designing for billboards

[The Vector Doctor]

I am doing a design for a billboard. 24 foot by 12 foot. The customer has basically given me the layout and they want it "improved". It is for a church

Any suggestions for minimum letter height, letter spacing etc and general do's and don'ts for a billboard for maximum readability? No need to get a fancy serif or script font that cannot be read at 65 mph for instance

What has worked or not worked for you? I am sure some of you have had some experience

Thanks in advance

 

[rfulford]

Billboards need to pass the 60/60 quality test. Which means they need to look good from 60' while traveling 60 mph. If you are incorporating images, 10 ppi at final size is usually passable but I try to get 25-30 ppi if possible. Be sure to include 4" of bleed. Most billboards need 3" but 4" are required for some. As far as readability is concerned. try printing a mock up at 1/10" scale and looking at it from a minimum of 6'. This will address any issues on readability. Also, try to not look at it too long since the viewing time of the driver is obviously limited.

 

[Sticky Signs]

Not sure if this helps, but the iphone app "SignGuru" has a great viewing distance chart that I refer to on a regular basis.

 

[Billct2]

Simplicity & contrast rule.
I can't believe the number of bad billboard designs around here.

 

[Just Another Sign Guy]

keep the message short and to the point. focus on one product or feature do not overwhelm the audience with info or they will simply tune out..this is not a brochure or a television infomercial.

as mentioned by previous posters ensure that the text and images are of the appropriate size to be easily read at the distance the billboard will be viewed from. again as previously stated not only do you have to account for the distance at which the billboard will be viewed, it will also be viewed from a moving vehicle which further limits the time that your audience has to process and interpret what is written on the billboard.

Choose fonts that are easy to read. use bold text if necessary.

Make sure to use high contrasting color combinations. obviously black and yellow as an example are much easier to read than red and orange.

In my opinion the majority of the population has been exposed to so much advertising , high contrasting colors and a well placed billboard may capture their attention, but it really has to be unique and / or offer something of value to the market segment you are targeting to have much effect..the majority of viewers are simply desensitized because of overexposure.

as with all effective advertising, if you are doing anything other than simply exposing them to your name and product, you must include a call to action or the vast majority of your target market will do nothing.

if possible talk to the company that will be manufacturing the print to see what their artwork requirments are as well as print limitations/capabilities and any other special information such as required bleeds, etc.

 

[Biker Scout]

Plain & Simple: "3-Second Rule"

 

[The Vector Doctor]

Thanks for the tips, pretty much as I expected. As for the amount of wording that part has pretty much been decided already. It has 2 bible verses. I am not up to debate with them how much is needed on the sign, but rather to work with what I have been given

 

[Billct2]

Do they want Old English? Caps? (just kidding)
I would use rfulford's suggestion with them.
Don't let them look at it on a monitor have a printout to view from a distance.

 

[The Vector Doctor]

I was thinking of all caps script with a rainbow fill and a metal treadplate background. All letters would have a pillow emboss, glow, drop shadow and something sparkly somewhere

 

[round man]

From personal experience any copy less than 9" tall will get lost unless the unit is at an intersection with stopped traffic to read the copy,...back when I painted billboards every day we would call 1 foot tall copy itty bitty,...the kiss principle comes to mind here,...Keep It Simple Stupid,...

 

[SeaWriter]

In the late 90’s one of the most successful billboard campaigns ever run, used plain white type on a black background.

The award winning advertising campaign was created by The Smith Agency for an anonymous donor. It used eighteen different messages, all "signed by God".

So successful, the concept is still referenced by ad agency gurus and copied by other countries.

This link shows only a few.

http://www.signweb.com/content/signs-god

 

[chadalicious]

When I was in art school, we were taught to use seven words or less. If you can't get your message across in less than that, it's not effective. Especially with the 60/60 rule. I used to work for a church and had to very highly stress the "seven words or less" to my pastor/boss. My suggestion is showing them what they want and showing them what will work best. If they are smart, they'll choose the right one.

 

[round man]

While I was working for 3m Outdoor adv. we were taught to use a scale of one half inch equals a foot sketch at arms length from the viewer and tell them to close their eyes then hand them the artwork ,then open their eyes and count 1001,1002,1003, then close their eyes,..anything they didn't recall with their eyes closed was useless fluff and or ineffective copy,...I have used this method with customers over the years on simple signage and it has proven itself very effective

 

[Gino]

Round man's right on the money.

We do quite a few signs in the 10' x 16' range to 12' x 32' range. Doing them since the mid 80's. The average viewing distance is 400' or more. Much under 8" or 9" is almost wasted time and space.

The three second rule is a very good one to see what they remember in a glance.

Granted, we have lotsa people breaking that rule and when they come back and say.... I can't read that stuff..... just refer back to what you originally told them.

We just put up a 12.5' x 39' yesterday, I told them they have too much on the sign and they said that's Okay, we want it there. The End.

Here are two pictures. The one is taken at about 425' away. The smallest copy is a foot. The other is for reference of how tall a letter is up close. That one was taken at about 200'

​

By the way, that sign is completely hand painted from pounce patterns.


See the ® behind the word Exide ?? That's 4-1/2" tall.

 

[kffernandez]

See the ® behind the word Exide ?? That's 4-1/2" tall.

it would have been nice if us normal members could see the pics as well. :Oops:

kelly

 

[SignManiac]

It pays to be exceptional !

 

[Gino]

it would have been nice if us normal members could see the pics as well. :Oops:

kelly

That was kinda my whole point. From a normal distance it can't be seen.

​

 

[The Vector Doctor]

My guess is that they cannot see your embedded images. I cannot see them either and it has been this way forever. Works ok on Safari, but not on Chrome

For some reason, both you and Joe Diaz are 2 members in which I cannot see your images. There are others but I can only think of Joe's right now. How are you attaching your images and why do they not say "attached thumbnails" and shown below in their own box? I am showing 2 examples below of how your's and Joe's are different

 

[Gino]

I save it as an 800 x 800 jpeg and hit the attachments clip and it puts it right in there.

I know others have some difficulty, but Fred would have to explain it again. I don't believe I or Joe are doing anything out of the ordinary, but perhaps the software you use is not allowing you somehow to see them.

This was just discussed in a thread within the last few weeks and I thought you were involved in it. Many here saw what was causing this. It didn't effect me, so I didn't really pay attention to the outcome.

Perhaps, Fred or someone can explain this again or maybe we can make one of those sticky notes and always point people towards that when confronted with this problem.

I have no problem seeing anyone's pictures...............

 

[kffernandez]

My guess is that they cannot see your embedded images.

yep. i'm unable to see the embedded images. with my firefox, it does show the link, but there isn't any thumbnail. clicking on it throws me to a login screen that says i don't have permission to access the file. i just assumed that it was a premium subscriber thing.

btw, i do actually see other people's attachments. :signs101:


kelly