They’re back. On fences, at intersections and anywhere in-between. Yes, it’s local body election time and that means candidate signs, trailers and cars are in full swing.
But how effective are council candidate’s signs in grabbing the attention of potential voters? And how many are breaking the rules?
Nelson Weekly decided to find every sign possible, and put them to the test with the help three of the city’s top graphic designers.
Klaasz Breukel, tutor at NMIT and part of K&F Graphic Design, Allan Innes-Walker, director at HotHouse, and Andy Clover, creative director, each gave us their top picks out of the signs we snapped.
Clear favourites between the three were: mayoral candidate Pete Rainey’s sign, which was the top choice for Klaasz and Allan, along with current councillor Matt Lawrey’s and newbie Mike Rutledge’s signs.
Klaasz says that Rainey’s distinct ‘Rainey Nelson’ signs are “well thought out and original” while Lawrey’s sign demonstrates a “good use of white space” and likes how he has used symbols to replace some words.
Alan said he “loved” Rainey’s font and was also drawn to Lawrey’s “sweet love heart icon”, and Rutledge’s clever Natureland-inspired speech-bubbles.
Andy gave his top spot to Rutledge, for his font usage, colour choice and photo.
He is also a fan of Rainey’s signage with its “dinky little sunshine graphic, interesting colour scheme and a professional headshot”.
Other notable mentions went to Luke Acland, Ruth Copeland and Brian McGurk for good colour and bold font choices and Robbie Kavanagh for his “eclectic circus-style typography” and bike.
Some candidates, such as Paul Matheson and Derek Shaw, don’t have their signs up yet, while some are choosing not to partake.
Candidate Glen Daikee says he would rather see a council webpage for information about election issues and candidates, saying “the cost of signs on this scale is mad, with most going into landfill afterwards”.
Candidates are allowed to put up ten signs each, plus one at Myazu Park and one at Bishopdale which can only be erected one month before the election.
There are strict rules around the size of the lettering and a Nelson City Council spokesperson informed the Nelson Weekly that so far there are around five candidates who have had to make changes to comply.
“We have received a number of complaints regarding election signage – some of which are justified, and some of which are not,” said a council spokesperson.
“Each complaint is followed up and assessed against the rules. Where signs are non-complying, the candidate is approached and asked to make changes.”
Signs on, or attached to, vehicles are exempt from the sign rules, as long as they are registered and warranted.
Out in Tasman, where signage rules are not as strict, Mayor Richard Kempthorne’s sign was the clear winner over Kit Maling’s and Maxwell Clark’s, according to the designers.
Kempthorne’s sign got the thumbs up from both Andy and Klaasz, for being “professionally designed and for communicating what he intends to focus on”.
