Your shopfront is your first opportunity to make an impression on passers-by. 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 13 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. Amoret
Source: Pinterest
Housed in a Notting Hill townhouse, Amoret Coffee Roasters' shopfront showcases a grand mural depicting Kaldi the goat-herder, an Ethiopian legend who discovered the stimulating effects of the coffee plant, as the story goes. The artwork is a collaboration between the shop's owner, Sadiq Merchant, and barista-turned-artist Tim Shaw.
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’.
3-D Display Ideas
Incorporating 3-D and textured elements into your shopfront designs can add a unique twist to your brick-and-mortar that jumps out to passers-by by and adds an instantly recognisable symbol to your branding:
1. Les Senteurs
Source: Les Senteurs
This perfumery in Belgravia always has a fabulous display of flowers on their storefront. Here, a giant perfume bottle filled with flowers inside the store is styled to look like it has been sprayed, and the scent is so decadent it has seemingly escaped the store. The result? A dynamic, sweet-smelling 3-D storefront.
2. Summerill & Bishop
Summerill & Bishop is a home and tablewares retailer in Holland Park. Their shopfront changes every few months, each highlighting a distinct art style. This go round they've been inspired by the streets of Lisbon, using secondhand china plates from charity shops to adorn their shopfront that creates a stunning result.
3. Pedlars
The Pedlars general store in Notting Hill focuses on colourful, British-made eclectic fare, and their storefront definitely reflects that. The orange bicycle in front of their shop adds a pop of eye-catching brightness against their dusty blue paint job.
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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