If you've attended trade shows, you know why good banners are important. A well-designed banner will make a striking impression on trade show attendees, and you can use banners to draw in your target audience so leads become sales. The challenge is in designing an impressive and innovative banner, one that’ll help your brand stand out in a sea of exhibitors. While creating a banner may seem like an easy job, plenty of thought and planning must go into it. In this guide, we've put together our favorite banner design tips, and we’ve also included steps you can follow to design an impressive banner, one that’ll get the attention of your target audience.

6 Banner Must-Haves

Irrespective of whether you’re using tabletop banners, retractable banner stands, or outdoor banners, you must include all of the elements listed below:
  1. Large & Easy To Read Text – The text must be easy to read, even from a distance. Some popular fonts for banners are Georgia, Helvetica, and PT Sans.
  2. Simple & Focused Message – While designing the banner copy, keep your message simple and to the point so it's easy for the reader to understand. Also, you can include a crisp call to action to get the audience to take the desired action.
  3. Catchy Images – The human mind can retain 65% more information from an ad when it has pictures. When there are no pictures, the information retention rate is 10%.
  4. Bright Colors – Understand the basics of color psychology and use the right colors to capture the attention of your target audience.
  5. Short Text – When it comes to outdoor banners, less is more. Keep the main message to just one or two lines and make sure the overall text is not over five lines.
  6. Right Layout – Do not overcrowd the banner. Balance white space and layouts to create an engaging banner that captivates your target audience.

5 Easy Steps For Designing The Best Event Banners

Whether you’re designing outdoor signs or banners for a trade show, you can follow these steps to create an impressive banner, one that’ll attract your audience.
  1. Understand How And Where The Banner Will Be Displayed: For example, you can go for a medium-sized banner if you’re presenting at a trade show. On the other hand, if you're designing outdoor real estate signposts, you have to go for extra-large banners to get maximum visibility.
  2. Align The Banner Design To Match The Campaign: For example, if you’re trying to generate leads for your email newsletter, provide an incentive. A free piece of swag will be an incentive to join.
  3. Choose A Suitable Layout: Your banner designer or printer can help you choose the best layouts depending on your purpose.
  4. Include Your Logo, Call-to-action, And Main Copy: These elements shouldn't take up more than 50% of the banner space. Eliminate the extra text by using shorter words. You can also use images to get a message across.
  5. Add Other Relevant Information: Include your website address, social media links, and contact information.
Follow these steps to design a creative and impressive banner for your business.