Diy 'No Kings' Sign Guide: Catchy Phrases, Layouts, and Rally Checklist
By James H. Sterling
Spring weather across North America is volatile. The rain that greeted demonstrators in Vermont and the chill across Wisconsin on March 28 demonstrated why weatherproofing must never be an afterthought.
If you choose standard cardboard or poster board, protect your design by covering the entire front and back surfaces with overlapping strips of two-inch clear packaging tape. This acts as an inexpensive lamination shield against mist and light rain. Always execute lettering with oil-based paint pens, industrial permanent markers, or acrylic exterior paints. Water-soluble markers will bleed into an illegible gray smudge at the first drop of precipitation.
Wind handling requires structural planning. Large boards catch air like sails, rapidly fatiguing arms and shoulders. Cut two or three semicircular wind flaps, roughly three inches wide, into the middle of large posters to let wind pass through without tearing the substrate. If mounting your sign to a handle, check local demonstration guidelines first; many municipal codes ban rigid wooden dowels or heavy metal poles. Use hollow cardboard shipping tubes or lightweight foam insulation wrapped in duct tape as safe, legal support structures.
James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.
