Banner Printing & Design Tips

Banner Printing for Memorable Sales Messages

Canvass any trade show exhibition hall and you will find banners being used in a variety of ways to attract booth traffic, highlight new products, promote special offers and/or enhance brand awareness. In fact, banners are one of the most versatile advertising vehicles available to exhibitors because they are cost-effective, highly flexible, and available in a variety of sizes and formats.

Whether you want to create your own design or hire an expert printing company to handle the graphics for your banner printing, follow these guidelines to maximize effectiveness.

Image

Your banner is an extension of your company image. The design and printing must emulate the quality of your products and services. Make sure it coordinates with your trade show booth and looks consistent with the colors and fonts you use in your other advertising materials.

In addition, prior to placing a banner printing order, ensure your banner size, design and message are a good match for the trade show you’re attending and appeals to your target audience.

Banner Printing Format

Determine whether a horizontal or vertical banner fits best with your trade show booth and where it will be placed. Consider how the banner will be mounted, displayed or tied. Vertical, stand-alone banners require special stands and there are a variety of styles from which to choose. For more on banner stand types, click here.

Banner Size

As with all types of signage, the larger the size of banner the greater the impact. Yet, your banner should also be as tasteful as it is compelling. Your exhibit area will dictate how large of a banner you should order.

Most banner production companies have standards sizes that accommodate different booth areas. Yet, if you have something special to promote, you may want to opt for an oversized banner to create additional buzz and excitement on the trade show floor.

Keep It Simple

To strengthen the impact of your banner’s marketing message, keep your design as simple as possible. A cluttered banner might attract attention, but not the kind of attention you want. The goal is to draw focus to the product or service you’re promoting, not the banner itself.

Effective trade show banners must be pleasing to the eye, easy to read, and singularly focused. Consider the following four elements for your design:

Bold, short headline
Vivid photography or image
Brief copy points
Call-to-action with your logo and tagline

Use Easy-to-Read Fonts

The size and type of font you use is essential in designing your banner. Use clear, simple fonts, such as Arial and other sans-serif fonts.

Italic fonts and serif fonts, like Times New Roman, are hard to read – especially from a distance – and therefore should be avoided in banner printing.

The size of the fonts you use will depend largely on the size of the banner. Additionally, the title and copy of your banner will require different font sizes. Include space between each line of copy so onlookers can read it with greater ease.

Choose the Right Colors

Colors are a powerful psychological tool that, when leveraged properly, can help you increase sales, attract attention, calm people, etc.

Most shades of green and blue are calming and pleasing to the senses. Yet they may not be strong interest grabbers. Silver, grey, white and black denote modern and upscale. Orange and yellow are high-energy colors and red is recognized as an attention-getter.

Keep in mind that bright colors will attract attention; yet, overuse may take away from your message. Bold color photography can also make a stunning impression. Once you determine your banner colors, ensure you have high contrast between the background color of the banner and the type color to enhance readability.

Lighting Tips

Use lighting to your advantage for your banner, as well as to highlight key areas of your trade show display. Many vertical banners with stands offer lighting options to enhance attention to your message. You can also bring spotlights to help draw eyes to vertical and horizontal banners.

Click for more information on effective trade show design and graphics.