I just returned from a road trip across South Dakota on the Interstate which reminded me of how poorly highway billboards are designed.

Highway billboard customers listen up! At 75 MPH, I only have several seconds to read your billboard. So why do you try to say so much?

There was one that said “Crabby Waitresses… don’t work here,” or something like that. That is a catchy phrase but I have no idea of what else was on the billboard because reading that took all the time I had.

If you are desiging a highway billboard, keep it simple. Use a simple background so the words don’t get lost. Use a large simple font because I don’t have time to figure out a script font. Use very few words.