The Five Best Reasons to Make a Custom Yard Sign

Making a custom yard sign with Staples’ online design tool is about as simple as it gets. You can either upload your own design directly, or fill in your choice of hundreds of templates, from minimalist to splashy. With a convenient way to crank out signs at will, it’s time to consider how you can take advantage. Here are some ideas*:

Campaign Signs

When they’re useful: When you want to show the world how you feel about a candidate, referendum, or party, but don’t have time to drive around with a bullhorn.

Design tip: Keep it simple. You’re showing you support your cause, not making your full case for it. There’s a reason everyone remembers “I Like Ike” and forgets about “I Agree With Adlai Stevenson, Though Admittedly There Are Minor Points of Economic Policy on Which We Differ.”

Business Signs

When they’re useful: When you want to let people know about an important update: a grand opening, a change in management, or a new policy permitting theft.

Design tip: Make it readable. In general you should avoid overly ornate fonts, and choose a high-contrast color scheme that makes your text stand out. (These are the same rules that helped Stephen King become a best-selling author.)

“For Sale” Signs

When they’re useful: When other forms of advertising aren’t enough. You can post about your yard sale online, but you won’t reach your most coveted target demographic: people who were driving aimlessly around town.

Design tip: Give some details. If you’re holding a garage sale, list out the kinds of things you’re selling. If you’re selling your car, provide a complete record of previous passengers and their credit scores.

Announcements

When they’re useful: When you’ve got something you want everybody to know about. You could congratulate a high school graduate, welcome a new baby, or let the neighbors know that you bought a family-size bag of chips but don’t have a family, so they’re welcome to take some.

Design tip: Get creative. Your message will be more memorable if you find a clever way to frame it, such as announcing your marriage with a detailed description of your favorite knots.

Event Signs

When they’re useful: When you want to make things easy for your guests. A sign might help them find your home, direct them to a parking space, or tell them where to go if they can’t hang with “the big dogs.”

Design tip: Make it fun. It’s a party, so it’s time to add some flair: balloons in the corner for a birthday, maybe, or a grotesquely grinning ficus for an Arbor Day celebration.

*Yard sign images are for illustrative purposes only.

Illustrations by Mark William Mills. Sign ideas by Deanna Giolas, Jeremy Stephison, Chris Breault, and Ben Warren.