# Campaign graphics design for local causes and community groups

[Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/political-campaign-graphics)

A residents' group saving a library and a candidate for the parish council face the same problem: lots of graphics, little time, volunteers with different tools. This is how to make them look like one campaign.

## The short version

- Good campaign graphics design for a local cause starts with one fixed look: two or three colours, one typeface and one background that every volunteer reuses.
- A petition post works best with the ask as the headline, one sentence of reason and a single place to sign.
- An event call needs four facts readable from across a room: what it is, the date, the time and the place.
- Campaign material should state who published it and make only claims the group can back up, because a local cause runs on trust.
- Designing once and resizing for stories, feed posts and A4 posters keeps a small team consistent without extra work.

**Campaign graphics design** for a local cause comes down to three things: a look people recognise after seeing it twice, a clear ask on every piece, and the right size for wherever it will be seen. A residents' association fighting a road closure, a school parents' group raising a petition and a candidate standing for the town council all need the same kit: petition posts, event calls, update graphics and a printed poster for the noticeboard. This guide covers each one, stays strictly nonpartisan, and works for any cause.

## The campaign graphics a local group actually needs

Most small campaigns overproduce one thing and forget another. Before anyone opens a design tool, list the pieces you will need over the life of the campaign and the size each one lives at. The sizes below come from each platform's recommended upload size; the full list is in [social media image sizes](https://gradiently.design/guide/social-media-image-sizes).

| Graphic | Where it runs | Size | Its one job |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Petition post | Instagram, Facebook, Threads | 1080×1350 | Get a signature |
| Event story | Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp status | 1080×1920 | Get people to turn up |
| Facebook event cover | Facebook events | 1920×1005 | Make the event look real |
| Noticeboard poster | Libraries, cafés, shop windows | A4, 2480×3508 | Reach people offline |
| Progress update | Feed and stories | 1080×1350 | Show momentum honestly |
| Group cover | Facebook page | 1640×624 | Say who you are |

Six pieces cover almost every local campaign. Make templates for each once, then only the words change.

## Build one look before the first post

Recognition is a campaign's most valuable asset, and it comes from repetition. Pick two or three colours, one bold typeface for headlines and one background treatment, then refuse to improvise. When a neighbour scrolls past your third post and knows it is you before reading a word, the look is working. The ideas in [brand consistency](https://gradiently.design/guide/brand-consistency) apply to a three week petition as much as to a company.

- Deep slate: #14323a
- Common green: #2f7a6b
- Signal ochre: #e8b04a
- Paper: #f4efe6

A calm civic palette: a dark ground for words, a mid green, one bright accent for the ask and a paper tone for print. Check local party colours before you settle: green, for example, belongs to a party in some countries.

> **Check what your colours already mean** In most places certain colours are read as party colours. For a cause that wants support from everyone, avoid them. For a candidate, follow your own organisation's guidance. [Colour psychology](https://gradiently.design/guide/color-psychology) explains why the association sticks.

The background matters more than people expect, because it fills most of every graphic. A flat colour is easy to copy and easy to confuse with the campaign next door. A claimed Gradiently Mark gives the group a background nobody else can export with, and the same Mark renders at every size, so the poster in the library window matches the story on a phone.

## Petition posts that get signatures

A petition post has one job: move someone from agreeing to signing. Put the ask in the headline, add one sentence that says why it matters locally, and give one place to sign. Every extra element competes with the action.

A portrait petition post reading Keep Elm Street Library open, with a sign the petition label and a closing date

The ask is the headline, the deadline is the detail, and the background carries the campaign's look.

- Write the headline as the outcome you want: "Keep the library open", not "Library consultation".
- Name the place. Local specifics are what make people stop.
- Give a deadline if there is one; it is the most honest form of urgency.
- Point to one link, the same one every time.
- Keep the type at least 48 px on a 1080 px wide post, so it reads on a small phone. [Font size for social media](https://gradiently.design/guide/font-size-for-social-media) has the full scale.

## Event calls for meetings, rallies and clean ups

A public meeting, a litter pick or a march needs four facts that read from a distance: what, when, what time and where. Make the event name the largest thing, then date and time, then place. Anything else, such as what to bring or accessibility notes, goes in the caption or on the event page.

A vertical story announcing a public meeting on the bypass with date, time and hall address

The story version: facts in the middle band, clear of the interface at the top and bottom.

An A4 poster version of the same public meeting announcement in the same colours and layout

The same design as an A4 poster for noticeboards, with the same words in the same order.

1. **Write the four facts first** Event, date, time, place. If you cannot fit them in eight to twelve words, the event name is too long.
2. **Design the story, then the poster** The narrow 9:16 frame forces the shortest version of the words. The A4 poster then has room to breathe. See [poster design](https://gradiently.design/guide/poster-design) for print layout.
3. **Count down without shouting** A plain reminder two days before and on the morning works better than daily posts. [Countdown post design](https://gradiently.design/guide/countdown-post-design) shows calm ways to do it.
4. **Post a recap the next day** A photo and one line of thanks tells everyone who missed it that the campaign is alive.

## Keep campaign graphics fair, accurate and clearly published

Local campaigns live on trust, and one misleading graphic can cost more support than ten good ones win. Use numbers only when you can show where they came from, and keep progress graphics true: if the petition needs a certain number of names, show the real count. In many countries, election material must also say who published it, so check your electoral authority's rules before printing anything for a candidate.

### Avoid

- Statistics nobody in the group can source
- Photos of people used without their consent
- Mocking or caricaturing opponents
- A different style every time someone new posts
- Text laid straight over a busy photo

### Do

- Name the source of every figure in the caption
- Ask before posting anyone's face, especially children
- Say what you are for, in plain words
- Share one set of templates with every volunteer
- Keep words on a calm background that always reads

Legibility is part of fairness. A graphic that only reads on the designer's laptop excludes people with low vision or an old phone. Keep strong contrast, as in [colour contrast and accessibility](https://gradiently.design/guide/color-contrast-accessibility), and write image descriptions for screen readers when you post.

## Running campaign design as a volunteer team

The hardest part of a grassroots campaign is that six people post from six phones. Agree who approves graphics, keep templates in one shared place, and write a short note on the rules: colours, font, where the link goes, who signs off. With Gradiently Pro, a brand kit holds the logo, colours and fonts, team workspaces let volunteers design with editor or viewer roles, and resizing to every size in one step turns the approved post into a story, a cover and a poster. If you need the same flyer for twelve streets, bulk create fills one page from a spreadsheet of street names and meeting points.

## FAQ

### What size should a campaign poster be?

A4 (2480×3508 pixels at 300 dpi) suits most noticeboards and windows. For a larger street poster, 18×24 inches at 5400×7200 pixels is a common choice.

### What should a petition graphic include?

The ask as the headline, one sentence on why it matters locally, a deadline if there is one and a single place to sign. Leave everything else for the caption.

### Which colours should a nonpartisan campaign use?

Choose colours your area does not strongly associate with a political party; check local party colours first, because red, blue, yellow, orange and green are each claimed somewhere. Then use the same two or three every time.

### Do campaign graphics need to say who made them?

Election material often must carry an imprint naming the publisher, depending on the country. Check your electoral authority's guidance before printing or promoting anything for a candidate.

### How do volunteers keep campaign graphics consistent?

Share one set of templates with fixed colours, font and background, and agree who approves each graphic before it goes out.