Doc Guthrie on getting the emphasis right in a sign layout

If you ask Doc Guthrie what he thinks is the most common error on sign layouts, he shoots back “improper emphasis” without hesitation. Doc was the instructor for the Sign Graphics program at Los Angeles Trade Tech College for nearly three decades. He also ran his own shop for thirty years.

As a young sign painter he realized that one message had to dominate a layout for the sign to be effective. He decided that for the typical small business, it should be the service or product that the business offers.