By 
Creating a banner can be a challenging task, especially if you don’t have a background in design. Here are a few tips to follow to get you on the right track to make sure that your money is well spent and your message is effective.
Table of Contents
Emphasize with Scale
The common phrase, “go big or go home”, is not necessarily the best solution in design. It undoubtedly has its place, but it is important to remember that using one large font for everything can actually take away from your overall message. By scaling, you can bring attention to the most important part(s) of your message with larger/bolder fonts, while leaving the filler words or less important parts of it in a smaller/lighter font.
Go Easy on the Font Choices
While there are thousands and thousands of fonts to choose from, odds are that you have a lot of favorites. As far as branding goes though, it is best to choose only a few fonts to represent your brand. A great way to help you with this is to create a brand style guide. Within the style guide you can designate which fonts should be used and where. For example, you may use a larger, bolder font for headline copy, while you use a font that is easier on the eyes for body copy or less pertinent information on your banner stand. The idea is to not use 20 different fonts in your marketing pieces. 2-4 fonts is an ideal amount.
Readability
It is probably safe to say that the main purpose of a banner stand is to draw attention and gain new business… right!? Keeping that in mind, you always want to ensure that people can read your message. That being said, you also don’t want people to have to decipher the font or try to hard to determine what it says because the truth is, they won’t. If they can’t read it immediately, they will move on and never give your message a second thought.
Readability can often become a problem when the font that has been chosen is wavy, curly or fancy in nature. While there is not necessarily anything wrong with a font like this, you’ll want to be careful with the application of it and ensure that your message isn’t being compromised by the chosen font. A great rule of thumb is to consider the x-height of your font. A consistent x-height means that all of your letters (excluding ascenders and descenders) are the same height and is much easier on the eyes making it easily readable.
Quadruple Check for Typos
You’d never believe how many typos are found on the most basic banner designs after they are already printed. It is easy to get caught up in the design aspects or your banner and to overlook the actual copy. Don’t forget to check, re-check and then check again a few more times. Overlooking typos can be an extremely expensive mistake.
Comments