If you’re a restaurant owner, you know how competitive and challenging it can be to draw in new diners. Post-pandemic changes and an increasingly crowded landscape mean you have to get creative to stand out from the crowd, and one great way to do that is with your signage. Whether it’s promoting a grand opening, advertising new menu items, or driving general brand awareness, the right sign can stop hungry diners and drive them straight to your doors.
So how do you choose the most effective signage for your restaurant? Keep reading for a few tips to impress your customers and keep them coming back when their stomach growls.
The Best Types of Signage for Your Restaurant
- Exterior banners. Banners are a great choice for restaurants because they’re made of durable materials, can be customized, and offer high visibility. Use one of our banner display systems (or simple 2x4s from Home Depot) to install a banner in the grass near the street, or hang one over the entrance or on the exterior wall of your drive through. Just remember - especially for exterior banners targeted at people driving by - to keep banner designs simple. Research shows that, on average, you have eight seconds to capture someone’s attention. And if someone is hangry, you may have even less time, so it’s important to keep your messaging simple and streamlined. Rather than overcrowding it with a paragraph about your menu options, turn to compelling visual elements and short, attention-grabbing text. When it comes to typeface, steer clear of decorative fonts and go for easy-to-read sans serif fonts. Also, avoid italics and all caps because that can make the text harder to read.
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Window decals. Consider using the windows if you have limited space to hang a banner or signs. Window clings and decals are a great way to feature your brand or promote specific menu items. You can find what fits your space and choose from something small to a complete window (or door) covering. A full covering could give diners a nice sense of privacy while also catching the attention of passersby. Static clings and decals can be used for the short term, while adhesive-backed stickers can last years.
For window designs, it’s important to consider color contrast and what will stand out in your space. Design pros recommend choosing colors with high contrast - light text for a dark background and dark text for a light background. But you’ll need to consider which colors will stand out against a window or door, which can appear dark from the outside. Consider choosing white or yellow lettering to make the sign pop. Or, if the interior is well-lit, black or dark green lettering can jump out great.
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Flags. Flags are a versatile choice, so you can find exactly what you need for your business. Custom flags can be one of the best ways to grab customers' attention, especially if your space allows them to stand tall over the building. This can add extra pizzazz to existing outdoor decorations and make it easy for customers to notice your restaurant. When choosing a flag, finding the size, color, shape, and design that best suits your brand and space is important. One restaurant might want two five-foot-tall feather flags to welcome diners as they walk up to the entrance, while another might prefer an 18-foot-high teardrop flag on the roadside to attract new customers.
Whichever type of flag you choose, keep color psychology in mind when designing them since different colors elicit different human responses. For example, blues and greens can make us feel calm, while red creates a sense of urgency, encouraging customers to buy. It’s also believed that red can stimulate the appetite, making it a favorite shade in the restaurant industry. Yellows and oranges are excellent choices, too since they’re warm, cheerful, and more likely to inspire hunger. Just don’t go overboard with too many colors, which can clutter the flag, confuse viewers, and detract from your message.
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Floor graphics. Similar to window decals, if your restaurant is short on wall space, floor graphics can be an eye-catching promotional tool. These graphics can also add an artistic touch to your space, and the options for custom designs, colors, and images are virtually endless. You can also place them outside the restaurant for more impactful promotion and branding. One of the biggest upsides of floor graphics is how easy they are to install and remove, which means you can rotate your marketing messages or spice up the look of your space with different designs and visual elements. But, even though they’re easy to remove, they’re still very durable with a base vinyl layer, strong adhesive, and anti-skid laminate coating.
If you’re considering floor graphics, be sure to think about the readability of any text, images, or logos you use. Keep in mind how the elements line up together, and make sure they’re laid out left to right for ease of reading and understanding. Whatever elements you decide to include, you want to ensure that customers can comprehend them quickly and easily.
- Get creative with other signage options. Don’t stop there! BestFlag prints a range of signage for its restaurant clients that may not show up as a standard e-commerce offering on our site. So, whether you need translites or backlit options to promo special menu items, ceiling danglers, table tents, register toppers or more, we have you covered. Just reach out to our team with your specific needs, and we’d be happy to provide a quote.
Your Restaurant Can Stand Out
There are numerous options available to help promote your restaurant, attract new customers, and stand out from the crowd. Whether you choose a banner, flag, window decals, floor graphics or something outside the box, remember basic design elements to ensure you create the most eye-catching signage possible.
And if you need help choosing or designing promotional signage, BestFlag has you covered. We can help you create beautiful custom flags, banners, and signs to make your restaurant pop.
