Billboard artwork is a combination of simple concepts steeped in decades of research. As long as you follow these basic, time-proven steps, you will always deliver your client a billboard that is attractive and effective. And if you fail to utilize this information, brought to you by billboard company research beginning in the 1920s, your client's billboard may be illegible and ineffective.

Keep It Simple: You should not put more than a few words on a billboard. Why? Two reasons. First, you can't grasp more than a few words while reading and driving at 55 mph. Secondly, the size of the words is very important - so the fewer the words, the larger the type and the better the visibility. To make this happen, you have to distill the advertiser's message down to its simplest form. This is one of your key goals in creating great artwork - what is the key message and how can you express it in the fewest possible words?

Legible Typestyles: There are a lot of typestyles out there - and most of them should never be used on a billboard. The typestyles you use must be easy to read. Those include simple styles such as times roman and universe. Always use styles that have very bold, thick strokes - they are easier to read at far distances. Most of the highly stylized typestyles that are popular in print advertising are completely inappropriate in billboards, although many graphic designers refuse to acknowledge this. If the viewer can't read your copy, what it the point of the billboard?

Graphic Must Convey: If you are going to put a picture in the ad (and you probably should) make sure that it compliments and helps tell the story. For example, a restaurant might want to show a plate of appetizing food as the graphic - not a leprechaun looking at a four leaf clover. The graphics should help sell the product or service and make the ad memorable enough that you can remember the name of the company (such as the gecho for Geico).