It’s tempting to want to give as much information as possible when presenting your message to a viewer. You want to explain exactly how something works, its advantages, its limitations, the reasons it differs from other similar things and so on. This isn’t always the best approach however. In fact, it’s often a sure fire way to make sure you message isn’t seen at all.
Have you ever driven past a sign that looks like this? The business owner is advertising their services and wants to make sure the viewer gets as much information as possible. They fill every usable inch of space with text to try and impress upon a would be customer the extensive range of services they offer and multiple ways to contact them believing hopefully that something will stand out to the viewer and they will get in contact.
Unfortunately, this is exactly the opposite of what you want to do. You should always consider the functional limitations of the medium and not just the physical limitations. In the case of a yard sign for example, viewers will be driving past it quickly or at the very best will be sitting next to it at a light for a few seconds. You have a very limited amount of time to express your message in this situation. The example above has many MANY flaws when trying to express its message. Firstly and most simply, they have included too much information to be easily absorbed in the average time span that a viewer would see this sign. They have included 8 different service offerings, 2 different phone numbers, a fax number, and a web address. There is no possible way someone driving by in their car would possibly be able to make sense of this mess of words and find relevant information before they have passed the sign completely. Secondly, there is no hierarchy of information on this sign. The prompt to “Call Us” is just as large as the prompt to “Fax Us” and is equally as large as a secondary 1-800 phone number displayed. All of these are equally as large as the company name which is itself displayed in a difficult to read font. Your eyes to not know where to begin when looking at this sign and there is no clear structure that informs your eyes where to look next once you have seen something. All of this is to say that a display like the one above containing so much information is actually hurting your chances of getting your message across rather than helping.
For an example of how to get a message across more effectively, let’s take a look at the masters of getting a message across quickly. The political campaign yard sign.
This sign is a great example of getting your message across quickly and efficiently. There is a clear hierarchy of information. The name is prominently displayed in the center as the most important piece of information. The call to “ELECT” them is boldly displayed above it with the office they are running for displayed under the name. The campaign website is cleanly displayed at the bottom in a location that viewers would expect to find contact or website info. All of this information can be easily and quickly absorbed when passing by the sign without having to hunt visually for information.
With very few exceptions, broadly displayed promotional information like yard signs shouldn’t attempt to educate viewers on the depth of your message. It should simply attract attention and curiosity while delivering the essential information needed to take the next step. When a promotional piece is designed properly, the viewer will be enticed to learn more and that is when you have the opportunity to further elaborate upon your message. The desire to fully explain your message up front or to take advantage of every available inch of space on an advertisement is a strong temptation but when it comes to delivering an effective graphical message less is often more. It’s much better to explain a single concept well and attract curiosity rather than to try and explain multiple concepts poorly and have your message disregarded.
