Parking lots are more dangerous than most people realize, and many drivers are distracted when navigating their way into, through, and out of your parking lot. While you can’t keep them from texting or adjusting radios, you can design and deploy parking lot signage that’s highly visible to make it as easy as possible for them to find entrances, exits, and parking spots, obey speed limits, and avoid accidents.

Parking lot signage should be seen and understood quickly and viewed where they improve traffic flow and help with swift decision-making. Your customers are often in a hurry and signage can reduce accidents leading to potential legal liabilities and reduce conflicts and disputes with customers. Visible parking lot signage can also attract more customers, provide for more efficient use of parking spaces, and when the signage is constructed of high-quality materials, require little maintenance and result in long-term savings.

First Steps for Designing Visible Parking Signs

You should take several factors into consideration for determining effective parking lot signage design. Start by assessing potential challenges like sight line obstructions, inferior or inconsistent lighting, or unique information or warnings you need to share and are necessary for customer safety. It’s also important to develop parking lot signage as a coordinated system of instructions and messages that create confidence for drivers and visitors navigating their way through your parking lot or garage.

The major issues to address include:

Purpose of the sign

Parking lot signs perform three basic functions.

• They regulate behavior and impose rules that drivers and pedestrians must follow to prevent accidents. These include stop signs, yield signs, no parking or restricted parking signs and handicap parking signs.
• Parking lot signs also alert people about potential hazards that require their attention and caution. Warning signs include pedestrian crossing signs, speed limit signs, watch for children signs, and slippery when wet signs.
• Informational parking lot signage, as its name implies, gives drivers and pedestrians important information to help them navigate your parking lot from the moment they enter until exiting. Informational parking lot signage includes enter and exit signs, reserved or handicap parking signs, visitor parking signs, and payment instruction signage.

Placement of the sign

Parking lot signage must be seen to be effective, and signage visibility and the legibility of message is a primary concern for drivers and pedestrians who need to make important decisions quickly. This requires an understanding of the paths your visitors travel and whether there is adequate light on and around navigational signage. There are often natural or architectural features like trees and bushes or other buildings that may obstruct viewpoints and that can impact the effectiveness of the signage.

It’s possible to elevate signs above the obstruction or use multiple or large signs to increase visibility. Also consider when your parking lot receives the most business and determine whether using reflective letters and graphics or additional lighting makes it easier for your signs to be read at any time.

Vantage point of reader

Your visitors look at your signage from a variety of distances and perspectives as they move throughout your parking lot. Position signage at heights to give drivers a clear, unobstructed view, use fonts and colors that work together to create distinct, legible messaging, and include familiar graphics, symbols, and shapes that convey information visually and quickly.

Keep areas uncluttered with too much signage and manage traffic flow by identifying key intersections where bottlenecks could occur and using arrows to suggest directions in addition to printed information. You can eliminate confusion and prevent accidents with strategic with well-placed signage that enhances both driver and pedestrian safety and improves their experience.

Selecting the Right Fonts, Colors, and Sizes for Your Parking Lot Signage

The clarity and effectiveness of your parking lot signage depends on using the right fonts that are easy to read, colors that contrast between text and background, and shapes and sizes that carry special meaning and give visual clues.

Best Fonts for Parking Lot Signage

Stick to fonts that are sans serif, meaning the letters don’t have those little artistic flairs at the end of font characters. These fonts tend to look cleaner and more professional, and create a more striking, uncluttered appearance that’s easy to read. For best results, use the most classic san-serif fonts that include Arial, Avenir, Bebas, Futura, Helvetica, Proxima Nova.

It’s also good practice to avoid using more than 3 different fonts on one sign, to use both capital and lowercase lettering, and keep your sign messaging precise. Remember that if your signs can’t be read, they’re not doing you or your visitors any good. Follow general guidelines for font size depending on distance and whether the text will be read by a driver or pedestrian. There may be government regulations to comply with. Make the messaging brief and to the point with an understanding of exactly what your visitor wants to know at that specific moment.

Best Colors for Parking Lot Signage

Contrast is king when it comes to determining how to use colors to make your parking lot signage effective. When there is a high color contrast between text and background color the visibility of the sign is enhanced, especially from distances. It can help make signs easier to read in low light or dimly lit areas. Use color combinations like black and white, yellow and black, and blue and white. Avoid color combinations that may prevent color-blind individuals from distinguishing text from background such as green and red or blue and yellow.

The color you select for your parking lot signage can also be used to quickly convey safety information to visitors and stand out in any environment. Red grabs attention and has significance with drivers and pedestrians as a warning color or for stop signs. Blue and white is a familiar combination used in handicap parking signage and green and white are common on directional signs. Black and white, perhaps the most traditional color combo, works great in parking regulatory signage.

Facilities with multiple parking lots can use color coding to distinguish lots from each other and make it easier for drivers to find their vehicles after completing their visit. Colors should be distinct from each other for easy identification.

Designing parking signs that are visible to drivers and pedestrians results in fewer accidents, better use of space, more efficient traffic flow, and better experiences for visitors. Anchor Graphics has the parking sign solutions to help you increase revenue, comply with regulations, and create a safer environment for all your customers.