Name the decision
A sign may identify a place, direct movement, explain a choice or warn about a condition. These purposes require different information. Combining them into a dense message often weakens all of them. Start with the decision a person will make where the sign is seen.
Use the language of the task
Internal departments and stock codes may be meaningful to staff but unhelpful to shoppers. Choose words people use to describe the need, and keep those words consistent across physical and digital routes. Translation should preserve the shopping meaning, not only the literal wording.
Put the message where it becomes useful
A correct instruction can still fail if it appears after the decision. A collection requirement belongs before the customer joins a queue; a product limitation belongs before a purchase. Position and timing are part of the content, not decoration applied after it is written.
Remove competing work
Hierarchy, contrast and space help a person see the next useful answer. They cannot rescue an instruction that disagrees with the actual service. Check the sign in context, including access, lighting and competing messages. The best-looking sign is not useful if it sends a person to a route that does not exist.