Duratrans are a great marketing tool for businesses big and small. You see them displayed on downtown buildings, at movie theaters and even grocery stores use them.
Any business can profit from using duratrans because you can target a specific area, like a small community, for little cost. Duratrans cost anywhere from a few cents each (flyer-sized or mini-posters) to $900 or so for the biggest size and for custom sizes.
Design your Duratrans for your target market
When you plan your duratrans design, including images and colors and even font choice, choose what you think your customers would like and would respond to, not what you like. You should have a good idea of what your customers like (you’ve already done your target market research, right?) so you know what color palette they’ll like and what feel they like (soft and fuzzy that makes them feel warm or hard and strong that makes them feel tough?).
Think about location in terms of design
If you’re going to hang your duratrans on a college’s community board, you’ll need to use loud color and large fonts to get the college students attention. If you’re hanging a duratrans in a ballroom dancing company’s lobby, you’ll want to evoke that same kind of elegant feel with your duratrans. You also want to make sure your duratrans doesn’t blend in with the surroundings. Hanging a white duratrans with light writing on a white wall will not get you noticed.
Choose your colors carefully
Choose colors that complement each other on the color wheel. Colors such as blue and orange are opposite each other on the color wheel, so they work well together. Make sure your colors contrast enough to grab attention, but that they complement each other so as to avoid negative attention.
Don?t try to fill every square inch
If you try to fill every inch of your duratrans with text or with an image, you’re just going to convolute your message. A clear message is a simple message. Decide on what you want message you want your duratrans to convey before you even start writing. Delete anything that doesn’t contribute to your main message. Less is more with duratrans design.
Choose a font that is easy to read
Many fonts are easier to read when they are bigger, but remember that most people will be seeing your duratrans at a distance of at least a few feet, if not more. This is another reason why it helps if you know where your duratrans will be located: you can gauge from your print proofs how far away your duratrans can be read and you can adjust the size or color of the font accordingly.