•    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. 

•    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.