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.
Seven words max, one headline, one action, high contrast, chunky sans serif fonts. If it does not read on your phone at arms length, it will not read from the pavement.
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.
A banner has to do its job at a glance, from 30 feet, in the rain. Anything clever that fails that test does not belong on it.
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.
The arm's length test
Photograph your design, shrink to 4cm wide on your phone, hold at arm's length. If the headline reads, you are fine. If not, your type is too small or too thin.
Your banner is not the audience for your creativity, it is the tool for your message. Keep it simple and let the print do the talking.
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.
