The Evils of Invisible Tape

How many times have you walked into a place of business, only to be greeted by a sign taped to the window like this one? Forget the content of the sign for a moment, we’re simply looking at the display of the sign itself:

There are several problems with this particular sign. We could talk about the wording of the sign, the fact that capital letters make it seem like they’re yelling at their customers, why “italic” font isn’t the best for readability, and why the image of the padlock should be replaced.

But the first problem I notice with this sign is the invisible tape used to hang it up.

What’s wrong with using invisible tape to hang a sign on your entryway? I see three main problems:

1. Invisible tape doesn’t work as advertised. Namely, it’s not actually invisible. Most brands of invisible tape are actually fairly cloudy looking, and the closest-to-true-invisible brands tend to gather finger oil and bubble up while being applied.
2. You’re making a first impression, and the tape isn’t helping. Unless you run a “hole-in-the-wall” restaurant or a government agency, the tape contributes to an image of “junky, thrown together crap”. Especially if your sign is well-designed and printed on nice cardstock, the tape effectively cancels out your efforts on the messaging itself. Consider the example above — it’s bad enough that some people’s first experience with this restaurant will be that it’s closed, the presentation of the message should help assuage that problem, not exacerbate it.
3. The tape is just lazy (and / or cheap). There are plenty of ways to hang a sign without resorting to invisible tape. Suction cups, wire, pushpins, magnets, all kinds of simple, efficient ways to keep your messaging while improving your image. If you simply must use tape, try rolling the tape (to make it faux-double-sided) and sticking it on the back of the paper, out of sight.

I understand this may sound incredibly nit picky. But when you’re developing a brand identity (and if you own a small business, you’re doing just that), all these little tiny details actually matter.

Especially when the first encounter some people will have with your brand is right at your front door.

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1. What template do you use in your website

   Comment by bukmacher — April 25, 2010 #

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