Make Effective Outdoor Banners With Our List of Dos and Don’ts

Spring is officially here and summer is not far behind.  For all of us in the events industry this means it’s time to prepare our outdoor displays!  Get ready for some fun in the sun with this list of “Dos and Don’ts” for designing outdoor banners that will attract customers and enhance any event.

DO – Decide What Size Outdoor Banners You’ll Need Before Anything Else

The fist step toward designing any type of signage is deciding what size you’ll need.  Consider your overall display, the events you’ll be attending, whether or not you’d like to be able to use the banner inside and out, along with all the other details about your exhibit.

Once you’ve got all that together it will help you determine both the style and the sizes of the signs you’ll need.  There are a wide array of options to choose from so this is an important part of the process; which is why you really want all those other decisions made prior to beginning this step.

For example, Feather flags, also known as swooper flags, are a very popular style of outdoor banner.  You can get them in a variety of sizes from small to very large.  Also,  you can use just one or, there are stands designed to accommodate a number of these flag banners for a really unique effect.  And remember, this is just one style of outdoor banner; be sure to review them all to get the right product for your display.

DON’T – Make Your Outdoor Banners Too Busy

As with any signage, you must carefully walk the line between saying what you want to say, and making the sign easy to read.  A particular concern with outdoor banners is that they’ll likely be read by those who are actually moving.  Whether that’s the speed of walking, riding a bike, driving a car, etc. you’ll be able to determine given the plans you have for your banner.  Either way though this makes it even more important for your sign to be easy to read and not overly busy.

Now, it’s pretty simple that the larger your sign is and the less it has on it, the easier it will be to read.  But, you’re going to have at least some space limitations, and, you want to get an effective message across to those that do view your sign.  One of the best things we can recommend here is to be open to many revisions and new ideas so you can design the best banner possible.  Also, consider samples others have already done that you can find around town or at a similar type of event to the ones you’ll be attending.  This will help you strike that all important balance more accurately.

DO – Consider Your Color Choices Carefully

When designing your outdoor banners, be sure to carefully consider your color choices.  Certain colors compliment each other naturally and you can find out what these are by using the color wheel.  When looking at the color wheel, those colors that are directly opposite one another on the wheel compliment each other the best.

Be sure to also choose colors that are vibrant and lively in order to attract attention too!  This is no time for dull and muted.  Outdoor banners really need to pop and the right color choices can make it happen.

DON’T – Use Too Many Fonts

In order to avoid busy signage (see above)  and make your banner easier to read don’t use too many fonts.  It can be nice to choose more than one, but sticking with two maybe three depending on the size of your outdoor banner is best.

Also, try to choose fonts that are themselves easy to read.  Some of the choices available are very pretty but this is a time to choose a font that’s clear and crisp so that passers by can ready it quickly and without much effort.

DO – Consider Using High Quality Photographs And Graphics

With the graphic design technology available today, using photographs and graphics can help make outdoor banners very effective.  Again, you’ll have to be sure the image is not busy or hard to understand.  But, if you have something that’s appropriate for your company, brand, event, etc. it can be very useful to incorporate into the design of your outdoor signage.

As you can see there is a lot to consider when designing outdoor banners.  This is why many do choose to work with a graphics designer to finalize their creation.  Be sure to explore all of these tips though first so you can zero in more easily on what you’d like to convey with your sign as well as the goals you have for creating it in the first place.  Then you can take your rough draft/ideas to your designer and work together to develop an effective outdoor sign.