Billboard Design Guidelines

Because we want you to be successful, we recommend that your billboard ad is designed by a professional.

If you don’t have a trusted designer or a large design budget, don’t worry – we’ll design your ad for you in 5-7 business days.

Have Blip Design My Ad
Graphic designer working on billboard artwork
5 Design Tips for Creating an Effective and Memorable Billboard
BE CLEAR AND CONCISE

Your content will only be visible for a few seconds at a time. Good billboard designs communicate without a lot of words. In fact, most drivers will stop reading after five words. Try to convey the essence of an idea rather than describing it with prose.

USE THE CORRECT AD SIZE(S)

The billboards you choose will determine the size of the artwork that you will need to create.

The ads you submit must match the pixel dimensions of the billboards they will appear on. Billboard dimensions vary by board. The required dimensions for your artwork are listed as “ad size” in the sign information for each sign individually. This information can be found after you select a sign during the campaign set-up process.

BE BOLD

Due to drivers’ short attention spans, use large, bold fonts and avoid narrow or ornate fonts. Use bright colors with a high level of contrast between the text and the background so your ad is easier to read.

USE THE RIGHT FORMAT

Please save your ads as .png or .jpg in order to upload them to your campaign.

USE APPROPRIATE CONTENT

Make all ad content appropriate for all audiences.

billboard

the rulesof Billboard Designs

All content is reviewed before it is eligible to appear on any billboard. Artwork will only be approved it meets the following criteria.*

BLIP WANTS YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL. PLEASE FOLLOW THE BELOW GUIDELINES TO MAKE THE BEST AD POSSIBLE.
CONTENT
  • No nudity, profanity, graphic violence, hate speech, or
    personal attacks.

    • Innuendos of any kind will be rejected.
  • No advertising for illegal goods or services.
  • All website domains must be legitimate and functioning.
  • No statements that are verifiably false or needlessly
    inflammatory.
  • No footnotes, disclaimers, or “fine print” of any kind.
  • The identity of the advertiser must be discernible.
    • Phone numbers do not count as an identity. You must have a
      logo, brand name, or URL.
  • No negative ads towards a person, event, or business will be
    accepted
  • All political ads must have a clear and legible “Paid for by…”
    statement from a legitimate organization.

    • All campaigns must be for a cause or candidate
    • No negative or potentially controversial ads will be
      accepted
  • All music artists with explicit lyrics must put an “explicit
    content” tag on their ad.
  • No QR or Text Codes (they encourage distracted driving)
  • Anything deceptive or scammy will not be approved.
  • Sexually charged content may be rejected on a case by case
    basis.
  • Questionable website content may be rejected. Meaning anything
    deemed offensive to the community at large (general public).
  • Any messaging that is attempting to drive business away from
    the sign owner (i.e. “advertise here”, “call for digital
    billboard advertising”, etc.)
  • All content is reviewed before it is eligible to appear on any
    billboard. Your ad may be approved or rejected for any reason
    at Blip’s discretion.
BILLBOARD DESIGN
  • No pure white backgrounds (RGB 235, 235, 235 or darker is OK).
  • Script or cursive fonts must be clear and easy to read.
  • All website domains must be legitimate and functioning.
  • Artwork must be professionally designed and follow sound
    design principles.
  • No more than 7 words
  • Content must match the pixel dimensions of the target
    billboards.
  • Any wasted space such as grey/white/black bars on the sides of
    ads looks unprofessional and will be rejected
*Your ad may be approved or rejected for any reason.

Examples to Inspire You

You don’t have to recreate the wheel - or a billboard. We provide templates to ensure your design is on point and wildly effective.
WHAT TO DO
try snow
Any time Fitness Saint George
Band Of Coders
target
Fitt Elite App
Words On Wood
giddy
shine bright
bluebisonapparel
travel bank
WHAT NOT TO DO
anywherebikes
dear frank
home & garden show
best shred
now hiring
BoothMeUp
Demboyzbarbeque
OrangeCountyHome
Orange County Home
Version

Things tokeep in mind

Designing billboards is unique in that the conventions that you would normally use for other forms of advertising actually have a negative effect. Here are some things to keep in mind when designing your ad.
Whatnottodo
Don’t ask a question that a customer could possibly answer “No”
Whatnottodo
Don’t create a business card on a stick. Too many pieces of contact on an ad make it look busy. Use the most memorable form of contact – probably a website- since most people won’t have time to memorize a phone number.
RIGHTTOLEFT
Ads reading right to left feel awkward, the text should go left to right.
Whatnottodo
Try not to be redundant. If your URL is the same as your business’ name, you do not need to repeat it more than once.
HERE ARE COMMON REASONS YOUR AD MAY GET REJECTED:
Blip partners with a variety of media owners and some have stricter content requirements for their boards.
  • Images of marijuana leaves
  • Images of guns or weapons
  • Unnecessarily including WWW. in the URL
  • Risque images
  • Anything politically charged
  • Design is not as professional as others already on the sign.
  • Using a hard-to-remember phone number

Need Help with a Billboard Design?

We can design your ad for you within 5-7 business days for $99.
Contact Blip Design Services