Vinyl banners give you full creative license to be as bold or as straightforward as you want. You’re working with a blank canvas.
Banners can be used to promote fundraisers, invitations, announcements and in-store promotions. For getting the word out on grand openings, nothing beats a colorful vinyl outdoor banner.
Rules of Thumb for Big Banners
Three things can really make a banner’s message clear for customers: font, color and an obvious though compelling focal point that draws viewers in.
- Choosing the Right Font
Starting off, the kind of font that you use (typography) should match the intended audience of your banner and fit the context.
You probably don’t want to be using an archaic, though intriguing, font like blackletter to get the word out about a block party or grand opening for a toy store. It’s just too formal and, well, gothic.
The kind of typeface that you employ helps to set the mood for the rest of your message. If the context is light and you really are trying to spread the news about a block party then by all means consider using bubble letters.
Typographic experts (yeah, those exist!) say that sans-serif fonts make wide letter spacing less noticeable whereas fonts that are too thin can get drowned out by the background.
- Color to Set the Mood
Certain colors can powerfully affect your mood without you necessarily being aware of it.
Reds, oranges, and yellows convey excitement, energy, adventurousness, and playfulness without a word being said. Colors like green and blue are said to be more calming and conservative.
Just like with font, your goal is to match the design of your banner with the right ingredients.
You obviously want your audience to get excited about a grand opening, so why not throw in some reds and oranges to create excitement?
On the other hand, if you’re trying to create a more relaxing vibe for a laid-back fundraiser or posh wine-tasting event then try purple or blue.
It’s no accident that Facebook, Samsung, and Twitter all use blue in their logos: the color blue is known to convey trustworthiness, authority, reliability and calm.
Lastly, a technical note: For the fidelity of your logo try using vector images over bitmaps.
Vector images are awesome for resizing because – unlike a JPEG that is comprised of pixels and can get goofed up when you try to resize – a vector image uses math to define the shape, lines, and colors involved so reformatting won’t degrade your image.
- Putting It Together: Your Focal Point
The importance of this rule of thumb can’t really be overstated, though it’s overlooked quite often: The visual focal point of your banner (where people focus first) needs to quickly convey information.
The focal point might be an image, your logo, another graphic, or text.
No matter what your focal point is or how creatively ingenious your banner, your banner’s focal point needs to communicate information effectively for your banner to work. Simplicity is golden sometimes.
Let the Purpose Dictate Your Banner’s Design
Before getting into the nitty-gritty with your banner’s design, it might be helpful to step back and answer (or simply ask) a few simple questions.
Is your banner intended for existing customers or the public at large?
If the latter, is your banner letting people know about a new event (e.g., an upcoming promotion) or reminding them to save the date for something that they already know about?
The answers to those questions will help determine whether you need an attention-grabbing font and exciting colors (reds, oranges, and yellows) or something a bit more straightforward. Contact us for more information.