You get less time than you think
A driver stuck on the Schuylkill Expressway or merging onto Roosevelt Boulevard is dealing with traffic, not studying your board. Design for Philadelphia has to assume a stressed, distracted commuter with a couple of seconds at most, because that's the real condition your message has to survive.
Cut the copy down hard
Seven words or fewer is a good general target for outdoor advertising, and in heavy Philadelphia traffic, shorter is safer still. One idea, one image, one short line of text. If a driver needs to read a full sentence to understand what you're offering, most of the audience never finishes it before the board is behind them.
Highway boards and neighborhood boards need different treatment
A board meant for I-95 or the Vine Street Expressway needs oversized type, strong contrast and almost no fine detail, since it has to read clearly from a moving car at real distance. A board at street level in a neighborhood like Fishtown or East Passyunk can carry a little more, since a pedestrian or someone stopped at a light gets a longer look. Even there, keep any secondary text small and clearly secondary to the main message.
High contrast beats a clever layout
Philadelphia's boards compete against rowhouses, signage, traffic and other advertising, all in the same field of view. Strong color contrast and simple shapes cut through that clutter far faster than a layout that requires a second look to understand. Dark text on a light background, or the reverse, reads faster than a busy photo with small text layered over it.
Read the mood of the location
A board near the sports complex on a game day, close to Lincoln Financial Field or Citizens Bank Park, faces a different crowd and energy than one on a quiet suburban stretch of the Main Line. Bold and direct works near stadiums and entertainment corridors. Practical and specific works better near business districts and commuter routes into Center City. A tone built for one rarely lands the same way in the other.
Check it at a distance before it goes up
Shrink your design down and view it from across a room, or better, on a screen a few feet away. If the message and logo aren't instantly clear, a driver moving past on I-76 at real speed will miss it too.
Don't fight the weather
Philadelphia gets a real winter, and gray skies, rain and snow change how colors and contrast read outdoors for a good stretch of the year. A design that looks sharp on a bright screen can wash out under overcast conditions, so it's worth testing how your palette holds up on a cloudy day, not just a sunny one, especially if the board will be up through the colder months.
Send us your creative or your idea for one, and we'll tell you honestly whether it will read at the location you have in mind, along with current availability in Philadelphia.