If you want your banner to inform the right people then it is important that it is displaying the right information. But if you want people to read and take in your information you need an equally strong design to attract people's attention. Depending on what you are promoting different elements of design will have more relevance to your banner. Here we have provided a round up of some general pointers for all designs.

Less Is More

When it comes to arranging margins and borders on your banner sometimes less is definitely more. Overly Wide borders can often cause a problem that hinders banner design.

For the inexperienced it often appears better to create a larger image to fill the banner. Try to avoid stretching lettering and graphics right to the edge of the banner or the design will look to busy, detracting from the information contained. Going to the other extreme excess, useless space can also hamper your design. If you have a large space on your banner then the size of the text and graphics are probably compromised too ending up with an uneconomical design.

A happy medium is a little space as a border to trim the edge. A minimal border like this can help to emphasise the centre and the bulk of the content of your banner. A rule which works for most designs is to have the vertical margins each 10% of the height and the horizontal margins about the same width as a single character of the banners dominant font.

Using this rule you should be able to see the clarity in your banners emerging. Also try to avoid filling gaps with unnecessary graphics. Although it may seem like a waste a little space can actually help to break up the text on your banner, making it easier to scan read for viewers on the move.

Graphics

Graphics when used sparingly can be an effective way of drawing people to your banner. If all the emphasis is on a picture rather than the text people are obviously going to focus on the picture so try to balance the two.

If you can think of a central image to reflect your business this can be beneficial. Obvious images such as a car for a mechanic or a rod for an angling shop can actually make your design less memorable. A character or something comical can actually stick in peoples minds more. So you could have somebody fishing and catching a boot for an angling shop, provoking an image of problem solving rather than product placement.