CARY - It seems more customers are wandering into Performance Bicycle with questions not about bikes but about existence, albeit not in the philosophical way.

"They ask, 'How long have you been here?' " says John Bigalow, manager of the company's store in the Village Square shopping center. "And I say, 'Oh, about three years.'

"They didn't even know we existed."

The surge in interest might be the result of an added splash of color.

Village Square, at Maynard Road and Cary Towne Boulevard, got a facelift a couple years ago. The small, monochromatic block letter signs of old have since been replaced by more colorful markers, such as the bigger, blue-and-white logo that lures people into Bigalow's bike shop.

"It's definitely a lot easier to see from the street than a small, block letter sign with a little light on it," he said.

Performance is among a growing number of businesses benefiting from relaxed appearance rules in a town known for everything but.

For decades, Cary allowed a maximum of two colors in commercial signs, thinking that a consistent appearance for all signs in a development would help achieve architectural compatibility.

But in the past two years, the town has loosened its notorious Uniform Sign Plan for those who are willing to clear high design hurdles. Developers and business owners are allowed up to four colors in signs if they play by the rules.

"If people focus on providing a high level of design, we reward them by recognizing that and allowing use of more colors and designs," said Ricky Barker, the town's assistant planning director.

The new regulations could chafe those who liked a certain sameness to Cary's commercial properties. But they could be a boon to developers willing to plunk down the money for design upgrades, real estate experts say.

After all, a big part of succeeding in business is standing out. And a few extra colors help do that, says Cody Jetton a commercial-property appraiser in Cary. "Our subconscious mind picks up on stuff like that," he said.

Just as we tend to notice somebody in a starched shirt before we notice someone in a wrinkled golf shirt, and just as "birds that have better plumage attract as better mate," Jetton said, the same can be said for a deluxe store sign versus a basic one.

Cathy Decker, the property manager at Village Square, has noticed an uptick in interest from tenants since the center took advantage of the new sign rules.

"Before, when you could only have a few colors, it was just kind of bland," she said. "The renovations, along with the sign changes, spiced things up a bit. It attracted more tenants and enabled us to get an anchor tenant in the anchor space that had been vacant for about three years."

The rules could also help some landlords and developers land national chains whose strategies are tied to multi-color logos.

Just think about tax preparer H&R Block's bright-green square logo, said Shannon Dixon, an asset manager for Casto Properties in North Carolina. Or Chipotle Mexican Grill and its circular, red and burgundy logo with white text and the outline of a chili pepper. The sign at its Cary store is black and white.

"When you can't use those traditional colors, signs tend to fade into the background," said Dixon, who helped lease space to Chipotle at Kildaire Farm Road and Wrenn Drive.

Dixon thinks flashier signs will also help Casto's Stone Creek shopping center. The center, at High House Road and Davis Drive, is also on the short list of those that have capitalized on Cary's new sign rules, making it different from many of its competitors.

"Cary's done a great job of creating a great aesthetic environment," she said. "But it is pretty bland."

Staff writer Jack Hagel contributed to this story.