Billboard Design | Billboard Design Ideas | Effective Billboard Design (2024)

Billboard advertisem*nts have been around as long as advertising has existed. So, has there been a change in their reception since the onslaught of the digital age? Keep reading to know.

Over the last decade, the digital world has taken over our lives. Everything we do is over the internet. Be it buying a product/service or marketing a product/service. Even then, a few traditional advertising methods have cruised through the tests of time. One such isBillboard Advertising.

What is Billboard Advertising?

Businesses today are growing at a rapid pace. And to promote their products or services, they take the help of advertising. Because of this, the advertising landscape has grown leaps and bounds. But this has also unintentionally confused advertisers on the type of advertising they should use to market their products or services. Though various effective advertising mediums exist, not all businesses can afford to utilize them, especially small businesses that work on a limited budget.

For these small businesses,billboard advertisingis one of the easiest, cheapest, and fastest advertising mediums to share their products to prospective clientele.

Billboard advertisem*nt has been a popular outdoor advertising medium for a long time. After all, in this form of advertising, the message shared must be clear and concise with easy-to-understand details for the viewer(who, most times, are drivers on the highway).

Thus, if you are looking to advertise your brand to a vast audience, then billboards are the most helpful options. Opting for a digital billboard is even better since they are much more cost-effective and easier to update.

Types of Billboard Advertising

• Classic Billboard
• Vinyl Billboard
• Painted Billboard
• Posters
• Mobile Billboard
• Scented Billboard
• Three-Dimensional Billboard
• Digital Billboard
• Wallscapes

Creating A Billboard Design

A billboard is large, and depending on its location, the sign promotes a brand the best. Take, for example,Times Square.It is one of the most recognized street squares where almost every wall is covered with a billboard. Another memorable example of billboard advertisem*nts is the billboards hoisted across the highways.

Devising a billboard design is a grueling task for designers. Firstly, they must create a design that evokes a sense of want for the viewer. Second, imagine having to customize a large design that has to project the brand’s intention, image, and message while keeping its logo, story, and ideas intact for the viewer to understand even at a distance.

After all, in contrast to other forms of advertising, billboards compete against truly extreme distractors: speeds of dozens of miles per hour, open (potentially dangerous) roads, and distances that make them unreadable to motorists.

In an attempt to overcome these challenges, designers have come up with different sorts of rules of thumb and best practices that often produce similar, uninteresting design approaches.

Due to this, genuine, creative, and unique ads have become a rare find since the advertiser tries to masterfully combine words and images, creating a clever, eye-catching design with a background that appeals to and connect with possible customers with legible words. Find the perfect outdoor marketing ideas.

In fact, the United States has the highest reach forOut-Of-Home Advertisingforms, with expenditures projected to amount to 42.4 billion U.S. dollars by the end of 2024, as around80%of Americans remember and consider the billboard ads they see at a highway exit.

Tips to Create an Impactful Billboard Designs

1. Have A Compelling Story

If your business has a billboard on the side of a highway frequented by people, you need a design with a story that will appeal and make them stop and take note of your advertisem*nt.

Now for your story to be compelling, you need to think about the one thing you want your audience to take away from the advertisem*nt. Do you want them to remember your website? Do you want them to search for your product online? Should they recognize your brand the next time they go out? Or do you want people to pull off at the next exit and visit your store?

Decide on the key message to be put up on the board that will match what your product offers. Some of the examples are,

• www.yourbusinessname.com– published in large fonts will let them note your brand and maybe search you at the next pit stop.
• “Your product tagline” – make a statement. Tell them – that your brand means fun and happiness and is here to support them.
• Tell them how far they are from your next location (you can be a food joint, a mechanical shop, or for the matter, even a public restroom).

Your billboard’s key message should solve a problem, evoke a feeling, or fill an unmet need (even one they were not aware they had). Get inspired by trade show booth designs.

Why a story is important?

We, humans, are terrible at remembering facts but, at the same time, are great at remembering stories.

And a billboard design is a visual medium that, for most of its lifespan, tells a story through pictures and texts. Thus, you need to be strategic and creative while creating a billboard design.

• Play with your story by using short and fun words
• Use rhyming words that will help your message stick
• Use a large dynamic image that will tell it all at a glance.

Keep it Simple and Precise

On average, drivers have only about 5-10 seconds to view, read and comprehend the message on a billboard. Within that time, the driver will also have to keep an eye on the road. Meaning that the actual time taken to view the billboard ad is much less.

Thus, it is necessary that you keep your message short enough to be read at a glance. It should be a maximum of 7 words or less.

You can include any additional relevant information after your initial message. For example, you can add a phone number, the brand logo, a location, or a highway exit number to attract motorists to the venue.

Just make sure to prioritize and position the information as per its importance, such that the billboard doesn’t become cluttered.

Be Bold

A billboard is large. And there is no time to be meek. Thus, make sure any information in your design is printed in a clean and bold font to ensure the best readability. Furthermore, the larger the font, the easier it is for a driver to read and understand the message from a distance.

Use Bright Colors

To effortlessly attract attention to your billboard design, ensure that you use bright colors and a bold image. You can also choose to use contrasting colors to create an even bigger impact that will help enhance the comprehension of your message.

But for your image to be persuasive, you’d want to keep your background simple. This will ensure that the foreground isn’t fighting for attention. Also, try to stick to one large image or photo. A single image will create much more visual impact than a handful of images that only take up a quarter of the layout. Explore some poster design ideas and get inspired for your marketing campaigns.

Use Relevant Content

Everything comes down to the right and relevant content. Select content that will improve your brand’s image in the eyes of the viewers. The best method would be to highlight your product with a bright picture and bold font.

10 Billboard Advertising To Take Inspiration From

Check out these10billboard ads that are eyecatching and can give you design inspiration.

Need Help With Creating A Billboard Design?

Billboards need to be compelling and influence people to take note of the scope of the advertisem*nt. This is only possible when there is a captivating design. And what better than a well-known graphic design agency that knows and understands what the customers want.

Book a Demo or Sign Up today with All Time Design to enhance your brand positioning with high-quality designs.