How to Design Custom Window Decals for Retail Marketing

Retail window decals are a crucial tool for showcasing products, advertising promotions, and sharing brand imagery. They also allow a company to establish a brand identity. From the fonts to the colors to the artwork, a window decal design further establishes your brand’s style and creates visual harmony. In a physical storefront, every inch matters. Don’t let the window space go to waste. While e-commerce is a powerhouse, in-person shopping remains incredibly popular. In-store sales have increased in recent years, with many shoppers relying on a mix of online and brick-and-mortar purchases. Using custom window signs to grab the attention of people passing by is crucial. Your storefront window graphics should encourage people to step inside, convince them to check out your website, or, at the very least, become aware of your brand. Window decals for business marketing are straightforward yet effective tools for reaching potential shoppers. What Material are Window Decals? Window decals are made with adhesive vinyl. The durable vinyl material is 4 mil thick and has a matte finish, which makes your design look high-end and professional. The long-lasting adhesive backing ensures your sign will be resistant to heat, water, and abrasion, so you can display it inside or outside. Why Choose Window Decals Striking and easy to apply, custom vinyl window decals are ideal for high-quality, long-lasting window signs. The sturdy vinyl is a hard-wearing material for displaying your design. The adhesive is low tack, which makes it easy to remove without leaving any residue behind. The durable materials make it perfect for long-term signage, like store hours and logos, or recurring sales, like BOGO deals and product discounts. These window stickers support single-sided designs, since the other side is covered in adhesive. The white vinyl is the perfect backdrop for your design, as it ensures all your striking graphics and bright colors pop. Plus, custom decals can be applied to other surfaces other than glass. They will stick to any clean, flat surface—like store walls or doors. Vinyl window decals for business advertising are an affordable marketing sign that will see results. Of course, there are other materials available for retail window displays. Window clings, for example, are held up by static and are great for temporary signage, since they are easy to remove. Window perfs are another option. These signs have two-way visibility, so you can display the same message to people on both sides of the window. The perforated holes, however, result in a design that is not opaque. If you want to learn more about the difference between window advertising decals, window clings, and window perfs, check out MoshiWeb signage guide. How to Design Window Decals Creative storefront window graphics should leave an impression on viewers. That’s why your custom window decal design should make a statement with unique, splashy designs. Still, you don’t want it to contradict your pre-existing branding. Use fonts, colors, and designs that are consistent with your website and other marketing materials. It should fit with the style inside your store, whether that’s sleek and luxurious or laidback and casual. But you don’t want it to fit in so well that it blends into the background. Using bold, eye-catching graphics—like photos, designs, artwork, and patterns—will grab people’s attention. The artwork should be the focus, since you want people to remember it when they’re quickly walking or driving by. If you’re sticking decals to windows, then you want to use colors that will stand out against the dark backdrop. Often, cool-toned colors like purple, blue, and black will blend into the window. Vibrant shades, on the other hand, will stand out. Still, the white vinyl will add depth and richness to your colors. Plus, GotPrint’s window decal printing supports full-color designs with Eco-Solvent inks. Your design will depend on the purpose of your custom sign. For new launches, product photos should stand out. For brand recognition, your company name, logo, brand colors, and any related imagery will do the trick. For promotional signage or flash sales, it should relate to whatever products are on sale. Limit the scope of the sign to one idea. This keeps your custom sign design from getting too cluttered and unfocused. Need storefront window graphics ideas? Check out our free templates to find business signage designs. What Size Should Text Be on Window Signage? Most people won’t stop to read a sign. That’s why your design should only include limited text. Your brand name, product title, or simple sale details are often all you need. The text colors should contrast with the other shades used in the design, and you should use bold, eye-catching fonts like Helvetica or Arial. From there, your primary concern is viewing distance. How close does someone need to be to read your sign? This will determine your font size. Here are the general guidelines for how to decide on a text size. 2 feet away – Use 5pt text 5 feet away – Use 13pt text 10 feet away – Use 25pt text 50 feet away – Use 125pt text What Window Decal Size and Shape Should You Choose? Your window sign size should work with your design. If you’re printing a round logo on a sign, then a circle decal best showcases that design. Circle, rectangle, and square decals are the most popular shapes. The size will depend on how much free space you have and how large you want your sign to be. Some signs can be small; store hour signs, for example, are typically a small decal near the entrance. Others, like a sign you want people to be able to see from the street, should be large and noticeable. Popular window decal sizes include 11” x 17”, 16” x 20”, 24” x 36”, and 40” x 60”. For square signs, 18” x 18” and 30” x 30” are popular. Both square and rectangle decals are available with rounded corners for a sophisticated finish. If you want a dramatic sign that is sure to stand out, GotPrint also offers star and arrow decals. How to Apply Window Decals Window decal stickers allow easy installation on any clean, flat surface. First, line it up where you plan to place it. Make sure you’re set on the area, since you cannot remove and reapply the product. Remove the backing on the adhesive side, and then slowly smooth it out. We suggest using a credit card or another rigid object with a sharp edge. Start from the center and move outwards. This makes it easy to push out any air bubble. Use a soft cloth to remove any fingerprints. How to Remove Window Decals The low-tack adhesive makes it easy to remove GotPrint’s decals. Still, there are different ways you can streamline the process. You can use a cloth with hot, soapy water to soften the adhesive. Spraying glass cleaner along the edges will also make it easier to remove your signage. Our signs don’t leave residue behind. Still, you’ll want to clean the area where your sign was, especially if you’re planning on hanging up a new custom vinyl decal.