Signs And Awnings: You Can’t Miss These Dunkin Donuts Awnings!

Everybody is familiar with Dunkin Donuts signs and awnings . You can’t miss them. They’re plenty colorful, so they make you smile. But they look classy, too. After all, these signs and awnings advertise a donut shop, so good “taste” is important. But so is fun. Donuts are a treat, and these signs and awnings reflect that.

If you’re in the market for signs or awnings for your business, spending some time contemplating the details of Dunkin Donuts’ success can be very instructive. Let’s look at why their store exteriors always look so good.

Their signs and awnings aren’t all identical.
Some Dunkin Donuts store locations are quite large, whereas others have relatively small street-side frontage. Some are on a corner, and others are mid-block. You find them in varied types of commercial settings. Very different building configurations call for very different signs and awnings, in terms of construction techniques and materials but also the graphic design.

But they always convey the same visual message.
Not every store location looks exactly the same, but there’s no doubt in your mind – even at a corner-of-the-eye glimpse – who’s there. Yum, time for a fresh donut and hot cup of coffee.

Dunkin Donuts signs and awnings are successful because the company has developed a set of well-thought-out design standards. And they stick to their standards, applying them in ways that fit each store’s physical exterior. The primary graphic elements – thematic colors, company name and initials – may be used in different ways, but they are always used consistently.

What makes these Dunkin Donuts signs and awnings so compelling?
They’re colorful and interesting.

The physical nature of the signs and awnings depends on the building’s exterior. Some awnings are angular, some are rounded. Some feature sleek little individual window awnings, whereas other stores have a continuous canopy that runs the entire length of the store-front or even around the corner.

Some awnings are clearly designed to shade windows as well as show off the store’s location. Others are purely decorative accents that visually lead the eye – like a dotted line — to the sign and entrance.

Fascia signs can vary tremendously in size, but they almost always have a very dark, matte finish. What better way to show off the company’s fun pink and orange official colors? That dark background really makes bright colors pop, even in the dreariest weather.

Sometimes the signs and awnings are an all-in-one effect, with wraparound graphics that cover the entire awning. Some awnings are lighted from within to give entire canopy a luminous look. Others feature translucent panels on the canopy’s underside, focusing light on the store’s entrance area.

Whatever the shape and size, Dunkin Donuts signs and awnings all feature colors that are can’t-miss bright. They’re fun. Warm and inviting. Sometimes they’re used together as stripes, sometimes in other ways, but they’re always the same two shades.

Even the Dunkin Donuts name becomes a recognizable visual element — shaped into curves that form a round donut shape. It’s thematically appropriate and cute. But it’s easily readable, and that’s the key to good design of signs and awnings. Design that gets so carried away you can’t read the words has no value at all. It can even put people off instead.

To change things up a bit, signs also include the “DD” initials as a graphic motif, large in size and appearing to “ooze” over the edge of the awning. It’s definitely eye-catching – perhaps it makes us think of warm frosting on a donut – and the design actually draws your eye down from the sign itself to the entrance doors.

That minimalist use of initials works because it’s instantly recognizable. Superior, consistent visual branding is what will make your signs and awnings work, too.

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