How to Design the Perfect Custom Banners

The first impression is everything.

It’s as true in relationships as it is in business.

How people see you and your brand can determine whether or not anyone buys anything from your business.

Your custom banner is your business’ first impression.

The pressure’s on when you go about designing a high-quality custom banner because if it sucks, your target market could reject you before they even take one step into your business.

So a high-quality custom banner with the right design can make all the difference for your business. Not to mention it also makes your business more attractive.

So how do you create a custom banner that takes your target market’s breathe away and make’s you their number one choice?

Here’s a quick list of good ideas that can take your custom banner to the next level and get more customers checking out your business.

Customer Banners: Captivate Your Customer

It’s the number one goal whenever you’re promoting a business. And when it comes to getting people’s attention from far away, custom banners are one of the most effective and direct ways.

Though you might say to yourself, “I can’t make a banner, they’re hard to put together and I’ll make a mistake.”

Have some faith in yourself. Lots of people have been in your shoes and made great customer banners. You can too.

With a little planning and a few major pointers, you’ll have a high-quality banner worth showing and customized to your needs.

Where Will It Go?

Location isn’t just a big deal in real estate. Your sign’s messaging, color, material, and size all play a role in determining what kind of banner you want. Also, are the customer banners going to be placed at a sporting event, at a stall in a farmer’s market, window display or even a shop door?

Depending on your desired location, give some thought to what your target market will be doing. When they’ll see your customer banners and what the distance will be. This makes a difference when deciding on things like the banner size: should it be horizontal or vertical, or what kind of font and words you’ll be using.

Another idea is to think about the background directly behind the banner. You want your banner to stand out against the backdrop. A subtle change in the background could attract the attention of your customer in a way you don’t expect.

What’s The Message?

Figure out how you want people to take action after they see your custom banners. If you know what your banner is all about, your target market will get it too.

For example, you could want customers to call you for a quote or check out your website. Whatever the goal of your banner, make sure there is a strong CTA to get your customer to take action.

As for words, less is more. Many of your potential customers will see your banner from far away. To ensure they get your message, go with something short and sweet and try to not use words that are too general.

If you can cut out a word without changing the meaning, cut it out.

Indoor Vs. Outdoor Banners

Now it’s time to decide what material you want to make your banner with. If you want, you can make outdoor banners work inside as well. Inside banners are not as flexible when exposed to the weather outside.

All vinyl posters are fade resistant, durable, waterproof and should stay looking sharp. The indoor version is put together with white 440gsm vinyl, which is lightweight, has a matte finish and tear resistant. The outdoor version enables a little more durability and is tough enough to handle different types of weather.

When you’re finally ready to hang up your custom banner, here are a couple of ideas. Try clear adhesive hangers, they’re easy and can be put to good use whenever you need them.

Our favorite way of hanging a banner is using metal grommets as the rings. They are already built for simple hanging and you can get them in both outdoor and indoor versions.

Lastly, banner stands are ideal for vertical banners and work better for conferences and indoor trade shows rather than outdoor use.

If need a specific type of banner, here are some options that you can choose from.

H-Banner Stands

The toughest of the three options, this kind of stand provides a few inches of floor clearance so that people can get a better look at your message.

L-Banner Stands

The simplest to carry with you, this kind of stand has an adaptable tension-rod frame that makes it easiest to transport the stand from event to event.

X-Banner Stands

Last, but certainly not least the X-Banner Stands are the fastest to put together. The stand only takes a few seconds to setup and like the L-Banner Stands are easy to transport.

Making Your Banner

Now you have the idea of where you’re going to hang your banner. What you want your banner to be about and what it’s meant to represent. It’s time to put the banner together.

Here is the step by step process you’ll need to make your banner everything you want it to be.

Contrast Letters

The colors you decide to go with on your banner is important and not just for attracting the eye, but also how they will highlight the words. High contrast is usually the better way to go with background and letters along with the dark font on a lighter background etc.

Font Choices

Bold fonts are recommended such as Verdana, Century Gothic and Helvetica will impart a fun and enjoyable look while making it easy to read as well. It might cross your mind, but avoid odd or too playful fonts as your customers will struggle to read your message.

Hierarchy of Messaging

The messaging and information should be structured well and has an important effect on your banner. Of course, key ideas and information about your product/service should be easy to see because of the hidden ideas your customers won’t know you’re selling.

Adjust the structure of the messaging through the color, font size, bolding and space to the important pieces. Try to avoid a lot of different font sizes per piece, use 3 font sizes max.

Simple Design

The simplest and easy way to bring all the elements together is to pick one a template where all the work is done by designers. Just add your fonts, messaging and adjust the layout until it looks the way you want it to look.

Get Going

There are a lot of things that go into a high-quality custom banner, but if you follow this list and really get ahold of what you’re selling to your customer, you’ll do just fine.

For more articles like this, check out our business advice category!