Guidelines & Specifications for Designing Out-of-Home

 

Guidelines & Specifications for Designing Out-of-Home

Simplicity is the fundamental guideline for creating good out-of-home design. The most effective out-of-home designs capture the essence of a message with lucid expression. For this reason, good out-of-home design can lead to better advertising executions in other media.

Quick Tips for Good Out-of-Home Design

• Product Identification
  Make sure you can read the advertiser's name.
• Short Copy
  No more than 10 words total, and 5 words in the headline.
• Short Words
  Use short words for faster comprehension.
• Large and Legible Type
  Words are viewed from distances of 400-800 feet. Any text that is integral to the design should be as large as possible. (See chart and notes below)
• Increase Line Thickness
  At 600 feet, thin lines optically disappear.
• Forget "The Whitespace" Rule
  This rule does not apply to Outdoor. Unlike Print, the actual viewing size is too small. It's like having a 1"x3" newspaper ad with a lot of white space.
• Bold Colors
  Dare to be bold! Being subtle at 600 feet doesn't work.
• High Contrast
  High contrast means better visibility.
• Simplify Everything
  Focus on one key idea or message.
• View From 15 Feet
  View your creative from 15 feet. This simulates viewing from the road.
  Does it read well? Make sure your art is legible before it hits the streets.
• View For 5 Seconds
  View your creative for 5 seconds. This simulates driving past the billboard.
  Can you read the entire message in 5 seconds, if not your drivers will miss your message too.

Color Frequency and Vibration for Traditional Outdoor (Reflective not Digital)

Like sound waves, light rays have varying wave lengths or frequencies. Some pigments absorb light while others reflect it. Reflected frequencies are perceived as color. Complementary colors, such as red and green, are not legible together because they have similar values that cause the wave lengths to vibrate. Any combination of similar color value (even without vibration), will produce low visibility. Yellow and black are dissimilar in both hue and value providing the strongest contrast for out-of-home design. White complements colors with light values.

Contrast

Strong contrast in hue and value is essential for creating good out-of-home design. Hue is the identity of color while value measures a color's lightness or darkness. Contrasting colors are best when viewing out-of-home designs from far distances.

The 14 color combinations above represent the best use of color contrast for readability on traditional or reflective content. Example one is the most legible color combination while example 14 is the least legible.

Note: Digital LED units and other back light displays have some subtle differences in contrasts. A chart is not yet available but an example of the difference is that most bright/light colors work well on a black background.

Image

Advances in production technology are allowing advertisers to use increasingly complex imagery in their creative application. However, the requirements for effective outdoor advertising have remained the same — imagery must be bold, clear and easy to understand.

Strong images against simple backgrounds create high-impact visuals. The Image on the left is a good example.

Legibility of Typefaces

Kerning

Sufficient kerning between letters assures the legibility test from far distances. Tight kerning reduces legibility causing adjacent letters to attach together visually. Without proper kerning "clear morning" could be interpreted as "dear moming."

Stacking

A single horizontal line of text allows rapid assimilation of a message without interruption. Multiple text lines increase the time needed to discern a message.

Leading

If more than one text line is necessary, use adequate leading between lines. When a line of text rides on the line below the interplay of descenders and ascenders it will make a message difficult to read.

• Crowding letters into a restricted space will reduce legibility.
• Severely contrasting letter strokes will lose definition when viewed from far distances.
• Thin typefaces will become invisible from far distances.
• Bulky typefaces lose distinction between letters.
• Script typefaces are difficult to read at any distance.

Text Legibility Guide

Distance in Feet	Print Resolution	Resolution	Examples	Minimal Text Height in Inches
5' - 50'	High	LCD	Malls, Airports, Retail, Lobbies, Office etc.	1" - 2"
50' - 100'	High	6mm-12mm	Window, Street Display, Drive through	2" - 4"
100' - 200'	Normal	12mm-18mm	Posters, Surface Streets	4" - 8"
200' - 300'	Normal	18mm-20mm	Posters, Surface Streets and highway bulletins	8" - 10"
300' - 350'	Normal	20mm-24mm	Highway Bulletins, Highway Posters	10" - 15"
350' - 500'	Normal	24mm	Highways, Spectaculars	15" - 20"
500' - 600'	Low - Normal	24mm	Highways, Spectaculars, Stadiums	20" - 24"
600' +	Low	30+ mm	Skyscrapers, Spectaculars, Set back from road	24" - 40"
Note: Readability is also dependant on color contrast. Higher contrasts will allow smaller text size. Complicated backgrounds behind text will also reduce readability.

Ad Copy Disclaimer and Warning Guidelines

Disclaimer and warning text on roadside digital must be in easily legible print or type and in a size at least 12 inches tall or as required by applicable law or regulation, whichever is greater.

Disclaimer and warning text on printed vinyl for roadside bulletins and posters (regardless of panel size) must be in easily legible print or type and in a size at least 6 inches tall or as required by applicable law or regulation, whichever is greater.

Disclaimer and warning text on printed and digital pedestrian and other formats where creative is meant to be viewed at eye level must be in easily legible print or type and in a size at least 2 inches tall or as required by applicable law or regulation, whichever is greater.

For all types:
In the event a city, state or federal law or regulation imposes more stringent requirements than contained in these guidelines, that law or regulation controls and must be followed.