64 Poorly Designed Signs That Resulted In Hilarious Messages

You might assume that you’re an expert on signage based purely on the fact that you’ve seen thousands of them. Nowadays, it’s kind of impossible to avoid them. We’re bombarded with signs when driving on the highway, walking down the street, passing any business, and even when we open up any webpage. In fact, the average person consciously sees about 100 ads per day, many of which come in the form of signs.

But just because we’re all used to seeing signs doesn’t mean that we have the skills to create them. As we can clearly see from this list, it’s harder than it looks! Apparently, it’s extremely important to get a second, third, or perhaps even a tenth opinion before sending a sign to print. Or you might get roasted online for creating a ridiculous message like “We Don’t Care, Give Up.”      

If you want to avoid the mistakes that have been made on this list, Vistaprint published “The Ultimate Guide To Signage Design,” so we’ll share some of their wisdom with you, pandas. First, they note that there are different types of signs that serve various purposes, so it’s important to understand the specific niche you want to fit into first.

Designing a billboard is different from designing a banner, and A-frames, digital screens, shop fronts, and flags all have their unique requirements as well. So step one requires doing lots of research. Peruse loads of inspiration first, and understand exactly what you want (and don’t want) before committing to anything concrete. 

Once you’ve made it to the drafting stage of designing a sign, it’s important not to get too attached to any one idea. Feel free to play around and experiment to ensure you find the best possible design. And once you do believe that you’re making progress, you’ll have to get reviews and feedback from people whose opinions you trust. It’s not always easy to hear critiques, but it’s much better to hear them in the drafting stage than after you’ve printed 300 signs.   

When it comes to the most important elements of sign design, Vistaprint says color, typography, graphics and images, material, texture, and size and scale are crucial to consider. You want the sign to stand out, but in a good way. You need the font to be legible and appropriate for the message, but the correct size as well. The text should be concise, perfectly visible, and engaging. Ideally, the message will be one that people remember and something that’s consistent with the rest of the brand.

As for some of the most common mistakes sign designers tend to make, Forbes warns that a lack of contrast can ruin any great message. If the text doesn’t stand out from the background, nobody will be able to read it. But that doesn’t mean the colors should clash. There’s a fine line between having a bold contrast and hurting people’s eyes when they look at the sign.

Something else to consider is the artwork featured on a sign. The words might be the most important part, but the images featured play a huge role too. It’s extremely important to put artwork in front of many eyes to ensure that it won’t be misconstrued. This means having viewers look at it from various distances to see if it translates from close up and far away. And if your company has a logo, it’s wise to include that in any and all signage too. 

Finally, sign designers (de-sign-ers?) have to remember that their work doesn’t exist in a vacuum. They must consider the context in which people will view their messages. If the design doesn’t match the location where it will be seen, it’s never going to be effective. For example, what works well on a billboard in the center of a city might be pointless on a beachside boardwalk. Remember all of these factors if you want to get your point across. 

Are you enjoying these hilarious sign fails, pandas? Keep upvoting the ones that you can’t believe were actually printed, and let us know in the comments below what the worst sign you’ve ever spotted out in the wild was. Then, if you’re interested in checking out another list from Bored Panda featuring the same subreddit, look no further than right here!

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