A confused, unclear and unfocused sign is one that includes more information than is necessary.
Before:
Take the care to edit your message to its essential minimum—and think about the "white space" so to speak. Especially in a busy environment, such as a trade show or office lobby, you need to clear away a space so your message can be seen. It needs to "pop out" from the background scenery.
Where communicating an announcement or featuring a product, design your sign for quick, brief attention. Think about whether you want it seen at mid-distance or up close—or both.
After:
In the "After" example above, the product is more visible and flows right into the text message. Before, it was sitting inside a white box by itself, not totally integrated with the whole.
As you can see, it's important to put some thought into how to best arrange any visual message.