’re a restaurant, or a service business, how you present yourself to the public is how they perceive your business. Design functions to control that perception by building a positive brand impression. The idea is to have people assume or feel something about that business, even if they know nothing at all about it.
Dan Antonelli owns KickCharge Creative (formerly Graphic D-Signs, Inc.) in Washington, New Jersey. His latest book, Building a Big Small Business Brand, joins his Logo Design for Small Business I and II. He can be reached at dan@kickcharge. com. Dan also offers consulting and business coaching services to sign companies. For more information, visit danantonelli.com. On Instagram: @danantonelli_kickcharge.