Surveys tend to indicate that a high degree of color contrast stands out best for sign usage (rail crossing and school buses favor yellow and black, interstate highways favor dark green and white, Target Stores like red and white, Lowe's Home Improvement uses blue and white, The Home Depot uses orange and black). Exactly which colors YOU should use is another subject, but there are some practical guidelines.

First, try not to use the same color combination that your direct competitor is going to use (past usage can be clue here). Consider the overall theme of your campaign and see if that leads you to any natural color selections, (remember the school bus example if your are running for School Board, etc.). If the candidate's name happens to also be a color that might work; Mr. Green, Ms. Black, Stan Blue, etc.

The more colors you use the more your signs will cost, but remember the sign stock is usually white, so printing one color on the white actually looks like two colors. Additionally, if you want a dark background with white letters this is still one color, it's just called a "reverse" (kind of like a negative image). Many candidates can get by with one or two color signs if they plan carefully. Too many colors can be distracting, keep it simple!

Use colors that have a high contrast to each other, don't try to use two light colors together (light blue letters on a white field), and conversely don't try to use two dark colors together (dark green letters on a navy blue background). Make sure that your use of color leaves the words easily readable (from 30 mph). Avoid using pastels and white together, or fluorescent and white, and remember white is usually the stock color so you must consider if you will use it or not, not using it is usually an automatic decision to use 2 (or more) colors.

Think about how your sign will stand-out, (or might blend into) against its natural background setting. In North Carolina snow is not a factor around the time yard signs are out, but there are other factors to consider. If you live along the coast or sand hills you may want to avoid light colors that might be washed out by the bright sunlight (avoid khakis, gray, or light brown background colors). In the mountains there is more shade and since almost all signs will have the side of a hill for a backdrop, you might want to use a lighter colored background to stand out (avoid forest green, black, or dark brown background colors). In the piedmont the leaves will be down or falling so you need to make sure that your sign stands out, (avoid leaf brown, or rust color backgrounds). To not have your sign "lost" against its background and be easily recognized, it has to be of a color that is "out of place",

Hopefully these suggestions will aid in your color decisions for your lawn signs. If you have questions, do not be hesitant to consult with your screen printer.