Signs that surprise the viewer

It’s big and it doesn’t belong up there. It catches you off guard. It may look unusual, ancient or spectacular, but it certainly doesn’t look like the other signs we see every day. It sparks an immediate question in the viewer’s mind: “What’s that bicycle—or flying lady or giant cupcake—doing up there?” Now you really have their attention.

Creative signmakers have long known the value of surprise to get the attention of viewers. Once you’ve drawn their eyes with something that catches them off guard, it’s easy to get them to read the sign’s message.

It takes two things to make signs like this happen—outside-the-box creative thinking and a customer who sees the value of a very unique sign. When the customer is willing to spend a little more, you can create a sign that really catches their attention, or even becomes, as Dan Sawatzky says, a “landmark.”