Steps to Design An Outdoor Banner Properly

Created by Sincon Samu Coronado | https://www.behance.net/gallery/66033035/Oh-Holy-Festivals-Branding

A banner is a non-personal information media that includes promotion messages, whether the purpose is to sell or to introduce new products for people. Another expert would say that this media is promotion or publication media which is printed using digital technology with a certain dimension, that can be in the form of portrait or vertical. Before it was printed, it was formerly designed using computer and picture manager software such as Photoshop and CorelDraw.

In this digital era, the banner is associated with promotion media which contains pictures and texts in a website or blog. Most of the time, you can see a lot of them on a website or blog, and they will show you a link; and when you click the link, it will lead you to the page of the promoted website.  

The Definition of Banner

Well, basically, there are some opinions about the definition of these tools of communication. To understand it further, below are some definitions proposed by experts:

1. A banner is a form of non-personal communication that delivers messages to sell a product where there will be a possibility that more and more people interested in the products mentioned and pay the media used.

2. A banner is a communication process that has a certain purpose, to persuade many people to purchase and use the products advertised and can be a promotion media to increase the purchasing power of the people who want the products. 

3. Web Banner is another form. It is not printed but rather displayed on the website or blog. This one is actually a form of advertisement which is used on the internet web. This ad is commonly in the form of a blog or website page which is used to attract the visitors to click the sites advertised.

Created by Shanti Sparrow Design | https://www.behance.net/gallery/71697471/2018-New-York-Womens-Surf-Film-Festival

The Function of Banner

Basically, the main function of a banner is as the marketing media, which contains publication, advertisement, promotion, and many other intentions. At the same time, the purpose of displaying the banner is to promote something or a product to attract more people when they see it. Besides, it is also commonly known as a way to acknowledge people about certain brands or products. 

Based on the explanation, we can conclude that several functions of banner could be elaborated as follow:

1. Information Media; displaying a banner could be one of the best ways to do promotion. It is a very effective way to give information to people about something through a banner, either offline or online.

2. Promotion Media; as the promotion media, a banner is also very effective. One thing you should remember is where to display it. Choose a strategic place to display your banner, where many people see it a lot. Then it will be a good media of promotion.

3. Identity or Character, especially a web banner, could be an identity or a specific character of the web or blog that people will remember. It could be one of the best ways to do “branding” online.

Created by Eduardo Silva | https://www.behance.net/gallery/102111573/Festival-Popsense

Kinds of Banner

A banner can be divided into two groups based on its shape and its size. Here are the details of its grouping:

Kinds of Banner Based on Its Size 

Based on its size banner can be divided into some measurements. Here they are.

• 300 x 250 IMU/ Pixel – Medium Rectangle

• 250 x 250 IMU/ Pixel – Square Pop-up

• 240 x 400 IMU/ Pixel – Vertical Rectangle

• 336 x 280 IMU/ Pixel – Large Rectangle

• 180 x 150 IMU/ Pixel – Rectangle

• 468 x 60 IMU/ Pixel – Full Banner

• 234 x 60 IMU/ Pixel – Half Banner

• 88 x 31 IMU/ Pixel – Micro Bar

• 120 x 90 IMU/ Pixel – Button 1

• 120 x 60 IMU/ Pixel – Button 2

• 120 x 240 IMU/ Pixel – Vertical Banner

• 125 x 125 IMU/ Pixel – Suara Button

• 728 x 90 IMU/ Pixel – Leaderboard

Created by Andrea Bianchi | https://www.behance.net/gallery/78444849/RiAperto-festival-Branding

Kinds of Banner Based on Its Shape

1. X- Banner

This kind is called X-banner because this has two poles that are placed across one another so that they form the letter X behind the printing. These poles are usually made of light aluminum so that the banner is easily moved here and there. You can use this creation more than once, and this design fits well for both indoor and outdoor. 

From its name, you can obviously guess that it has the same shape as the one discussed previously, only it has a smaller size. This one is often placed on the desk and is used t promote information, such as schedule or menu. 

The name has shown you its shape. It has surely roll shape, where the usage is very practical. All you have to do is pull it from the top to down so that you can see it thoroughly. 

Created by Eduardo Silva | https://www.behance.net/gallery/102111573/Festival-Popsense

How to Design an Outdoor Banner Effectively?

Banner is one of the effective ways to inform people about something you want to share with them, whether it is information or products. Design an outdoor banner should be well planned from the beginning so that you can achieve the goals that you have set before. Your design would be effective for the result you want to have. Therefore, you should be very careful when you design an outdoor banner.  

In order to have a good outdoor banner design, there are several things that you should prepare and consider. Here are some tips for you when you design an outdoor banner, so it would have a great impact as people gaze at it. 

1. Font Size

First of all, think about the size of the font that you are going to use for the design that you want to display. Think also about the distance of people who would read the information in it. Before you make the design, go to the place where you are going to hang it and try to estimate the viewing distance that people might have. By analyzing it, you could also determine the size you want to make. 

Use large text to attract people’s intention since the banner’s function is to inform the public. Besides, you need people to be attracted even from afar, don’t you? Therefore, you need to use readable texts which are written in large fonts. If you don’t do this, you will fail to make people read the information you provide from meters away. And that would make your design fail to achieve its goal.

Not only large, but you also need to use readable fonts. Size is not the only matter, but readability is also another factor to consider. While there are many nice shapes of font that are quite tempting to use, but when it comes to the banner, you should consider whether it is readable for people or not. A choice like bold-sans serif fonts will be much more effective than serif fonts. However, this is surely not a rule set in stone so that you can’t change anything. Everything is about a personal option, indeed. Yet, when you want to make the design effective, readability for the public should come first as consideration. 

Created by Luciana Caserta | https://www.behance.net/gallery/126950493/LADO-B

2. The Place You Want to Display 

Checking the place where you want to put your design is obviously an important thing. It’s like when you go to war; you know the field of your war. That will help you create a more effective design when you want to design an outdoor banner. You will be able to make a color scheme, the perfect size, the shape, the contrast and comparison, and even the whole design for your banner properly. Later on, when your design is ready, it will be fit easily on the place you want to display it. 

3. Simple Message

You should know that people on the street or in the crowd are too busy to stop just to read the media you display. They will only glance at it when they pass by, and if it’s interesting enough, they would probably stop to continue to read the detail. A good banner is when people only glance at it for not more than a second, and they understand what it is all about. Therefore, a successful outdoor banner is one that keeps its simplicity. Simple yet attractive. Well, you should be able to communicate your intention in as little time as possible since the audiences won’t spend their time reading the long texts your place. Thus, the ability to write is highly needed here. Think about what is needed to provide and which one is not. Remove the ornaments which are not significant, and keep the communication as simple as possible. 

Created by Shanti Sparrow Design | https://www.behance.net/gallery/85880717/New-York-Womens-Surf-Film-Festival-Visual-Identity

4. Focus

Your design should have one focus. It is the main information that you want to draw people into it. Show this message off of other supporting information. That will help people understand better and faster about the information you want to deliver through the outdoor banner you display. Make sure you make this point visible in the first place. So when people look at your banner, they will see the focus for the first time. 

Of course, you have to keep the design balance. Though you need people to spot the main information, some other different parts should be designed in an interesting way so that people read it easily and understand the message as well. 

Keeping other important information is also important, while on the other hand, you should eliminate the unnecessary ones as well. Pick wisely which information you want to provide so that only important ones would be obtained by the audience. 

Think again about what information you should put into it. It has something to do with your previous objectives, indeed. Do you need people aware of your new brand? Or do you want people to take action right away as you expected? Well, if your purpose is to make people aware of your brand, it means that you only need people to focus on your brand or logo. And that should be the part that you have to highlight when designing a banner. Don’t put any unnecessary information that will only ruin your design.

If you want people to take action as you expected, then putting a CTA (Call to Action) is necessary. Make sure that you include the CTA in minimum words as possible. Simply direct people to your store or website so that you can give them the more detailed information they might need.  

5. Stand Out The Brand

Though all the things discussed are to help your design stand out. However, you still have to keep the brand in mind and make it stand out as well. Remember, the main purpose of designing the banner is to attract people’s attention. Into what? Into the product that you want to sell, of course. Therefore, your brand should be maintained throughout the whole process of design. Don’t just put any beautiful color or graphics into the design if it doesn’t fit your brand at all. That will automatically ruin your own brand.  

Created by Tiquismiquis Club | https://www.behance.net/gallery/130501345/ST08-Fashion-Week

6. Apply Appropriate Color and Contrast

The color selection is also another point to consider when you design an outdoor banner. Every color shows different emotions and messages. Use the appropriate color and contrast so that your design will have an effective impact on the audience. Do the research about your targeted audiences so that you can use the perfect color and contrast to attract them. Here are some colors along with their emotions commonly received by their viewers. 

• Red: people believe that red gives an image of strong passion, anger, and excitement as well. Some experts also suggest that red can stimulate the appetite. That’s why many restaurants apply this color to their design either for the room or for the meal.

• Orange: this color is commonly associated with happiness and spirit. Since the color is quite bright and eye-catching, many people use it as the call to action button. 

• Yellow: it is known as the color of happiness and friendship. A little touch of yellow will give a more energetic atmosphere to the design you create. However, too much yellow may create viewers’ irritation since the bright color may dazzle their eyes.

• Green: this is the most comfortable color for the eyes. This color often represents wealth, growth, environment, health, and a new life. Choose wisely so that people will recognize your message through it.

• Blue: the color of peace. At some other point, people also recognize blue as the color of sadness, elegance, coldness, masculinity, power, and intellectual. 

• Purple: this color is often associated with royalty and luxury. It may also represent ambition, magic, and femininity as well. Purple has a calming effect on the audience. Choose this as the background, and see what effect you can create for your viewers. 

• Pink: mostly known as the color of love, pink has also been associated with sweetness and is the most feminine color. If your targeted viewers are women, this color should be on your first list to try on. 

• Black: The strongest color which shows power, formality, mystery, and even grief. Since it is a very strong color, it’s quite difficult to find its perfect combination and contrast. But once you find the match one, you’ll be surprised with the result. 

• White: often associated with purity, honesty, and innocence. Add a little touch of some bright color like pink or orange; then, you’ll get a perfect combination for the design you make.  

• Brown: it represents the color of earth, wood, and leather. Use this as the background and texture, and it will beautify your design better.

• Gray: the color of neutrality since it is the combination of black and white. Use this as the background; then, it will solidify another color you apply.

When applying many colors in one design, it will be better to think about the right combination. The contrast should be taken into consideration as well—bright colors, of course, are good in attracting people’s attention. But remember to use them wisely with consideration of other elements. Don’t use colors that are right next to each other because they tend to create a soothing feeling, and this is not what we want when we design an outdoor banner. 

Created by Trần Tiến Hùng | https://www.behance.net/gallery/128111501/EDM-FESTIVAL

Final Words

When you design an outdoor banner, of course, there are several things to consider. Those things discussed above are the main things to be considered. However, those are not the ones you should adhere to. If you want to make it as a reference, well, it’s a good point. But you should remember that there’s no one single rule written on the stone to be adhered to. There’s always a possibility for you to create more and more. There’s always a possibility for you to explore your mind and imagination.