Political Yard Sign

[calebm12]

Hi folks. A family friend is entering the Florida House of Reps race and i designed a sign for him pro bono. Hoping it will 1)lead to other work 2)convince him not to use crappy signs

Let me knwo what you think of this. It would be a typical yard sign. Could be made bigger for hardwood signs, and i guess there would be room in top l and top r to add stuff. but i kinda like the simplicity.

Your thoughts, comments, rants, etc welcomed

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/1839/signtestrc8.th.jpg (http://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=signtestrc8.jpg)

[garricks]

I like the simplicity. The typeface seems a bit informal to me, but it's not horrible. I'd move the dome up, away from the type a little. But that's just me. :)

[calebm12]

yea the type face is a bit informal i guess...but i thought it kinda matched well. the dome is actually an outline i did of the the actual old florida state leg building. i had the dome sitting so close to the name because i was trying to get the name to play into it and act as if it was part of the building. but i guess i could move it a bit down. thanks for your comments.

[SurfPark]

Yes, change to a more formal typeface. Something with straight lines and serifs will give a better impression.

I'd also suggest reworking the dome element you're using. Is there a way to do fills instead of outlines? Right now its the first thing I see. Think of a way you can still use this as an accent on the top? Maybe have it only take up 1/4 of the visual space rather than half?

[vtwin_gary]

every line of text is to close together.

this sign is only 13" tall & you are going to be going by at 30+ MPH

try & fill in some of the shapes of the building, you can also raise the building up so the flag pole (lightning rod thing) goes to the top of the sign & through the borderbetter yet loose the border i to gain some room to make the text larger.
i also agree with the font choice

keep us posted

[Ned]

Yeah, the flagpole pushes the meat of the design too low on the canvas. There's no reason it can't be cut off or run up through the border.

[vtwin_gary]

you could also try:
justify left the name then in the space to the right of richard (aka dick) put the building.

just a thought.

[Ned]

Haha... I could just see that sign written as "Dick Whittington", with that phallic looking rooftop. xD

[vtwin_gary]

after re-reading my post i'm not sure it makes sense so i quickly did this to show you what i mean.

i still don't like this font.

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/9628/dickkj2.jpg

[Ned]

I thought it had made sense, Gary. I pictured just that from what you said.

I like it, but I also like the concentric triangular pattern of the original.

Not sure which layout I like better - but one thing I'm sure about, is I like the building filled in with highlights in Gary's remake.

[garricks]

calebm, I hope you're going to push your friend to use this logo (for that's what it is) on ALL of his collateral material too. Uniform use will build recognition and mitigate the 30+ mph issue Gary rightly brings up.

[calebm12]

Thanks folks for all your comments. They are greatly appreciated. At first i was going to go for the more shape then line builidng, in fact i like the one posted....but 1)didnt really visualize it as well as you did 2)i thought it would take away from the name...which is the most important recognition when it comes to voting. I personally like the builidng on top as it allows the name to form the rest of the building. The dome is just the cap of the builidng.

Yes, I am viewing this as a logo. And have been pushing the use of this on all his material. I think he is an agreement.

Still searching for a good font. Need something that is "line-like" so it flows into the lines of the builidng...in my opinion. ??

Personally....i kinda like that it is not the traditional campaign logo....wavy lines and thick fonts and stars. Does it not have a classy kinda look?

Yall are great!!
c

[kitchue]

The design is good but I'm not sure of it's message. Is he running for office, or already in office? Do you have to vote him in? The simplicity is great, but I don't know what to do with dick, er…Richard.

Don’t forget what the principle objective is. At first, I thought it was a business card.

sean

[garricks]

For typefaces, look at Berkely Oldstyle, Slimbach, Stempel Garamond and maybe even Walbaum.

kitchue, calebm clearly said in the headline it was a yard sign. If you were to see it in context you'd immediately know what it was. Especially this year.

[calebm12]

here it is with shapes instead of lines for the building. gonna go look up those fonts, cause i cant find one on my computer i like better. thanks for the font suggestions.

[kitchue]

Yep, especially this time of year. Just because it’s a yard sign doesn't say what the "action" is. For example, even when Bush Jr. was running for President, his campaign stickers boasted, "BUSH'04". But at the bottom of the stickers it said, "for president". The entire U.S.A. knew who Bush was and what he was going after. It's necessary to tell people what is to be done or known. Don't aspect people to "get it".

For those of use who don't know Richard, whether in Florida or abroad, is he running for House of Representatives or does he have an agenda in District 31 that needs support.

Sean

[garricks]

calebm I think that's much improved! The dome pops better now.

[calebm12]

thanks. I really appreciate the advice and sample.

kitchue - i have never seen a policitical yard sign expressing any sort of action beyond "vote". It is my opinion that in general yard signs are primarily name recognition with a secondary (subliminal message) being given of the persons presentation. Richard is running for Seat 31....it is actually the republican primaries season for this. I have been beggin, pleading, emphasizing the need for an overall campaign marketing strategy....but i can only push so hard. I will keep yall uptodate on any other materials i make in regards to this campaign.

Thanks for help with the sign....i think it looks great.