Ad Graphic Information:

Below are the required specifications for all ad graphics uploaded to our site:

• Image format: JPEG (saved at 100% quality)
  Image width: 1664 pixels
  Image height: 448 pixels
  Resolution: 72 DPI
  Color mode: RGB

• Send your account executive your ad graphic as soon as possible! Ads must be received a minimum of two days prior to the beginning of your first ad campaign.

• All ad graphics must be approved by DAC Signs before they are displayed on the sign.

CONCEPT

Simplicity is the most important objective when designing advertisements. The most successful ads convey a message succinctly, and concise designs can be used more effectively in other media. Bold visuals attract the eye and are easier to interpret than words. Keep your message as brief and direct as possible, and try to limit your total word count to ten.

Use intrigue, crisp word play, visual metaphor, or simple appetite appeal to hook the audience. Avoid clichés, bombastic claims, anything too obvious or too complicated. Humor, if executed well, can work for almost any product, in virtually any category. If your viewers respond emotionally to your advertisement, they are more likely to remember it.

One great thing about DAC Signs is that drivers tend to have more time to think about advertising than, say, television viewers. This makes it a great medium for "teaser" ads that hint at (but don't blatantly explain) the coming of a new product, service, store location, or event.

TEXT

Avoid using small text on your sign. At the dimensions specified above, all text should be at least 40 pixels high, higher for more complex fonts. Remember that your customers are passing by the sign at 65 miles per hour and don't have time to read the fine print.

Take care in choosing typefaces. Your advertisement will reach more viewers if it is legible at a greater distance, and complicated fonts can be illegible at a distance.

Adequate kerning (spacing between letters) improves the legibility of text from large distances. Legibility is reduced by tighter kerning, as letters begin to look attached to each other.

A single horizontal line of text allows a reader to quickly absorb the message without interruption. Multiple text lines increase the time needed to read a message. If more than one text line is necessary, use sufficient leading (spacing between lines). When a line of text is too close to the line below the interplay of descenders and ascenders will make a message difficult to read.

Severely contrasting letter strokes will lose definition when viewed from far distances.

Overly bold or bulky typefaces lose distinction between letters.

Thin typefaces will become invisible from large distances.

Script text is difficult to read at any distance.

COLOR

Careful color choices are important when designing billboard advertisements. Contrast in hue and value can help improve legibility of a sign from greater distances. Complementary colors, especially red and green, are not legible together because they have similar values and appear to vibrate. Using white with dark colors, or black with light colors, is a safe technique for improving readability of your message.

Take care when using gradient text and backgrounds; overuse of gradients can impair legibility.