Top Tips to Get Typography Right on Your Billboard

Did you know that the typography you choose to use on your billboard ad impacts the effectiveness of your billboard? It’s true!

In this age of multi-channel advertising, choosing the right typography for your outdoor advertisement can be tedious.

While a study in 2015 suggested that the attention spans of people were becoming shorter, this isn’t really the case. Instead, it’s a more likely explanation that our attention span is evolving, according to a more recent study in 2018. Attention spans aren’t shortening, people are just being more selective about what they devote their attention to.

In addition to that, the audience reading the billboard is usually driving past on a busy highway with only a quick glance to absorb the message on the billboard. Therefore, you need to make sure that the design is attractive and that the typography is legible in a limited amount of time. It has to be easy to read in a few quick seconds.

A simple and bold billboard advertisement by Daikin at People’s Park Complex

Daikin simple advertising through logo displays in Sim Lim Square, Singapore

Billboard advertisement by Canon in Myanmar, getting the audience’s attention through straightforward, clear, and concise ads

To help you navigate the font minefield, here are some top outdoor advertising typography tips:

Font

Good font choices for static outdoor advertising includes:

Serif – Possibly the most popular font type in virtually any advertising setting. This font makes discerning each letter very easy and is appealing without too much decoration.

The most popular styles are Times New Roman, Garamond, Georgia, and Baskerville.

Sans-serif – This font has recently gained popularity for its sleek modern appeal. It works very well for headlines due to its simplicity and readability.

Some widely used examples of Sans Serif fonts are Arial, Calibri, Myriad Pro, Helvetica, Tahoma, and Verdana.

Size

Your billboard needs to be legible from different distances, so the bigger sized font you use, the better. Why? Big fonts let people read your message with ease from far distances.

Additionally, larger sizes mean that people will see your billboard for a longer period of time. And since big lettering takes up more space on your billboard, you’ll use fewer words and your message will have a bigger impact.

For example, the average driver will only have about 5 to 10 seconds to view your billboard design, read any text, and comprehend the message. In those 5 to 10 seconds, the driver could also be glancing from the billboard to the road, and back to the billboard again depending on the severity of traffic. That’s even less viewing time on your ad! So one of the most important rules to follow will be keeping your message short. Very short! Always remember, the simple power of less is more. Shoot for a maximum of 7 words or less. A catchy slogan in the perfect typography is sure to arrest attention.

Colour

When it comes to colors, you should always go for bold, highly contrasting colors that will help get your message noticed!

The option of soft pastels should be ruled out from your color scheme for a billboard design. Bright and bold colors with a high contrast look stunning and captivate attention every moment of the day. Different shades of bold colors like green, black, red, yellow, or orange can be used to create contrasts.

Now it’s time to put it into action!

Start your search for the perfect outdoor advertising site with us. The Perfect Media cares greatly about the results your brand will achieve when partnering with us for your outdoor advertising placements. Besides our various strategic locations across Singapore, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Philippines, we help your brand reach the right millions by helping in the logistics and implementation of your extraordinary outdoor advertisement.

Contact us to book our sites now by sending an email to ask@tpmoutdoor.com or calling +65 8812 0555 via WhatsApp or mobile.