Window graphics: turning storefront glass into advertising

Your storefront window is advertising space you already pay for. It came with the rent. And in a lot of businesses it is currently promoting three things: the back of a shelf, a poster for an event that happened two years ago, and a very good reflection of the parking lot.

Glass is one of the easiest surfaces to put to work, and you have more options than a sign taped to the inside. Here are the main ones, with what each does for the people passing by.

Three ways to use the glass

Cut vinyl lettering

Individual letters and logos cut from solid vinyl, with no background. This is the classic: your name, your hours, a short list of what you sell. It looks clean, it lets all the light in and it is the most economical option. If the photo at the top of this post made you hungry, that is cut lettering doing its job.

Printed graphics

Full-color printed vinyl that covers part of the glass or all of it. This is how you get photographs, large promotions and color from edge to edge. It also blocks the view, which is a feature if what sits behind the window is a storage room and a problem if it is your merchandise.

Perforated film

The clever one. It is a printed film full of tiny holes. From outside, in daylight, people see your graphic. From inside, you can still see out. A side benefit: it cuts some of the glare for the people working behind it.

One warning, because physics does not negotiate. The effect depends on which side is brighter. At night, with the lights on inside, people can see in.

And for offices: frosted film gives glass the look of etched glass. It is popular for conference rooms and partitions, where the goal is privacy and not advertising. A logo can be cut out of it.

Make it readable from the street

A window has two audiences: people walking past and people driving past. They read very differently.

• Drivers get large letters and very few words. Your name and what you do. Someone passing at 25 miles per hour is not going to read your mission statement.
• Pedestrians get the details. Hours, phone number and website go at eye level, near the door.
• Light colors win on glass. From outside, in daylight, a window looks dark. White and light-colored lettering stands out against it. Dark lettering tends to disappear, however good it looked on the screen.
• Leave some glass. A window covered in fifteen messages reads as zero messages.

A window works every hour of the day and never sends you a monthly invoice.

The Puerto Rico factor: sun

Our sun is wonderful for beaches and merciless to paper. A poster taped inside a window that faces the afternoon sun fades quickly, and a faded sign says something about a business that the owner did not intend.

Tell us which direction the window faces and how long the graphics need to last. A weekend sale and a permanent storefront call for different materials, and it is better to choose the right one once.

Before you order

• Measure each pane. Width and height of the visible glass, one pane at a time. Frames and handles count.
• Take a photo from across the street. That is the view your customers have, and it is usually the first time the owner has looked at it in years.
• Check the rules. Some shopping centers and landlords limit how much of a window can be covered. A quick look at the lease saves a redesign.
• Decide what is permanent and what is seasonal. Your name and hours stay. Promotions change, and they can be made to come off cleanly.

A small request

Once the window looks good, please retire the handwritten "back in 5 minutes" sign and the paper taped with four different kinds of tape. I say this with affection. We have all seen that window. Some of us have been that window.

Send us the measurements and that photo from across the street, and we will suggest what to put on the glass and which material fits. For vehicles, the same thinking applies on wheels: see choosing vehicle graphics.