Advertising is part and parcel of life these days and we are bombarded with it wherever we go. Some advertising is very clever, some very humourous, with each advertiser wanting their message to be seen and to generate interest and sales for their product or service offering. A lot of time and thought goes into producing adverts, whether they are ones we see on the television, on the Internet, in newspapers and magazines, or even on billboards as we are moving around outside. Some of them we find visually appealing and stick in our minds, which is obviously what the creator intended, while others seem to impact us less.
Grabbing the Eye
Whatever platform you are using, it is important that people will be drawn to your advert, which is even more important if you are using billboard advertising on the streets. People will only have a matter of seconds to be attracted to your message and read and understand what it has to say, so even a quick glance needs to be able to grab the eye of the passer by. Ideally, you want your message to be able to be seen and read from long distances, so as to gain as many viewers as possible. This means you need to ensure it is very clearly legible, which use of fancy writing might not be easy to do. There are three main points to pay attention to being the size of the lettering, the style or font and the colour combinations.
Choosing your Font
As anyone who has ever created a document on Microsoft Word knows there are a very wide range of fonts available, and while some of them may look beautifully intricate, many of them are not really appropriate for billboard fonts. You need something that is easily readable, which is why we see serif fonts regularly used. A serif font, such as Times new Roman, has a small line attached to the end of a stroke, making it easier for the eye to make the transition from one letter to the next. Sans-serif, such as Arial, Calibri and Verdana are also easy to read and make a great font for headlines or outside advertising.
The Size of the Lettering
It’s official, with advertising at least, size does matter. Large letters are easier to read from far away, which can engage people for a longer period of time as they get closer, and while it may mean that there is room for less words than using a smaller font, it means that your message can be short and snappy, including a short slogan or catch phrase.
Colour is Essential
The more vibrant and striking colours you use, and the greater the contrast, the easier it becomes to catch the eye. Certain colour combinations of wording in one colour, set against a background of a different one, can help enable you to get words to really stand out. White lettering stands out very well against backgrounds of blue, black and red, as does yellow, while other colours work well in different combinations.
Good advertising is not just about the message, but also in ensuring that the advert is striking enough to be noticed and read in the first place.
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