Clipart Vinyl
Clipart Vinyl 5 Steps to Banner Design Success With the advent of digital printing, what you can do with vinyl banners has greatly expanded. No longer are you locked into text only phrases like "For ...
Clipart Vinyl
5 Steps to Banner Design Success
With the advent of digital printing, what you can do with vinyl banners has greatly expanded. No longer are you locked into text only phrases like "For Sale" or "Grand Opening." Now, anything you can imagine, you can put on a banner.
Just what makes a good banner? There are five key elements that go into the overall design of a banner.
1. Material
2. Size
3. Fonts
4. Contrast
5. Graphics
Part 1 -- Material
Banner material falls into one of three (3) general categories; lightweight, standard and heavyweight. Lightweight banners are generally 10 ounces and are great for indoors and short-term outdoor use. These are great for birthday parties, office celebrations and the like. This banner will not be outdoor durable over any length of time.
Standard weight banners are generally around 13 ounces and are perfect for outdoors. They also work really well indoors if you want to reuse them from season to season. For example, if you have an annual spring sale, this weight of banner can be used for many years and will look as good for your 5th annual sale as it did during the first one.
Heavyweight banner is 17 ounce and above. This is really only needed for extreme outdoor conditions and is generally not need for any other purpose. Be wary of a banner printer pushing this weight on you for a normal banner application.
Part 2 -- Size
Bigger is not always better in the world of banners. The size of your banner must be appropriate for the viewing distance and the place it will be installed. We have all seen very tiny banners on the side of a large building that is totally unreadable unless you are standing right next to it. The reverse can be just as bad. Imagine having a 4'x8' banner installed on a 8'x10' wall. A banner should stand out from its surroundings and not be used as wallpaper.
A general rule of thumb is that you need 1" of letter height for each 10' of viewing distance. So if your banner will be viewed from 50' away and you want 3 lines of text, you need 15" just for the lettering not to mention "white space" separating the lines. I use a general rule that you should have the same amount of separation as you have print. In this example, that means a minimum of 30" for a basic banner.
Part 3 -- Fonts
The fonts that you use are critically important. Your font should be readable yet consistent with your brand image. The absolute worst thing you can do is to use a script font and use all capital letters. This is unreadable at any distance. If you want to employ all caps, be sure to use a sans serif font that is clean and readable. Other than that, feel free to be as creative as you want with fonts. There are some amazing ones out there that can greatly enhance your designs.
Part 4 -- Contrast
There are two type of color contrast that we need to look at. The first is font contrast and the second is the contrast between the colors used on the banner and the color of the location the banner will be installed.
black on yellow
white on black
yellow on black
black on white
blue on white
white on blue
blue on yellow
These are really good color combinations to use for your fonts/background colors. You want your words to pop off the page and draw the attention of the reader. Using the right combinations of colors can do just that.
The second, and often overlooked, area of concern is the contrast between the background color of your banner and that of the surface you will be mounting it. What is the point of having a banner that is "brick red" and then mount it against a red brick wall? The banner will completely disappear on the wall. The same goes for a "white" banner on a white wall. Again, no pop. The same contrasts that work for letters work for backgrounds as well.
Part 5 -- Graphics
This is where full color banner printing comes into play and that is the implementation of graphics. Gone are the days of only using text on a banner and here are the days of near photo quality graphics. There are so many resources for full color photos and web 2.0 type clipart that any banner printing company can design you a visually stunning banner. Just remember, if you want to include your own pictures, be sure that they are of sufficient pixels for the size you are printing.
Conclusion
It really is simple for a professional banner printing firm to design you a great looking product. Now that you know what to look for, you can more clearly articulate exactly what you want in a banner.
About the Author
About The Author: Michael Pingree has been in the sign industry since 1993. His website at oregonbannerprinting.com offers a simple online banner design tool to create professional looking full color vinyl banners quickly and easily from the convenience of your computer. Be sure to check out our options for banner printing and our wide selection of banner displays
Holiday Banners
You can celebrate the holidays in style with custom banner printing by bannerstoyou.com. Whether you own a store and are having a holiday sale, or a homeowner welcoming guests in for a party, you can use pre-designed holiday banners, that are also ready to customize in whatever way will make your event more special. Holiday banners will show your guests where the party is, and welcome them in.
You can use holiday banners this year and then save them for future use, as well. The quality vinyl materials and solvent inks make sure that your banners will still look great for years after their first party. Christmas banners will spice up your home for the holidays, or invite fellow workers at your office to take a break and join the party at work. You can create a design all your own, or use a design from the site. Their gallery of clipart has literally hundreds of Christmas holiday clipart that are free for you to use.
Celebrate the Christmas holiday by giving of yourselves to friends and family. Christmas reminds us to celebrate giving, and to give us a time to gather together to celebrate the reason for the season. You can use a Christmas banner to brighten up any event, dinner or party. You can use Christmas banners either for business or personal use. Let everyone in your area know that you wish them a most happy Christmas, and promote your business at the same time. Use Christmas banners for get-togethers with friends and family anytime during the holiday season, and for many seasons to come. All holiday banners can be edited with the custom editing tools. Your signs can be as personal as you want to make them, and as festive as your holiday spirit.
Independence Day celebrates not only a great day in American history, but also a wonderful excuse for barbeque's and outdoor parties. Invite friends and family to your lake cottage, with a banner on the dock or at your house in the city. Parades, cookouts and picnics help carry on the festive spirit of the Fourth of July, whether it's spent at the beach or in your back yard. Plan to attend the fireworks, and party before and after them. Pour everyone a tall cool drink, and greet your friends with a Fourth of July banner that will help get everone in the mood for the party.
About the Author
bannerstoyou.com are leading providers of vinyl banners in the USA and beyond. They can provide all your needs for sales banners and grand opening banners for business or personal use. Tom Jacobsen is a writer for http://www.bannerstoyou.com who has worked in the industry for some years.