This time we will be making this banner which will suit ideally for any special Xmas promotion, deal or shopping offer..

So, let’s get started. Create a canvas 468*60 pixels, assuming you want to make a standard size banner.
Choose the gradient tool, and fill the selection with mild gradient between #cdcdcd and #ffffff

Make sure the white will end up on top of the banner, so that you will get this gradient background to start with. Next, make a new layer, and select the entire canvas. Right mouse click to get a quick menu and choose “stroke”.


Draw a 1px line. We used #b1b1b1 but this may depend on your colours scheme.

Select an elliptical shape and draw a circle when the canvas is de-sized, so that you will only get a curved third of the banner segmented out.

While the ellipse you just drew is selected, go to Layer >> Layer Styles and set the following settings.

The shades of red are not particularly important, as it would depend on your personal preference. We used #ca0701 for the overlay in our example.
Next, get some Xmas clip art.


We pulled the candy PNG icon, which you can download free at IconDrawer. (DON’T use the image above, it’s just an example, download the PNG as it has no background). Drag the icon (biggest you can get) unto your canvas, and place it exactly over the line, so that the candy and the ribbon will cover the separation line.

While the icon is selected, make sure this layer is placed under light gray frame that surrounds the banner. Go to layer >> layer styles >> options, and apply a light grey shadow, to give the icon more depth.

and this is how it should look…

On the red part of the banner, place your logo, or write your website’s name in plan text and then go to Layer>> Layer Styles >> Options, and apply a slight stroke, ONLY if it suits your logo, otherwise just add your icon / logo and skip to the next step. So far, you should have something like this:

You can add a line saying “Special” or Xmas Special, using one of our previous tutorials.

Now select the Shape tool and using the rounded rectangular tool, draw a rectangular, half of which will slide down the canvas. This is the fastest way to draw a tab.

To give the tab a typical web 2.0 look, go to Layer >> Layer Styles >> Blending Options, and apply the following settings:

These 3 very easy layer styles will give you this very sleek and nice looking tab.

Using the custom shape tool, select the “Arrow 19″ (included in the defaults set in PS CS2.) and draw a little arrow holding the Ctrl tab to avoid it losing proportion. Click Ctrl + T to transform the arrow so that it will point FROM the tab to the tab’s content (where you would normally place the price offer).

For the arrow layer, go to Layer >> Layer Styles and apply these settings:

And this is how it should look…

Add more about your offer, but remember to keep it short as you don’t have that much space! Enjoy.