After printing thousands of banners from our Putney studio, we see the same design mistakes over and over. Here's how to design a banner that actually gets read from across the street.
1. Less is More Way More
A banner is not a leaflet. The person seeing it has two seconds maybe three. Your entire message should be readable in that window. Rule of thumb: if you can't summarise what you're saying in seven words, your design is too busy.
2. Big Type Wins
For a 5ft banner, the main headline should be at least 6–8 inches tall. A common mistake is scaling down the layout from a leaflet mindset. A banner viewed from 20 feet needs headline text at least 3 inches per letter.
3. Contrast Is Everything
High contrast between text and background reads at distance. Dark text on light, light text on dark. Avoid red-on-green, yellow-on-white, or pastel-on-pastel they disappear outdoors.
4. One Clear Action
Every banner should have one call to action: "Call 020 3669 9854", "Shop now at [URL]", "Open Sunday". Multiple CTAs split attention and halve effectiveness.
5. White Space Is Your Friend
Cramming the banner edge-to-edge makes it look cheap and overwhelms the reader. Leave 10–15% of the banner as breathing room. Your message will punch harder.
6. Avoid These Common Fonts
Comic Sans, Papyrus, Curlz these scream "amateur" and undermine the message. Stick with clean sans-serif (Poppins, Montserrat, Bebas Neue, Impact) for maximum readability.
7. Test It on Your Phone
Before sending artwork to a printer, open the design on your phone and hold it at arm's length. If you can't read the key message from 3 feet, it won't work at 20 feet either.
Need a Hand?
Our Putney studio offers free artwork help with every order send us your idea and we'll design something that actually stops traffic. Call 020 3669 9854.