You don't want to be the activist who makes a sign that no one can read. Your message will be lost, people will be uninformed, and it will all be a waste of time. A good poster should follow the rules of mainstream marketing: It should be clear, concise, and readable, just like any billboard.
Instructions
Making Your Poster
1. Find some quality poster board at your local arts and crafts store. When selecting the poster board, keep in mind the weather you are expecting during the protest and if your sign might be used for more than one protest. If you're expecting windy weather or if you want your poster for additional use after the protest, select a thick board that won't easily bend. If not, then any thin poster board should do. Also, select a board that's white--or, if choosing colored poster board, make sure it's a light color that won't distract from the message. If you use plain cardboard instead of poster board, you might want to write your message with white paint.
2. You will need a ruler and a thick black marker for this part, especially if you don't have stencils. Simply writing your message in marker won't cut it--the letters won't be thick enough for people to see and sometimes you may run out of room. Make sure your message is concise. People will usually only glance at your poster, and if it can't be read in a second or two, the message becomes lost. Once you've decided what to write, count out all the letters including blank spaces in between each word and two additional blank spaces to act as a margin around your message. Measure your poster board. Once you have the size, decide how many inches each letter should take up. For example, if you want your poster to say "Don't Shop Here" and your poster is 22 inches across, you would divide 22 by 16 (there are 12 letters, two spaces appear in the sentence, and two spaces are added to act as margins). It leaves you with about 1.3 inches per each letter and space. Once you decide how tall you want your letters to be, you can then lightly mark each letter space with pencil. If you don't have a ruler, you can always eyeball how much space you think each letter should take up and draw a template with your pencil. The point is to get the design down with pencil first so you can see how it looks before you use marker.
3. Once you have a design you're satisfied with, use your marker (a Sharpie works just fine) and make your letters bold. You'll want them big enough to read, so outline them and then fill them in with your marker. Also, if there is a particular word you want to emphasize, consider coloring it red. Red will make it stand out and look dramatic, but outline the word in black so it's readable. The whole point is for passersby to be able to easily read the poster; always keep this in mind.
4. To communicate that you are serious about your message, always hold your poster up with both hands where people can see it. And, of course, make sure it is right side up.
