It’s time to really start bringing people back into the store once again. You had a slow winter and lackluster spring but you took the opportunity throughout the lull to toss some new paint on the walls, install some new track lighting and replace the fixtures alongside the main aisle. Now the store is really looking like a million bucks, and the summer stock has come in. You’re preparing a big summer sale in a few of weeks; it’s simply a matter of advertising it. You have some bag stuffers already printed out and you will be placing an ad in the local newspapers. What you want now are a couple of custom banners to hang outside the store, one advertising that the upcoming sale and another for when it is taking place. The catch is you have never actually done any banner design before. Don’t worry. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are a few simple things to keep in mind.

## First of all, figure out where you are planning to hang your banner.

Decide where the banner is going to go. This will determine how much room you have to work with. It will also tell you who is likely to see it; are they likely to be largely your own customers, walk by traffic, or drive by traffic? Also if you’ve never hung a banner there before, you are going to want to be certain of all the sign bylaws. If you cannot find a good spot on the side of the actual building maybe you needto look into custom banner stands.

## Know what it is you hope to express.

The trick with a banner, even if it’s a big banner, is that the message should be short, clear and exact. People ought to know who the banner is for (if it’s not totally obvious by the placement) what it’s promoting, and one or two essential bits of information. In your case the date of the sale and and maybe the discounts offered.

## Make sure it is as bold as possible.

Based on location you need to make sure the text is big and visible. If most of the eyes scanning yourbanner are doing so from across a parking lot or from the street you need to make sure that the text can be read from that far away. Know too that color is going to play a big part in visibility. If you decideto use color text on a color background make sure that they contrast. Blueish-green letters on a greenish-blue background won’t make much of an impact. Be aware that dark text on a light background is generally more visible than light text on a dark background.

## Make sure it is legible.

Even an awesome banner – one that’s the right size, in a tremendous location, with bold contrasting colors, is going to be compromised if the text isn’t incredibly legible. You want a brief message, written large, and in an extremely legible font or typeface. If the font is too curly or gimicky, you are likely tolose the impact of the banner. People’s eyes are naturally drawn to the written word. The more legible the text the less of the eye you need to catch.

There is no reason you cannot go to your local print shop, or to an online print shop for that matter, and purchase a couple of appealing outdoor vinyl banners that will draw shoppers in to your summer sale. Some of the better online shops these days will actually allow you to design your banners right on their site. Try it out, you might find that you are better at it than you thought.

Looking for a vinyl banner to promote a special event or a product? Go to Allstatebanners.com and order your banner online! At Allstatebanners.com easy ordering system, fast turnaround and best pricing for your custom banners are guaranteed!