How to Design an Effective Political Sign
by Joe Garecht
This article appeared in the December 12, 2001 issue
of the Local Victory Newsletter.
As Election Day draws near each year, political signs
and banners start to spring up everywhere, from roadside
lawns to supermarket windows. Sometimes, these signs
do their job well. They’re easy to remember and
have an impact.
Political campaigns often waste valuable resources
by posting political signs that are hard to read, hard
to remember or otherwise miss their mark. In this article
we will discuss how you can avoid this fate by designing
political signs with their purpose and your image in
mind.
Purposes of Political Signs
Before designing your signs, you need to know what
purposes political signs serve. Signs only serve three
individual purposes in a campaign: raising name identification,
getting out the vote, and scaring your opponent.
The most important of these purposes is raising name
ID. Strategic sign placement, coupled with the repetition
of seeing your sign over and over again, can significantly
raise consciousness of your campaign in the minds of
the voters. Another great use of signs is to aid in
your get out the vote efforts. Posting your signs in
areas where your candidate enjoys high levels of support
will serve to reinforce your candidate and his or her
message in the minds of your voters as they go to the
polls on Election Day. Finally, a well orchestrated
sign campaign can scare your opponent and his or her
campaign by making them think (or letting them know)
that you enjoy high levels of support as demonstrated
by the number of signs bearing your name that keep popping
up all over the district.
What to Put on Your Sign
The number one mistake campaigns make in designing
signs is trying to cram too much information onto the
front of their signs. The only information you need
to put on your signs is the name of the candidate, along
with the office he or she is running for. That’s
it. Of course, you can put a small phrase like “Vote
for…” or “Re-Elect…” in
front of the candidate’s name, but you do not
need to put any other information on the sign. Voters
walking or driving by your sign simply don’t have
time to remember anything else.
How Big Should They Be?
Your campaign can and should use different size signs
where appropriate. Make sure the signs are not too small,
though, or they will not be able to be read by voters
driving by. Standard signs are usually around 18”
X 24”, but may be a little bigger or smaller depending
on your vendor. Most campaigns like to use larger signs
as well that can be used on the sides of busy highways
and large lawns. These signs usually range from 4’
x 8’ to 8’ X 8’ or larger.
What Material Should You Use?
There are a variety of materials that can be used in
constructing political signs. The main factors to take
into consideration are the length of time the signs
will be up and the expected weather conditions they
will be exposed to. Corrugated plastic signs are the
most durable, but slightly more expensive. Weather-coated
poster board signs hold up moderately well and are cheaper
than corrugated plastic. Standard poster-board signs
won’t hold up well in foul weather, and don’t
last as long. These should only be used when the signs
will be up for no more than a few days, such as get
out the vote signs. Even then, if it rains, the signs
will rapidly deteriorate.
Color
The colors you choose for your signs must make them
easy to read. They must contrast and be easy on the
eye. Standard color combinations include red/white,
blue/white, blue, red and white, yellow/black, green/white,
and black/white. If at all possible, the colors you
use for your signs should be the same color scheme you
use on all of your other materials, including brochures,
palm cards, etc.
Before deciding on a color scheme and design, take
the 3 second / 30 feet test. Have an associate take
the sign and walk thirty feet away from you. Have him
or her hold the sign up at you for three seconds. If
you can’t clearly read the information on the
sign in that time, then you need to redesign your sign
to make it clearer. |
