: Help with designing a billboard I have designed brochures and marketing materials in the past, but a friend of mine in a town association asked if I could create a billboard. I know InDesign

@Gonzalez368

It's likely that the company will provide you with start files that indicate the bleed, etc. (if you can get ahold of them). There are many "standard" billboard sizes so I'd wait until they give you definitive info before starting so you don't have to start over again!

If the size is 12x24' then their scale says you should create a file at 6"x12" at 300dpi.

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@Harper654

I've done large-scale graphics before (trade show displays). I created a reference/approval file at 10% size, and the final size that's sent to the printer was at full size. The printer, however, only wanted 150 dpi images (at full size). The stuff came out beautifully.

I have not done billboards - if you can find out from the person who gave you the gig who the printer is, you can contact them directly. A lot of time they will have a downloadable template for a variety of design software.

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@Cofer715

I think you're still gonna need more info from them. Sure, they gave you the scale, but they mentioned nothing about the dimensions, which file type they prefer, or exactly how much bleed they require. I don't design billboards, is there a standard size? I'm not sure how you can even set up your document, initially, without knowing these things.

This is what I would do:


Get the final billboard dimensions, file type, and bleed from them
Do the math to figure out what it scales down to
Create a new document in AI or ID. I would probably use AI for this, but since you already have ID, that will probably work fine too
Design your billboard and export as whichever file type they prefer, making sure that in your export settings, under Marks and Bleeds, you include the marks you need

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