Anonymous

There always a lot of talk about billboard design.

Any graphic designer would like to release some billboard designs as Creative Commons so that any group could edit them and use them?
Rich Wilson

Wait, where’s the vandalism?
Larry Meredith

bad design elements… lol that seems ironic written in this picture composed entirely of messy scribbling and erasing.
Daniel Krull

Bad Design Elements — Yes, this is true. Wild misinterpretations, however, are solely the fault of the idiots that are doing said interpretation, and getting offended in manners that make no sense. ;P
Rick Evans

Good point! As a non-believing designer who finds a majority of atheist billboards of dubious quality, I should put my money where my mouth is. So should other atheist designers.

Time to hit the sketchbook…
Drakk

And the comic sans. Augh, the comic sans.
Anonymous

Oh screw this tired comic-sans-demonization…….

Helvetica needs to go!
Anonymous

From what I can remember from the actual designers, they were quite keen on someone for once spending some money and hiring a professional graphic designer to make a billboard.

While I’m sure now and again an atheist graphic designer would do a design charitably, this is usually their source of income and it’s normal that they want to be paid for it. If American Atheists can raise thousands of dollars in no time flat for a billboard, they can afford the services of a damn good designer besides.
Gordon Duffy

The message is only “contentious” in scare quotes.
Anonymous

“bad design elements?” the irony is killing me
Anonymous

Thank goodness. I thought I was the only person in the world not irritated by comic-sans…
Joolz

You are not alone. I like comic-sans because I find it very easy to read.
Difiantnonbeliever

Hahaha, the bitties arguing over ‘design’ elements of billboards always remind me of interior and fashion designers frothing at the mouth arguing over differences in style and color matching of drapes and floral arrangements. Is it gauche to have gardenias instead of lillies, gaberdine instead of silk? Give us a break, either submit your own or go walk your toy poodle.
Michael

It seems like all the recommended alternatives look good large and nothing beats Comic Sans at a low font size. I welcome font nerds demonstrating cheap or better yet free fonts which work at low sizes, but I won’t hold my breath for anything non-jaggy.
Pseudonym

Yeah, most of the billboard slogans are actually kind of dull.
Pseudonym

While they’re at it, they should hire a PR consultant to teach them how to communicate effectively in the public media.
jjramsey

“Wild misinterpretations, however, are solely the fault of the idiots …”

Unless the design is so bad that it makes misinterpretation easy, especially in a medium where the message needs to be read at a glance. Daniel Fincke from the Camels with Hammers blog has a good point: “You Glance Out Your Window and See a Shackled Black Slave and a Slavery-Justifying Bible Verse, What Do You Think?“