Your shopfront is your first opportunity to make an impression on passersby. So let’s make it a great one!
Whether you’re unsure how to paint your storefront, looking for vinyl inspo, or deciding on a hanging sign, take inspiration from the 11 shopfront signage ideas we’ve compiled below:
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Painted shopfront ideas
There’s been a visible shift in shopfront trends over the last few years. What makes a chic shopfront has kind of come full circle — now, instead of illuminated, acrylic or metallic lettering, painted lettering is a lot more popular. Here are some of the CREOATE team’s favourites:
1. BookBar
BookBar is a bookshop (and bar! and cafe!) founded on the belief that bookshops should be social spaces primed for bookish chat with your best pals. The shopfront completely reflects this. The tonal colour choice is modern, fun and on-brand, while the lettering is clear and strong. We love how simple and striking it looks as a combo.
2. Know & Love
In stark contrast to BookBar, Know & Love opts for monochromatic simplicity with its shopfront signage, which lets the colourful window displays do all the talking.
3. What Mother Made
A few doors down, What Mother Made also opts for a plain white background. But unlike Know & Love, the lettering is anything but understated. Bold, eye-catching and downright funky, it really stands out among a street of subtle shopfronts.
4. Workshop
Workshop, a store and cafe, also keeps things simple when it comes to its shopfront. Opting for a near-black background brings a luxurious feel (and won’t show wear as much as white). The simplicity of the whole look allows the carefully curated windows and original building features to take centre stage.
5. Aesop
We couldn’t cover luxury without also mentioning Aesop. Unlike the other stores featured in this roundup, this is a global brand with several hundred stores internationally. But each one has a slightly different look.
Our favourite part of this display is the rich olive green background. We’ve mentioned the word simple too many times in this post already, but it really is a testament to the power of simplicity. A striking storefront doesn’t need to cost the earth — take that from a brand that could essentially spend anything on the perfect shopfront signage.
Vinyl ideas
A fun window vinyl can complement your external shopfront signage, or replace it altogether. Here are three shopfronts where the vinyls steal the show:
1. Papersmiths
Source: Pinterest
Papersmiths’s Bristol branch is completely reliant on its vinyls for brand recognition. But with vinyls this good, that’s no bad thing.
2. Dowse
Dowse’s simple, slim text vinyl perfectly complements a bold and colourful window that’s over the top in all the right ways. There’s even room to pop in the shop’s strapline; ‘Created & Curated Goods’.
3. Hold
Hold has also used a vinyl to give a flavour of what customers can find within — ‘Objects for Home and Life’. But our favourite is the enlarged logo, and the way it casts a shadow on the blank wall behind.
Hanging shop sign ideas
Hanging shop signs can sometimes feel a little twee, but here are three brands proving that they absolutely don’t have to be:
1. Halt
Halt lets its signature olive green do the talking, leaving the logo almost as a secondary thought. We think it works really well.
2. Black Bough
Source: Pinterest
Black Bough keeps things simple with a hanging shop sign that mirrors its painted shopfront to attract passersby from all angles.
3. Paint Box
Source: Pinterest
This sign for Paint Box is a great example of how to create a hanging sign that fits with your brand. It’s also perhaps a cautionary tale in placing style over practicality — there’s a whole Reddit thread dedicated to people who can only read this as ‘PAIB NOXT’.
Looking for more inspo?
Looking for more ideas on how to spruce up your store? Check out our post on ideas for your retail shop window display, our 16 tried-and-tested retail merchandising tips, and our advice on increasing footfall.
Want to shout out a lovely shopfront? Leave a comment below with your favourite — no judgement if it’s your own!
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