A quick how-to
A reader with “exactly zero artistic ability” asked for a post on how I’m creating protest signs readable from passing cars. (I take my cue on readability from Patrick Randall, the Freeway Blogger. He’s still out there.)
I have no artistic ability either. What I do have in stock are a supply of corrugated plastic yard signs left over from past political campaigns. (After each election, local art teachers ask us for signs that won’t be reused.)
The sign above is the size I use on an overpass. It’s 36×22. The message facing the highway changes each week. The other side (shown above) is visible by pedestrians. The signs I use at street level are 36×12. (I tend to sandwich two smaller ones together so they bend less in the wind.)
To be easily readable from cars passing by at 35 mph, the letters need to be 3-1/2 to 4 in high. At 4 in, the message is readable by expressway drivers from 75 to 100 ft away.
I use Microsoft Publisher. (Engineers tend to work in the MS world.) I create a custom page size to match the backing board and craft a message that will fit the board. One side faces the expressway on the overpass. At street level, the full message tracks across two sides. I rotate overhead every few seconds so drivers coming both directions can read the full message. We’re talking about 4 to 6 words. Roughly 400-point type.
Once that’s done, rename and save the Publisher file, then reset the page size to 8-1/2×11 (landscape). Cram as many letters as will fit comfortably on that page size (what my laser printer will print; don’t try this with an ink jet!).
Insert a duplicate Publisher page after each letter set, edit, and repeat the process until the entire message is spread across however many pages it takes. (Uses up a lot of black toner, but we’re saving the country, aren’t we?)
After printing out all the pages (letters), use a cheap plastic paper trimmer and a straight edge to line them up in order, then simply Scotch tape them together. Then Scotch tape each line to the corrugated plastic backing board.
Cheap, fast, down and dirty. I’ve been rained on and the signs are still usable after they dry. Deciding on a message sometimes takes longer than assembling the sign itself (maybe a half hour).
My preferred overpass doesn’t have chain link fencing like a pedestrian overpass. There is a risk that a sudden gust of wind could tear the 36×22 sign out of my hands and have it tumble onto passing cars. Not good. As a safety measure, I installed a couple of eye bolts through the sign (seen at top) and connected them with parachute cord. The cord, cinched with a plastic spring cord lock, goes around the wrist.
It all looks very professional from a distance. People ask where I get them made up.
Freeway Blogger paints white latex onto corrugated cardboard bicycle boxes. He mocks up his message on a computer, then uses a digital projector to project his message onto the white cardboard. He traces the letters in pencil, then fills them in with black paint using a foam paint brush. He uses cheap bungees to fix them in place on chain link fence at overpasses and along the interstates, then walks away.
I hold mine with just my hands during rush hours to get reactions from passing drivers. Seeing someone out there (bravely, they think) and making eye contact encourages them (I hope) to get off their couches. Really, they need to see us out there.
Materials:
Used corrugated plastic campaign signs
8-1/2×11 paper
Laser printer
Scotch tape
Cheap paper cutter
Software:
Microsoft Publisher or similar
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Is this a private fight, or can anyone join?
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