Remember the pro-cycling billboards along I-95 mentioned here early last month? Well it turns out the first billboard went up yesterday, unfortunately for cyclists it's not very visable due to it's awkward southwest angle and distance from the interstate highway.

Here's a photo of it taken while northbound on I-95.



The advertisement is most visible when heading east on the residential SW 3rd Street towards 4th Avenue. The billboard overlooks Jose Marti Park in Little Havana.




Here's the actual design.



I can't say I'm a fan of the billboard, even though something is usually better than nothing when it comes to bicycle advocacy. The slogan works, however the design was not well thought out for billboard use. Some very easy changes such as going with a simpler font and making the "Ride Your Bike" text much much larger would have gone a long way. I also think the City Of Miami seal & SFBC logo overpower and distract from the design. Add those minor issues to the fact that the billboard is not very visible to begin with and it's not hard to comprehend why I'm dissatisfied with the end result.

Here's a quick edit of the original design. It's no work of art but much more legible than the original and took me 2 minutes.



One thing which should be taken into account is how the pro-cycling campaign was originally slated to be placed on digital billboards. Digital billboards place a few restrictions on the designers, mostly with the use of the color white. In the end the city went with standard billboards and it's possible the designer could have made slight changes since the digital requirements no longer applied.

I'll end this with a quote from Clear Channel Outdoor’s recommended guidelines for designing a billboard.

"Creating a billboard is mainly about making it read. Even the best design is worthless if it is not legible from a distance. It is only after legibility has been mastered that creativity can follow."