Banner Design

Challenge Components

• Saturated market
• Attention-grabbing needs
• Consumer wariness

Industry Research

Billboard design varies from country to country, so we dug into the industry in the USA. There, billboards are common. There are few rules or trends. This provided an opportunity in design since we did not need to worry about following market trends. There was no need to get the banner design approved.

Audience Research

Billboard designs can appear in many locations and reach people from all walks of life. That is why designing an effective one is tricky. We investigated the demographics around the initially proposed billboard design locations. This gave us an idea on how to proceed for a diverse audience. Earcredibles had a specific audience when the company created the devices. The devices are meant for people who enjoy concerts but do not want to cause permanent hearing loss. The Earcredibles marketing team targets people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. These broad demographic categories helped us target the banner design.

Research as a Custom Banner Design Firm

Few companies advertise their earplugs on billboards. That limited our competitor pools. Instead, we examined the music industry billboards. This helped the team become aware of design trends in billboards. That also helped us narrow which market trends we did not want to mimic.

Bonus Challenge

The added challenge with this banner design was the necessity of grabbing attention. We needed a banner design that would get the attention of people who would buy the product. On a crowded street while everyone is in their own world, it’s challenging. We needed the right element combination for this banner design.

Brand Symbology

Earcredibles based its brand around sound. Its brand story is about concerts, live music, and wanting to continue doing that forever. The logo even has soundbars in it for the b and the d. With that focus on sound, we wanted to incorporate that into the banner design. The other facet of the brand is the focus on live music. The company specifically focuses on concerts that are known to be loud. There are many symbols for metal, rock, punk, and more that also fit with the brand. We decided we wanted to incorporate the product inspiration into our inspiration for the billboard design.

Design Inspiration

The big inspiration behind the designs was standing out, both from the other banner designs and on the street. The team decided later that that meant colors and contrast. We examined some of the most notable advertising examples we could get our hands on. After a while, ideas started to form. The brand story also played a significant part in the inspiration process. It’s not often that an account for a successful brand is relatable and offers real-world elements to work with. The concerts, sounds, and earplugs were all sources that were incorporated into the final design once the team was through designing a banner.

Element Decisions

Each member of the banner design team had a distinct idea of how they thought this banner would look best. We agreed that the earplugs should be in the image. Everything else, there was no agreement on. Eventually, everyone was sent back to their own office space. This way, they could sketch concepts for this banner design project.

Narrowing Down the Final Options

The Stan Agency banner design team produced several amazing concepts. After removing the ideas that were too far away from the company branding, we began examining the effectiveness of the ads. This culminated in a focus group that revealed which billboard design people were most attracted to or intrigued by.

The Deliverable

The Final Package:

• Two complete custom banner designs
• Separate package design elements for reuse

The first banner design evokes the rock concert feel from the brand. It features a female singer in contrasting red and black in a pose that suggests she’s singing loudly. The secondary design contrasts with the primary one since it is all black and white. The two placed together never fail to draw potential consumers’ eyes. We look forward to working with Earcredibles again as the company continues to grow.