Billboard Design

Designing billboards is a part of every designer’s job. The purpose of a good and effective billboard is to attract people’s attention and send a clear message. Billboard design is a method of sending a visual message to users. There is a certain number of rules for designing a good billboard that will impress the users:

Billboard Graphic Design

Simplicity:

Overall, in design, simplicity is paramount. The most effective messages are succinct, intelligible, and simple, and thus a billboard should be a concise expression of an idea or a message. Designers rarely come up with slogans and messages themselves, but it is important to know that short messages are always the best solution. The rule is to use 5–7 words.

Mind the Time

It is essential that the design convey the message to the user in a matter of seconds. One should bear in mind that people will pass by the billboard, that the average car speed is 50–60 km/h, and that consequently redundant elements or complicated design solutions will go unnoticed.

Big Fonts and Text

One of the purposes of a billboard is to enable people to read its message from the distance. That is the reason why the key words are large, and the font clear and legible. The best solution is to use non-serif fonts and an adequate font spacing.

Contrast

A suitable contrast is important for readability. The best colors to use are the basic ones: black and white, as well as the primary colors such as yellow, red, and blue.

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

A single big picture should be used, for it is a way to attract the audience’s attention as quickly as possible. One jar is always more effective than three of them. As far as small items are concerned, they need to be enlarged and clearly discernible.

Background

In a billboard it is best to keep the background simple, so that it doesn’t overwhelm the pictures, the slogan or the logo. Blank space is an essential element in page design, but it’s highly important to keep in mind that a billboard is a huge area.

Call to Action

Just like on the internet, there is a button here to click on. Although this is not possible on a billboard, it certainly must call for a certain action as well. It is important to know what the target group wants to do when they see the billboard. A billboard may serve as a signpost directing one to the official site, social media pages, or some other kind of engagement.

Logo

The balance between a picture and a logo is highly important and therefore it must exist. According to the unwritten rule, the logo should not be smaller than 1/8 of the total surface size. A logo is an element that needs to reach consumers, attract their attention, and become engraved in their memory.