Banner Design: Sizes, Layout and Print Tips for Flex and Web Banners

Banner design is the planning of a large, simple graphic that sends one message quickly, either printed on flex or vinyl for a shop, event or hoarding, or shown online as a web banner or cover image. A good banner uses the exact size, one clear headline, one strong image, high contrast and a short call to action. This guide covers common banner sizes in feet and pixels, a layout method that works, resolution for big prints and the file checks printers expect.

In India you see banners everywhere: a Diwali sale flex outside a sweet shop, a coaching centre board in Mukherjee Nagar, a "Grand Opening" banner at a new chai cafe, a website header for an online store. Most of them have the same problem. Too much text, too many colours and a phone number nobody can read from the road. When you learn banner design properly, you learn to cut, simplify and make one idea loud.

What makes a good banner

A banner is not a brochure. People see it for two or three seconds while walking, riding a scooter or scrolling. In that time they should understand three things: what it is, why it matters to them and what to do next.

If you remove any part and the banner still works, remove it. That is the fastest way to make a banner better.

Banner sizes: flex, vinyl and web

The first question is always where the banner will go. Printed banners are measured in feet or inches. Web and social banners are measured in pixels.

Common printed banner sizes in India

Flex printing in India is usually priced per square foot, so sizes are given in feet. Always measure the wall, frame or stand before you start.

Ask the printer if they need extra margin for eyelets (the metal rings for ropes), wooden frames or pockets for poles. Many printers ask for a few inches of extra space around the edges. Keep text away from that area.

Common web and social banner sizes

Platforms change their sizes from time to time, so check the help page of the platform on the day you design. For posts, stories and other social formats, our guide to social media post sizes lists the full set.

How to design a banner, step by step

These steps work in CorelDraw, Illustrator or Photoshop. Only the menus change.

1. Get the brief in writing. The exact size, where the banner will hang, how far people will stand from it and the final text. Ask for the logo in vector format.
2. Write the headline first. Before you open any software, cut the client's text down to one headline of five to seven words. "Diwali Sale: Flat 30% Off" works. A paragraph about the shop's history does not.
3. Set up the document. For print, create the page at full size if the software allows, or at a scale like 1:10 (a 6 x 3 feet banner becomes 7.2 x 3.6 inches). Tell the printer if you used a scale. For web, set the exact pixel size in RGB.
4. Make a rough layout. Decide where the headline, image, call to action and logo will sit. Most banners read left to right or top to bottom. Wide banners often split into two zones: image on one side, text on the other.
5. Set big, bold type. Use one strong font for the headline and one simple font for the rest. Thin, script and decorative fonts disappear from a distance.
6. Pick high contrast colours. Dark text on a light background or light text on a dark background. Yellow on white and red on dark blue look poor from far away.
7. Place the image. One large, clear photo or graphic. Cut out the background if it is busy.
8. Add the call to action and contact. Make the phone number big enough to read. A QR code helps on banners people walk up to, not on hoardings seen from a car.
9. Check from a distance. Zoom out until the banner is the size of a matchbox on your screen. If you can still read the headline, it will work on the street.

The same thinking is used in poster work. Our guide on how to design a poster goes deeper into headline, image and hierarchy.

How big should text be on a banner

Text size depends on how far people will be when they read the banner. Sign makers often use a simple rule of thumb: about 1 inch of letter height for every 10 feet of viewing distance for basic readability. Go larger for impact. It is a guide, not a law, but it stops the most common mistake of tiny text.

Treat these as the smallest size for supporting text. The headline should be much bigger.

Resolution and file setup for printing

Big banners are viewed from far away, so they do not need the 300 ppi used for brochures and cards. Many large-format printers ask for about 100 to 150 ppi at the final size. Hoardings seen from the road can work with even less. A 6 x 3 feet banner at 150 ppi is about 10,800 x 5,400 pixels, which is already a heavy file, so planning matters.

1. Keep text and logos in vector. In CorelDraw or Illustrator, type and shapes stay sharp at any size. Convert text to curves or outlines before sending.
2. Check photos at the final size. A photo that looks fine on Instagram may be only 1080 pixels wide. Stretched across 6 feet, it will look blurry.
3. Use CMYK for print. Flex printers print with CMYK inks. Bright RGB blues and greens will look duller on flex, so convert and check the colours before you export.
4. Add the printer's margin. If they need extra space for eyelets or framing, add it as a background extension and keep text clear of it.
5. Export the right file. Most flex printers accept PDF, CDR, high quality JPG or TIFF. Ask before you export. Name the file with the size, for example diwali-sale-6x3ft.pdf.
6. Ask for a small proof. For big or costly jobs, ask the printer to print a small section at full size so you can check colour and sharpness.

For web banners, export in RGB as JPG or PNG and keep the file light. Google Ads lists a file size limit for uploaded image ads, so check the current limit on its help page before you export.

Flex, vinyl and other banner materials

Material names and quality vary from printer to printer, so ask for samples and the exact material code before you promise a client a finish.

Common banner design mistakes

Banner work is one of the most common paid jobs for a new designer in India, from local shops to schools and events. It trains you to make a message loud and simple. Our Photoshop course covers photo editing, cut outs and colour for banners built around images. The CorelDraw course teaches the vector layouts and print files that flex printing shops in Delhi use every day.