Billboard design 101

April 12, 2009 / Filed under: Advertising, Design

I've seen thousands of billboards, yet I rarely see them done right.

Billboard design requires the ability to "connect" with drivers, who are A) going 70+ MPH, and B) have dozens of other billboards to look at, besides yours. Knowing this, your message should be immediate, succinct, and leave the driver with a tangible thought about your product. Your billboard has about a half second window with which the driver will actually look at your message, and then look onto the next billboard message. That's not a lot of time, so you have to get right to the point, and provide something memorable.

Too often designers treat billboards like print ads in magazines or newspapers, where the reader has time to absorb all the details of the ad. These designers will fill their billboards with loads of information - trying to cram every last detail about their product or company into the rectangular dimensions. They figure they're paying for the space, so why not get as much information up there as possible?

This kind of thinking leads to bad billboard designs that serve no purpose than to take up the space they reside in. Drivers quickly glance from billboard to billboard, looking for something that leaves them with a message, an idea. They want to be humored and entertained while they drive. They want something quick, and easy to understand. They don't want your company's phone and fax number, street address, and a picture of some random person smiling because, perhaps they've used your "excellent" service and loved it - but it's too damn bad, because the driver has already moved onto five other billboards by the time it would take them to read just the area code of your phone number posted on the billboard.

And it's not that they don't want your company's phone number - it's that they can't possibly remember all that while driving 70+ MPH, and being bombarded by other billboard ads simultaneously! How is someone, who is supposed to be paying attention to the road, supposed to A) Look at your message, and B) Remember details such as phone numbers? They can't stop and write things down, so how are they possibly going to remember such mundane information?

They won't! Simple as that.

Billboard designers take for granted that drivers even look at billboards. Billboards are distractions, after all. So, knowing that drivers are already taking their eyes off the road, and endangering their lives to look at your ad, what makes you think that they have any longer than a split-second to absorb and remember your ad details?

Details vs. The Message

Billboard design is not about the details that you cram into the ad. It's about the message you leave with those who look at it. Don't confuse the message with the details. They are two entirely separate things.

The message is a word or phrase that strikes meaning and purpose to those who read it. Perhaps it's a pun, or a word that stands out. The message should leave viewers amused, informed, entertained, or otherwise appreciative of your product or service.

The details are things like phone numbers, website addresses, product descriptions, etc. These are all unimportant (and forgettable!) aspects of billboards. So, just leave them out.

The only way details are acceptable is if they are part of the message itself, such as using the website address as the sole text appearing in the ad.

Bad billboard designs

Here's a few examples of bad billboard designs.

Photo of a billboard

This could make a great magazine or newspaper ad, but it sucks as a billboard. I count 30 separate words, as well as a phone number, and website address. How is anyone driving 70 MPH going to read (and more importantly - remember) any of that? They could cover up 90% of the text in this ad, and it could instantly become more effective, without any re-creation required.

Photo of a billboard

There is so much information on this billboard, I don't even know where to look initially. I have less than a second as a driver, and looking at this message is like looking at a bunch of jumbled words with no meaning. This ad is all details, and no message. Forgotten.

Photo of a billboard

Again, way too much information and details. The text is unreadable while driving 70 MPH, and the two women in the center do absolutely nothing for this billboards' message, of which there is none.

Good billboard designs

Here's a few examples of good billboard designs.

Photo of a billboard Photo by Flickr user hyperakt.

Notice the size of the word "history" in the above ad. Big, bold, easily noticeable, even while driving 70 MPH. Even if you don't read the rest of the message on the billboard, you still know immediately what the ad is about - there's a picture of Obama, and the word "History." Already you have the gist of the ad.

Photo of a billboard Photo by Flickr user otakuchick.

The above billboard is not only designed well - by providing a short, immediate message - it gains added value by creatively using the billboards' own lighting system to make the point absolutely clear.

Photo of a billboard Photo by Flickr user jasoninhollywood.

Nothing screams "image" more than this company, and their billboards reflect that simplicity and recognition.

Photo of a billboard Photo by Flickr user arfrank.

Photo of a billboard Photo by Flickr user hapa_boy.

Snickers understands the split-second drivers have to look at billboards, by providing a quick "play on words," wrapped in Snickers branding - a perfect combination.

Comments/Mentions

# sma at 4/18/2009 6:07 am cst

excellent article. as a company that has never advertised on billboards before, i was googling about billboard design. you mention to emphasize the message rather than details...what if our company isn't a nationally recognized brand such as snickers or abercrombie? no one knows our phone number or website address by heart.

# Tony at 6/1/2009 5:03 am cst

I feel your pain, really I do. As a designer I always approach every new job (design) with the best intentions of helping the cleint achieve the most with their billboard campaing. Especially since it usually is their only medium they are using to market their company. What usually happens is that my carefully thought out design is soon out of the window because: : we want the address, the telephone number a picture of (all) the products and and and..." More often than not, it's the client who manages to become the Bad Billboard Designer.. Makes me wonder why they hire us in the first place? I'v started a blog which will discuss a very niche little area of Ceativety in Billboard designs in Johannesburg (South Africa) pop by if you like. http://tony-bbb.blogspot.com/ Regards and thanks for a great article.

# Tony at 6/9/2009 6:02 am cst

Good article, nice to see that there are at least a few of us who have an idea about out of home advertising! Keep em coming.

# Lace at 10/20/2009 12:04 pm cst

Great article! You reflect a lot of my own sentiments.

Unfortunately, it seems to me that you assume all poorly designed billboards are the fault of some "Bad Billboard Designer." Have you considered that the "bad" designs could be created per client request? This means if the paying client wants every product, service, photograph, and contact number on his or her board, you do it. Designers are not speechwriters, we're megaphones.

Also, take notice of whose billboards are great, and whose are not. Many of these "bad" billboards you (presumably) took photos of are all small, local businesses with little to no name recognition. They NEED the viewer to have an immediate point of contact. Notice all of your "good" billboards are courtesy of Flikr or other photography stock sites. All of these billboard designs are of nationally recognized companies who already have the budget and name recognition to do succinct and eloquent billboards with no contact info. Besides, who wants to call Snickers?

Great article, just keep in mind at whom you're point the finger.

# Pat at 10/27/2009 8:48 am cst

I totally agree with the sentiments expressed in this article! I'm a graphic designer, and my expertise is in magazines. I've only done one billboard. But the funny thing is (and my 11 year old laughs at me) I "grade" billboards as I drive down the freeway. I've only given two A's in the last five years, precisely because of the points you made. I do understand the dilemma of smaller local companies who do not have the brand recognition. However, I've seen many good billboards that do the trick that have no name recognition at all. Here is my grading system: A = I absolutely love it! It's beautiful and/or clever, it's engaging, and it gets the point across w/few words. A- = it's great, but I don't totally love it. B = very good, gets the point across quickly, is effective (I've given lots of "B's") C = mediocre, it's okay, I may or may not get the point D = very poor, I may or may not get the point, but it's ugly or boring F = I have no idea what they are trying to sell or what the point is

This is a good exercise! I sometimes want to call the company and give them feedback. Incidentally, I'm designing a billboard now, just for concept's sake, so I started looking around the Internet for tips and just had to share on my thoughts on this article! Thanks

# mayci smith at 1/26/2010 11:42 am cst

as a middle schooler doing an project it has helped alot but i do advise u to watch the cursing b/c it would get a lot more school hits if u did

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# yuliya:) at 5/30/2010 4:26 am cst

good point made there ! when i drove past some of the billboards in my country i wondered how obsessed with ads or with reading ads must you be to read all the useless info that the compony put on to the thing . plus most of the time there is just so much stuff that your eyes are just too tired even to look at it . sometimes i think the people that manage to read these ads have super-vision.

# Kam at 6/18/2010 10:29 am cst

Perfect Article! I work for a billboard company and the first thing I do when we get a new client is send them this article. I like it so much that I put a link to it on our website. I have been telling clients this for years but they believe it more if it comes from another source. I think my head will explode it I have to explain to one more client why it is not important to include their zip code in their layout.

Here is a direct link to the page with your link.

http://www.renfroeoutdoor.com/creative/tips/

Thanks again for the great info!

# Brian L at 8/13/2010 10:17 am cst

This is a great article. Thanks for the well thought through examples.

# anonymous at 8/25/2010 10:38 am cst

Unfortunately, it seems to me that you assume all poorly designed billboards are the fault of some "Bad Billboard Designer." Have you considered that the "bad" designs could be created per client request? This means if the paying client wants every product, service, photograph, and contact number on his or her board, you do it. Designers are not speechwriters, we're megaphones.