Glossary of Sign Terms
Backroom (Coaching) sign: Signage usually placed in a backroom or break room with messages for enhancing employee performance.
Benefit sign: A sign that points out facts about the merchandise in question, whether it has to do with construction, performance.
Clearance area sign: Signage that distinguishes areas containing priced-reduced products.
Customer profile sign: Signage that displays interesting information about a company's better known customers.
Digital signage: A form of electronic display showing advertising and public information in private and public areas (e.g. shopping malls, hospitals, colleges, retailers, small shops, waiting rooms, restaurants) both outdoor and indoor. Digital OOH and digital signage are sometimes used interchangeably; the first usually refers to large ad-based networks.
Education sign: Signage that teaches your customer about various topics (e.g. how a product works, how it was made, whether it is safe for the environment).
Emotional sign: Signage that forges an emotional connection with the customer.
Employee speak: Verbiage in signage that conveys a message directly to your employees.
Floor sign: A graphic or image displayed on the floor usually at the front of the establishment or the point of sale area.
Incentive sign: Signage that conveys a promise of a reward to employees.
Informational sign: Signage used to establish a store's personality, to build and reinforce a relationship with the customer, and to help cement a position in the community.
Mission/purpose statement sign: Signage that states a store's core values and fundamental beliefs.
Motivational sign: See incentive sign or backroom sign
Point-of-purchase sign: Signage that attracts interest, encourages message retention and drives sales; also, great at motivating additional purchases; see floor sign.
Policy sign: Signage that answers questions: Can this item be returned? How do I special order something? What happens if my expensive purchase doesn't work?
Price only sign: Signage that only displays pricing with no additional information (e.g. "$9.99").
Price proposition sign: Signage that only include numbers.
Product benefit sign: Signage that states the advantages of a product or service to the customer.
Promotional products: Little signs on different substrates, like pens, cups, apparel, keychains; usually includes a logo, tagline and contact information (phone number, website address).
QR code: A machine-readable code consisting of an array of black and white squares, typically used for storing URLs or other information for reading by a smartphone or camera.
Reminder sign: Signage that reminds a customer of something they might need or want, like batteries for a toy.
Testimonial sign: Signage that captures the feedback of a customer promoting a store's product and/or service.
Threshold area: The area within the first 10-20 feet of the entrance of the store (the number of feet varies only because of the size of the store).
Threshold sign: Signage that appears within the first 10-15 feet of entering a store.
Wayfinding (Directional) sign: Signage that tells customers "the way" to what they're looking for.
Window Graphics: A graphic or image placed usually on a customer facing window with messaging on sales, new products, upcoming events, etc.; used to drive traffic into the store.