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How do I make an uchiwa-style fan sign with a phone app?

Open LED Banner, type a short request like ピースして in Message, set Loop to None so it stays still, pick a colour and tap Full Screen. On a 6.1-inch iPhone, five kana fit at about Size 170; at 300 they get cut off at both ends.

4 min read · Updated 2026-09-16

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This works the way a paper uchiwa is used: one short request, big, readable in the dark for the two seconds a member looks your way. At the maximum Size of 300, a short message like ピースして ("do a peace sign") looks great in the editor preview, but in Full Screen the ピ and the て get chopped off, both edges cut.

Kana and kanji are about as wide as they are tall, so the screen holds far fewer of them than Latin letters. Size is the one thing to get right.

What Size fits a fan-sign message?

The banner is always landscape. A 6.1-inch iPhone is 852 pt wide that way; an iPad (10th generation) is 1,180 pt. Text widths were measured with the system font on a Mac, so treat the last digit as approximate. With Loop set to None the text sits centered and whatever is wider than the screen is cut evenly on both sides.

Static fan-sign text, centered, measured widths (approximate)
MessageScreenLargest Size that fitsSize usedSpace left each side
ピースして (5 characters)iPhone, 852 pt18017025.8 pt
ピースして (5 characters)iPad, 1,180 pt25024025.0 pt
ゆうと 指さして (name + request, 8 with the space)iPhone, 852 pt12512018.9 pt
ゆうと 指さしてiPad, 1,180 pt17317013.3 pt

At Size 300 the five-character message is 1,412.6 pt wide, so 280 pt vanish on each side of an iPhone. If you want the big 300 letters anyway, let it scroll: at a Speed of 100 pt/s one full pass takes 22.65 s and each character is on screen for 8.52 s. At a concert that is a long wait for the one glance you get, so a still sign works better for that moment.

Make the fan sign, step by step

  1. On the Create tab tap New Banner. You get a banner called My Banner reading HELLO WORLD.
  2. Tap Text. Put the member's name in Name so you find it later, and your request in Message. Japanese, Korean and emoji all draw on one line.
  3. Set Weight to Black and pull Size to the value from the table, or a little under.
  4. Tap Motion and set Loop to None. The text stops and centers.
  5. Tap Color. In Solid, pick one of the Quick Colors, or try Neon (magenta), Gold or Ice in Color Mode.
  6. Leave Background on Pure Black: the dark venue does the rest.
  7. Tap Full Screen, turn the phone sideways and hold it up. Double-tap to close it.

Member colours: what you get for free

Quick Colors has 10 swatches: white, orange, a bright green, two light blues, magenta, yellow-gold, red, amber and a mid green. If your member's colour is one of those, you are done.

What the free palette does not cover: no purple, and no pink other than magenta. The rainbow circle at the end of the row is the full colour picker, and it has a padlock on it (Pro). Without Pro, Color Mode Neon is the nearest to purple available, and it reads as hot pink.

Moving or still?

Still, for a request. A member scanning the crowd reads one or two words that are not moving. Pulse in Motion Effect is free and makes the whole sign breathe between 20% and full opacity every 3.14 s, which catches the eye without moving the letters; Blink and Flash are Pro. Scrolling suits a longer line, such as a full cheer for the walk between songs.

What the app cannot do

  • No portrait mode and no vertical writing. A paper uchiwa often has tall text; on the phone it is always one horizontal line. Scrolling up or down is Pro and still uses one line.
  • It is as bright as your screen, no brighter. The app sets brightness to maximum and turns auto-lock off while the sign is up, then puts both back.
  • It is phone-sized. Next to a real uchiwa it is small, and an iPad reads noticeably further.
  • Free version: 3 saved banners, ads in the menus (never over the sign itself), the colour picker and Pro effects locked. Any Pro plan removes ads and opens the rest.

A notes app cannot fill the screen with one word. It keeps dimming and the status bar stays. LED Banner does neither, and the three-banner limit is rarely a problem for this use.

Questions and answers

What does an uchiwa mean at a concert?
It is a hand fan with a big message or a member's name on it, held up so the idol can read it and maybe respond, for example with a wave or a peace sign. A phone sign does the same job with light instead of card.
How do I make an uchiwa fan sign on my phone?
Type one short request in Message, choose Black weight, set Loop to None and lower Size until it fits: about 170 for five Japanese characters on a 6.1-inch iPhone. Then tap Full Screen and hold it sideways.
Will a phone sign get me noticed at a kpop concert?
Nobody can promise that. A short, still, high-contrast message in a dark hall is easier to read than a busy one, and an iPad is bigger than a phone. A large paper sign still wins on size.
Are phone signs allowed by kpop concert rules?
That depends on the show and the venue, and some restrict signs or lights. Read the rules for your ticket before you go; the app cannot tell you.

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