A banner works hardest when it matches the poster, the flyer, the ticket and the social posts. We design the set together and hand it over as one family of files. A promoter like Roar Entertainment needs the same look on the stage as on the website.
Banner design
Readable from across the room.
Banner design is judged from ten paces, not ten centimetres. We design roller banners, outdoor banners and backdrops that make one point at that distance.
Kinds
Which kind of banner do you need?
Indoor
Roller and pull-up banners
One product, three names: a roller banner in the UK, a pull-up banner in South Africa, a retractable banner in the USA. The graphic winds into a base and stands on a pole in a minute.
Outdoor
PVC and mesh banners
Heavy vinyl with hemmed edges and eyelets, tied to fences, railings and scaffolding. Mesh lets the wind through on exposed sites.
Stage
Backdrops and media walls
Fabric or pop-up walls behind a speaker or a photo spot, with the logos placed where the photographs will show them.
Screen
Web and social banners
Display ads in Google’s standard sizes, carrying the same message as the print. Profile and cover images have their own page.
Sizes
Standard banner sizes
When your printer’s template differs from these, the template wins. Large-format artwork is often built at half or quarter scale, with photos at 100 to 150 ppi at full size, because nobody reads a banner from arm’s length.
| Banner | Size | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Roller banner | 850 × 2000 mm (33 × 81 in) | The standard cassette in all three countries |
| Outdoor banner | 2 × 1 m, 3 × 1 m; 6 × 3 ft, 4 × 8 ft | Fences, railings, shop fronts and sports fields |
| Backdrop | 2.4 × 2.4 m; 3 × 2.3 m; 8 × 8 ft | Stages, press walls and photo spots |
| Feather flag | 2.5 to 4.5 m tall | Forecourts, markets and outdoor events |
| Display ad | 300 × 250, 728 × 90, 320 × 50 px | Google Display and website advertising |
A roller banner graphic carries an extra 150 to 200 mm at the foot that disappears into the cassette, so the message sits in the top two thirds.
What works
What makes a banner work at a distance?
One message, set large. The sign trade’s rule of thumb is 25 mm of letter height for every 3 metres of viewing distance, so a headline read across a hall needs letters about 80 mm tall. Logo at the top, offer in the middle, the web address or QR code at eye level, never at the foot where legs and furniture hide it.
Colour does the rest: a solid brand colour lifts your banner out of a hall full of white ones. We take it from your brand guidelines, or match your website and the rest of your print. Web banners follow Google’s own specifications.
Included
What comes with a banner design
- Artwork on your printer’s templateSet to their size, scale and bleed, with the hidden cassette area and the hem allowance marked.
- Print-ready PDFCMYK, fonts embedded, photos at large-format resolution and a Pantone reference for your brand colour.
- Versions for each sizeThe same design adapted to a roller banner, an outdoor banner and a web banner, so the campaign matches.
- Editable source filesChange the date or the offer for the next event without starting again.
Print & design
Related services
Questions
Questions about banner design
Question not here? Send it to us and we will answer it directly.
Ask a questionHow do I order banner design from you?
Send the brief through the project form or email hello@redfoxbranding.com, with the kind of banner, the size your printer or stand supplier has given you and where it will stand. We come back with a fixed quote in GBP, USD or ZAR. No printer yet? Tell us the country and we suggest what to ask for.
Do you supply the stand or print the banner?
No. We design the artwork and supply print-ready files; you order the print and the hardware from a printer or display supplier of your choice, so you can compare prices locally and reorder anywhere. Stands vary, so we ask for the supplier’s template first, because the cassette hides the foot of the graphic and a few millimetres at each side.
What resolution do banner images need?
Less than you would think. A photo that prints at 300 ppi on a leaflet can run at 100 to 150 ppi on a banner, because nobody stands close to it. We still ask for the largest original you have, since a screenshot or a logo pulled from a website looks soft at two metres tall. Logos should be vector files.
Can you design a banner for outdoors?
Yes. Outdoor banners print on 440 to 510 gsm PVC, or on mesh where wind is a problem, with hems and eyelets every 500 mm or so. We keep text away from the eyelets, allow for the sag of a long banner and keep the contrast high, because an outdoor banner is read from further away. Tell us how long it will be up.
Running an event?
Get a quote for banner design
Tell us the kind of banner, the size or the stand you plan to use, where it will stand and the date it must be ready. You get a fixed price and a list of the files you will receive, and your banner design starts from there.