Shenanigans

Recently there have been a rash of large yard sign shenanigans. The object of these deeds has primarily been Crawford, Kelty, Morris, and Peters signs.

Most would say that this happens every year and its not worth mentioning. I think its getting worse. The people doing this are getting bolder in their tactics.

This goes beyond negative campaigning. A voter who passes by one of those signs immediately assumes that the victim's opponent is responsible. This is rarely the case. Unfortunately, this makes the opponent a victim in these situations as well.

Yard Signs in Violation

It came to my attention that there are several campaigns that have no disclaimer on their yard signs and are in violation of election law. Here is the list as I know it. Should I find more I will add to this list.

Marty Bender

Ivan Hood

Tom Cook

Bender - Yard Sign Review

50 x 50 scanability. This could be better. As a former elected official Marty should have known that thin-lined fonts such as the one to the left are more difficult for people to read.

Clean. It is a clean simple design. But I'm not a fan of it. I call it "generic patriotic".

Uniqueness. The patriotic theme is often used by campaigns. Too much so. It has lost a lot of its effectiveness.

Color. RWB doesn't work.

Grade C+

Crawford - Sign Review

50 x 50 scanability. It is easy to read through the windshield from 50 feet away.

Clean. All the basics are easily readable.

Uniqueness. The nonlinear font in combination with the years of saturation make this one of the most effective sign designs year in and year out. The design even worked for Ken Fries.

Color. The yellow lettering makes the name pop.

Grade B+

Ivan Hood - Yard Sign Review

50 x 50 scanability. It is easy to read through the windshield from 50 feet away.

Clean. All the basics are easily readable.

Uniqueness. This appears to be a cheap stock design. The sign is also oblong in shape. While this is good in a uniqueness factor it is bad in a practicality factor. These signs use a trident metal frame that is thinner than the normal frame. Those frames are weaker and tend to bend under pressure by the weather (as seen in this photo).

Color. Blue usually doesn't stand out. Unfortunately for Ivan this is the same color used by Glynn Hines in his signs.

Grade C

What About Bob?

50 x 50 scanability. It is easy to read through the windshield from 50 feet away.

Clean. The name and position are displayed prominantly .

Uniqueness. Not too many campaigns can use a Richard Dreyfuss movie as their tag line in a campaign. That was a creative move.

Color. The green sign is visible among the rest due to its color. I think it is a dark enough green that there shouldn't be any fading issues.

Grade B+

Karen Goldner - Yard Sign Review

50 x 50 scanability. It is easy to read through the windshield from 50 feet away.

Clean. The name is displayed prominantly. I like the simplicity of it. Just the Karen's name and what she's running for.

Uniqueness. The only thing I can say here is she uses the plastic slip cover signs. They are cheaper to produce a high volume, but the downside is they are less durable. They are more prone to disappear in a high wind situation.

Color. Red has good visibility and she has the only signs (that I've seen) that use it.

Grade B+

Yard Signs Galore

In case you haven't noticed. Its yard sign season time. If you see a sign or have a sign you want reviewed, send the photo/ image to indianapundit@yahoo.com.

Reviews and commentary will start next week.