Billboard Research

My interest in billboard design is down to the shear scale, and how many options there are when it comes to where to place them. I have always had an interest in large design work, so to see it on a daily basis, all for a different purpose, is something that I enjoy to see. The formats of these billboards these days include; digital, mobile, inflatable and three dimensional.

The first billboards were large posters on the sides of buildings, but as the roads and motorway systems developed, it gave advertisers more opportunities to place their billboards where a large audience would see them.

The process of Lithography was invented in 1796 which made large billboards possible. The large format poster originated in 1835 whenJared Bell began printing posters to advertise a circus. The earliest known billboard rental was in 1867 in America.

Jared Bell large format poster

The first 24 sheet billboard was in 1889 - this format was then used  to advertise various outlets, such as the circus, films & travelling shows.

It wasn't until 1908 when cars were used more regularly when roadside billboards took off properly. From this point, shops and companies started using the billboards to advertise their products and services.

In 1900 a standardised billboard structure was established and created a boom in for advertising campaigns. Businesses such as Coca-cola & Kellogg's began mass producing billboards.

Cigarette and tobacco advertising moved into billboard advertisement when television and radio ads were banned in 1971. By 1998 the vast majority of these were also banned.

In 2007 the industry moved from using paper to one sheet of plastic which was eco-friendly.

Painted billboards

The first original billboards were painted in a studio. The image was projected onto the sheets that were to be used, and line drawings were traced with a pounce wheel and placed onto the boards to create the outlines. From here the artist would use oil paints to create the image.

This way of billboard eventually gave way to graphic reproduced billboards, but are still used rarely. They are most often found on the Sunset Strip of LA advertising new music or films.

Digital billboards

A digital billboard is created using computer software which can be designed to display text and images, still or moving. It can also be used to flick between adverts, displaying different text and images for the same company, or completely different companies for certain time slots of the day.

Mobile billboards

Mobile billboards are known to be the most effective as they can be moved to specifically target the desired audience. They can be placed anywhere, including conventions, train stations & sports arenas. Mobile billboards are often seen travelling around, using bikes, cars or vans. These include all advertisements on the sides of buses.

The impact of billboard advertisement

Piccadilly circus

1949

1962

1992

2012

New York

Modern day advertisements

Modern day advertisements are all about getting the audience interested and engaged in the product. To do this, companies have started advertising in a way which is eye-catching, interactive and clever.

Some recent examples of this:

Thornton's Chocolatier advertisement made full of chocolate

Chevrolet advertisement made out of 1p coins