If you know your church needs a banner, but you're not quite sure how to implement one, here is an example of a possible situation that should assist you. This hypothetical situation will take you from the design process all the way through to the actual hanging on the banner.
This church has decided that putting the service times up using temporary letters and numbers on the sign outside is not working well. At times, they forget to change out the lettering, leading to confusion. They plan to use a vinyl banner that will be displayed using a banner stand. The banner will be located under an overhang to protect it from the elements.
First, the color scheme of the banner will need to be selected. Since there are not set colors for the church, their options are quite varied. Since this is an informational sign, however, the color scheme should be kept simple and easy to read. A white background is selected, and a text color of navy blue will be used.
Simple graphics will be used, and the church's collection of clip art will the source for these graphics. These graphics are considered line art, and will only need to be in one color, saving expense. The navy blue color for the text will be carried over for the line color of the graphics.
Now that the color selection process has been completed, it is time to move on to the actual laying out of the sign. The banner that will be used is four feet tall by three feet wide. This will allow enough space to display the different service times and the graphics.
The name of the church will go at the top of the banner in large print. Below this, the times for the church services will be listed. These times will be in a slightly smaller size than the church name, but should still be easy to read from the street. It is a good idea at this stage to create a mock-up of the design to make sure that all of the elements can be seen. A simple large sheet of paper and a marker can work well to create a basic mock-up.
The graphics will be placed in a random pattern along the borders of the sign. Approximately seven graphics will be used, one in between the name of the text and the times of the services, and then three graphics on either side of this text will be used.
Now that the design process is complete, and the banner has arrived, the church is ready to install their new banner. As mentioned previously, it will be located outside, under an overhang. The banner stand arrived before the banner and is made of a sturdy material that will not tip or fall over.
The banner is placed in the center of the frame, centered and then displayed as planned.