Here at Marketing Tech, we know print. We’ve provided Buffalo businesses with affordable expert print services for over 15 years, and we take pride in helping businesses grow. Here on the blog, we aim to offer tips and solutions to marketers and business owners who need a little inspiration to help get their projects going! Today on the blog, we wanted to talk about Custom Banners, in the form of large-format custom designs that can be used for many marketing efforts! Let’s talk about banners!
Whether you’re looking to boost your environment with a warm and inspirational message, announcing a new grand opening, welcoming folks to a fundraiser, or demonstrating your expertise at a trade show; banners can add a real WOW factor to your brand. If you’ve never created a company banner before, but need help, don’t worry, we can help every step of the way! Just fill out this form to get in touch with a designer today! Now, let’s take a few minutes to talk about what makes a quality custom banner.
Size Matters
You know you need a custom banner, but you may not know banners come in many shapes and sizes. Some hang on the wall, some are meant to stick in the ground or hang on a table. Some are meant to stand alone and be retracted for reuse. Your primary use for the banner will help determine what the best size is for your needs. Here are a few examples of what you may be looking for in terms of banner sizing..
Small Banner – 27″ x 36″
Small banners are perfect for hosting an event with a few people or bringing to trade shows or conferences. These are also nice for signage on your storefront or windows and are good for supporting a bigger advertising campaign.
Medium Banner – 48″ x 27″
Medium-sized banners are good for temporary signage or standing out in a crowd. It’s large enough to catch eyeballs and can be used for different needs over time.
Large Banner – 60″ x 27″
The large banner is easily visible and simple to notice, especially when hung high. This banner could be used for a few different needs, but offers a longstanding solution for messaging and the horizontal rectangle allows for more room for text if you need it.
Standing Banner – 33″ x 79″
These standing banners are created to provide visibility and can provide useful information or messaging near entrances, at trade shows or to provide viewers with needful details for point-of-purchase displays. They are taller than they are wide, which could impact your design, but these are perfect for providing details on a promotion or sale, or to just give your space some new life!
Retractable Banner – 80″ x 24″ or “33 x 79”
Roll Up banners are most commonly used for repetitive uses, as they can be retracted and rolled up to be saved in storage. These banners are perfect for traveling or bringing to outdoor events. The high-quality vinyl will last, so you can count on using it for a few years.
Double-Sided Banner – 27.5″ x 9.5”
A large double-sided banner is great for hanging in places that will feature foot traffic from both sides. The double-sided print allows for you to provide different designs on the front and back, but also allows you to capture the attention of viewers from the front and/or back. You may see these hung from the ceiling in a store, or maybe a sports banner commemorating a classic season.
Banner Flags – 23.75″ x 180″
Have a grand opening or a big sale? Need to capture the attention of drivers passing your store or business? Banner flags are a classic way of getting your message to be noticed. Be aware these styles may introduce a bit more waving outdoors due to wind, so ensure your design and messaging are clearly legible.
There are plenty of sizing options when it comes to custom vinyl banners, have an idea? Let’s do it! You name it, we print it!
Vectorize What?
If you aren’t a graphic designer, you may not exactly know what a “vector graphic” is. Any images or logos that you plan to use on your large-format banner will require any artwork to be transformed or converted into what’s known as a “vector graphic” which allows the images to be scaled, modified, and resized to a larger format for printing, without losing quality. If you don’t know how to do this, don’t worry! Our team (and any good print team) will be able to handle all of this for you!
Most Important First.
Obviously, any visual representation of your company or brand should be creative, but when considering the layout of your banner, focus on what’s most important first. Your intended message should be presented with the most priority, and that can be done with the right text. Other than your company name, some text should be considered to help drive home your message. Nobody wants to read a short story, but the right balance of text and imagery will make your banner effective.
Read More: 6 Tips for Nonprofits Aiming to (Successfully) Fundraise with Direct Mail
Show Who’s Boss!
Beyond your priority message, ensure that no one questions whose banner they’re looking at! The logo is one of the most vital aspects of any custom banner design, as it should be prominent and large so people can easily identify it and remember it. Depending on what you’re using it for, and where it will be viewed will impact where you put your logo, but no matter what, your viewer should never see the banner without remembering your brand!
Make It Easy On the Eyes
You don’t want to invest in something you aren’t proud of! Creating banners may seem simple, as the internet has provided countless examples and inspiration for what you might want to accomplish. By partnering with a quality print company like Marketing Tech, you can ensure that every step of the process is seamless and you don’t feel left out during the design process. You need your banner to be easy to read, and easy to understand. Here are a few key things to consider ahead of time when designing your banner.
Font- Consider your audience! Your font style should be easily readable by the audience, and you want your message to be as easily consumable as possible. This means you should always use font styles and sizing that make it easy on your viewer. The right designer will help you ensure this is done, without cutting corners on fun! Every banner is different and something unique may be right for the headline, allowing for something more simple for your accompanying (important) details
Color- Color is a crucial yet understated factor when designing advertisements. Custom banners should be vibrant, visually loud, and easily noticed. Your color scheme should be incorporated but when designing banners you may need to introduce some more flash to truly capture your viewers’ attention. Bright hues like blues, yellows, reds, pinks, and other colors can command more attention than muted or shy designs. Any quality designer will be able to help you with a vibrant color palette for your banner.
Layout & Spacing
Your layout and spacing will depend on what you are using your banner for. Carefully considering where your banner will be placed, for how long, and why will help you determine your layout. Ideally, your banner design should achieve balance and harmony in the form of symmetry and negative space. You want a measured balance of creative design and effective messaging.
Make it Fun!
Hopefully you’ve learned a few things today, but one thing is important to remember. Creating, designing, printing and demonstrating your new custom banner should be FUN! When you partner with the right printer you can count on the process being a fun and rewarding process. The creative process isn’t always fun for everyone, but we aim to help your process be as easy as possible. A business banner should always entice your audience and provide a good feeling when seeing it. The more good feelings go into the creative process, the more good feelings your banner will provide!
Advertising and demonstrating your brand with custom-printed banners can be easy, so long as you partner with the right company! If you or someone you know is seeking to create some new vinyl print assets to help tell your brand story, please don’t hesitate to reach out! We work with companies here in Buffalo New York and beyond, and have provided solutions for companies from just about every industry. When you need print, remember Marketing Tech of WNY!
