How to get your sign size right

How to choose the size of an outdoor advertising sign

Font, colour and overall size are the three starting points when ordering a sign. If you have already settled on the colour and font, we would like to help you with the last one, because most customers who come to us cannot decide on the best size for their future sign on their own.

And that is only natural: there are certain proportions that make the shape and size of a sign look harmonious, and it is specialists with experience in the field who know them.

It makes no difference what your business is (a public institution, a beauty salon, a restaurant or a shop): the rules below are universal and can be applied to any custom order.

The best sign size: what to consider

An advertising sign is clearly more than just an identifier and part of your company's image. It is a link between you and your potential customers. That is why every customer wants to be sure their sign is easy to read and visible from afar.

Naturally, the larger the sign, the more it costs and the more noticeable it is. But going big is not always the right choice. On a narrow street, for example, a large sign is hard to read at a glance.

However, if your premises are not on the roadside and are away from the main pedestrian flow, your sign should be as noticeable as possible, which means bright and fairly large.

Since the human eye perceives different colours differently, use the table to find the minimum letter height for a sign in a given colour.

Some colours are easier to distinguish than others. As the table shows, red is the most visible, followed by light blue. Green is the hardest to see. RVK Tashuta specialists always take this into account on every order.

The proportions of a sign are more complicated. Ideal proportions are always limited by the size of the space available on the building façade, and by the need to approve the design in line with the city's architectural and artistic concept.

Still, here is an illustration of the size ratios people find most pleasing: 1:3, 1:2, 3:5 and 2:3:

These examples can help you with any design for your premises (for example, with sign plates and other advertising media). Interestingly, the cosy windows of old European buildings were designed to exactly these proportions, and architects never do anything without a reason!

Recommended sizes for different types of advertising media:

Billboards: standard 3x6 m, large 5x10 and 5x15 m.
Building wraps (large wall panels fixed to the side wall of a building) are up to 250 m² in area.
Pylons (flat free-standing advertising structures on a support) have an advertising surface of 1.20x1.80 m.
Double-sided projecting signs should also be no larger than 1.20x1.80 m.
Information and advertising sign plates come in sizes up to 1 m.
Advertising steles (narrow vertical structures) are up to 20 m high.
Advertising direction signs should be 1x1.50 m or 1.20x1.80 m.
Non-illuminated information signs are at most 1x2 m.

The huge range of outdoor advertising media makes it easy to meet any marketing goal in any field. So it helps to know the main characteristics and size requirements of the sign you can order from us!

Of course, every case is different, so we will work out all the details when you place your order in whichever way suits you best.