A gable is a building's blank end wall, without windows. It often faces a road or a junction and can be seen from far away. That makes the gable one of the most visible formats in outdoor advertising, but also one with its own rules.
Gable or facade?
A facade faces the street and is seen up close by pedestrians. The message can carry a little more, because the viewer has time.
A gable is seen from a distance and often from moving traffic. The viewer has a few seconds, so the message must be short and big.
Choose the gable when you want to reach many people in cars or buses. Choose the facade when your audience walks past and needs to read more than a few words.
When a gable works best
- On arterial roads, where the same commuters pass every day. Repetition does the work.
- For awareness, when the message is one word, one claim or one product.
- Over a longer period. Gables are usually booked for months, and the weekly price falls the longer you book.
How the message should look
A gable is read from a distance, so the design follows simple rules:
- Seven words at most. That is what a driver has time to read.
- Strong contrast. Dark text on a light background or the other way round. Avoid text over a busy image.
- The logo must be recognisable at 100 metres. Make it bigger than you think.
- One image. One strong subject rather than a collage.
Test the design by looking at it small on a phone. If you can read it there, it can be read on the gable.
Two examples from Aarhus
Aarhus is a city of gables. The arterial roads gather commuters from all of Central Jutland, and many older buildings have large, flat gables facing the traffic.
Lederne ran a full takeover of our gable network in Aarhus with the message "Jeg er Leder" ("I am a leader"). Banners on several gables along the arterial roads made the campaign impossible for daily commuters to miss during the period.
Vios chose two gables on Skovvangsvej and Silkeborgvej. The double placement reached traffic from several directions and built recognition across the Aarhus area.
Both campaigns show the same thing: several gables on the routes people take every day give far more than a single space.
What is included
Our facades and gables are ready to use, so there is no municipal application or fee for you. We handle print, installation and removal, and you supply print-ready artwork at least 10 working days before the start.
Write to us for a quote within 24 hours on weekdays.
