Having a high-quality billboard ad is of paramount importance in today's competitive advertising landscape. In an era where every second counts, a well-crafted, billboard ad becomes a powerful tool for driving brand awareness, engagement, and ultimately, business success. Below is a list of our favorite FREE resources* for creating high-quality, budget-friendly ads that really capture their audience's attention.
There are several important elements to a good ad -
See below for our recommendations on sites to find the best free resources!
Backgrounds
The background of a memorable billboard ad plays a pivotal role in making the message visually appealing, memorable, and effective in conveying the intended message to the target audience. It plays a role in readability, brand consistency, and emotional impact. It's important to consider contextual relevance, differentiation and aesthetics when choosing a good background. Here are a few of our favorite places to look -
Stocksnap has a large collection of high-quality background images that are perfect for any ad. From simple but dynamic backgrounds to more complex options, they have a little bit of everything and with their CC0 license, you can use any of their images for free without having to worry about copyright or attribution.
Product/Stock Images
Generic product and stock images can be advantageous for ads because they are cost-effective, efficient, and versatile. They can bring a level of diversity, consistency, and global appeal. These types of images offer practical solutions for various advertising needs, making them a valuable resource for marketers seeking to create compelling and visually appealing campaigns. A few great resources for the best stock images are -
With over 3 million free high-resolution images, Unsplash is a high-quality platform powered by photographers from around the world. The Unsplash license gives you the ability to use their beautiful, free images to do whatever you want with them!
Pexels is another library with thousands of high-quality, free stock photos. Their explore pages have a bunch of collections of all sorts of images ranging from product photos to lifestyle images. The Pexels license also allows you to use their photos without attribution.
Fonts Choices
Font choice in ad design is crucial for readability, conveying emotions, ensuring brand consistency, and creating visual appeal. It directly influences how the message is perceived, making it a key element in capturing and retaining the viewer's attention and effectively communicating the intended message. Here are some of our favorite places to find the perfect free font -
Fontesk has thousands of free fonts to enhance your ads. You can search by name, type, category, tags, and license types. Be sure to select the correct license for your work.
Google provides a massive library of all sorts of fonts for your projects ranging from standard fonts like Roboto to more complex fonts. Be sure to check the license on these fonts as they vary depending on the designer.
Color Schemes
Often times, color schemes are determined by the brand but sometimes you need a little inspiration to match the season or the a specific sale. We've put together a few different free color sites to help you do just that -
Coolors creates super fast color palettes. By hitting the space bar you can instantly generate random color palettes until you find one you like. If you have a color you like or find one, you can put that in and save it to create palettes based on that. You can also save palettes you like for reference later.
Adobe Color is free to use whether you have you have an Adobe account or not! By dragging the circles on the color wheel you can easily generate palettes based on several "color harmony rules." You can also quickly grab the HEX codes and choose between RBG, HSB and LAB color modes.
Colour Contrast Checker is a great tool for colors. It is a contrast checker that helps to ensure that contrast ratios meet WCAG standards for accessibility and readability. These are both important factors when you are creating an ad for a billboard screen. It also allows you to see different typefaces in your type color against your background color as well.
Icons
Icons simplify complex ideas like call-to-actions and provide clear direction, guiding viewers on how to engage with your ad's message. These are a great way to prompt desired actions from the audience such as making a call or visiting a website. Below are a few great resources for clean, clear icons to use in your ad designs -
iconmonstr is a great collection of simple free icons that can be used without needing to give attribution to the creator.
Need some more inspo? Check out our template library and industry inspo pages for specific template inspiration.
*PLEASE NOTE: While the internet offers a plethora of high-quality resources for creative projects, it's imperative to exercise vigilance and responsibility. The sites listed above are free resources that each have their own license agreements. While all of these sites have content that is okay to use in our template designer, not all of the content on all of the sites is covered under these licenses. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are using these assets legally, according to their license agreements. Always remember to check copyright laws and licensing agreements when utilizing content, such as images, fonts, and backgrounds, from online sources. Failing to do so can lead to legal consequences and jeopardize your creative endeavors.