Residents across Nelson Tasman have been bombarded by election advertising over the last two months. Photo: LDR / Max Frethey
Residents across Nelson Tasman have been bombarded by local election candidates' campaign signage, but whose were the best?
Both councils have rules that determine a candidate's sign placement, font size, lighting, acceptable locations, and even when they can be erected.
For example, in Nelson, candidates are limited to 10 signs of no more than 3 square metres, while in Tasman, signs in rural areas can't be larger than 2.88sqm while urban signs must be half that size.
But there are no guidelines for colour use or style, giving candidates almost total creative freedom to design whatever they wanted - with mixed results.
Local Democracy Reporting approached Christchurch-based freelance graphic designer Anastassia McIntyre from Epik Design to pick her top and bottom three signs from each district*.
"As a graphic designer, I'm looking for billboards to be punchy, clean, and memorable," McIntyre said.
"Proportions and respectful cropping of people's photos are crucial - unfortunately, most ... fail here."
'DIY garage sign sale' energy
Taking aim at his single-word message, McIntyre wasn't enamoured with Stoke-Tāhunanui candidate Dan Robinson's sign.
Graphic designer Anastassia McIntyre thought Dan Robinson and Mike Ward's election signs looked cheap rather than professional. Photo: LDR / Max Frethey
"Affordability must be the issue here; it looks like a cheap ID card."
Central candidate Mike Ward's hoarding didn't fare much better in her eyes, as she said it was "giving total 'DIY garage sign sale' energy" rather than professionalism.
"It feels like, 'Oh no, I forgot to say what I'm running for. Quick, pass me that marker.'"
Robinson was glad to see McIntyre pick on his primary message.
"I have gone for the small, simple, cheap signs as a subtext for my approach. There are many large, fancy signs around if the ratepayers prefer the big spending candidates."
Ward has been approached for comment.
Incumbent mayor Nick Smith took a daring approach with his campaign signs, initially erecting them with a simple message - "Love Nelson" - before plastering a "Re-elect Mayor Nick" banner over the top a few weeks later.
Nick Smith updated his election signs midway through his campaign. The initial version has been dubbed “a massive message fail”. Photo: LDR / Max Frethey
Smith's first iteration also ranked poorly for McIntyre.
"Thank goodness they updated his billboard, because the first one was a massive message fail."
Smith said that advertising was art.
"There will always be different views on what people like and dislike. The simple 'Love Nelson' message sums up my passion for our city."
Adding the message halfway through the campaign was a deliberate choice to make it more interesting rather than it staying the same for two months, he added.
'Bold and clear' designs
On the flip side, McIntyre applauded several candidates' hoardings - particularly those that combined bold colours, well-cropped photos, and clear messages.
Her top three in Nelson were Stoke Tāhunanui candidate Campbell Rollo's "clean" sign, as well as those of at-large candidates Nigel Skeggs and Keith Palmer, which she described as "bold" and "clear" respectively.
Campbell Rollo, Nigel Skeggs, and Keith Palmer used bold colours and utilised direct and effective messaging on their signs. Photo: LDR / Max Frethey
The simple and direct calls to action in Rollo and Skeggs' signs - "Vote" - boosted their hoardings, while McIntyre also appreciated Palmer's effective messaging to "get rates under control".
Rollo was "delighted" with the feedback and credited his sign to Nelson's Tizza Design.
He was a "big fan" of the "tennis ball green" and said the "bold and clear" design communicated his commitment to the city.
Skeggs said it was "great to be recognised" as he and the team at local graphic design company HotHouse "worked hard" to keep his advertising and website centred on the colours and design of his logo.
Palmer has been approached for comment.
In Tasman, McIntyre thought Motueka candidate Kerryn Ferneyhough's billboard had "a bit of that 'Have you seen me?' energy".
"The giant close-up photo plus plain white background equals straight out of a milk carton campaign."
She said that Richmond candidate Kit Maling's hoarding was littered with "huge design mistakes", with three different font treatments, and was bewildered by his use of right-aligned bullet points.
McIntyre also questioned why one Maxwell Clark billboard wasn't covering the entire frame it had been erected on.
"Couldn't afford to cover the whole frame? Or are you 70 percent committed?"
While Local Democracy Reporting only asked for the top and bottom three, McIntyre included a fourth for Tasman by calling out mayoral candidate Richard John's photo-less sign - "who?" she quipped.
McIntyre said that Tasman's worst election signs had too many fonts, didn't have photos, needed to use the entire frame they were mounted on, or – in the case of Kerryn Ferneyhough – looked like a missing person milk carton campaign. Photo: LDR / Max Frethey
Candidate: 'We're doing our best'
Ferneyhough said that energy should be focused on the issues that "actually matter" rather than hoarding designs.
"We are all just out here doing our best."
Maling thought the feedback was "interesting" and noted that he was the top-polling Richmond candidate in 2022 when he used the same signs.
Johns said McIntyre made a "fair comment" on his picture-less sign, but said he targeted newspaper advertisements, delivered thousands of flyers, and hit 100,000 views on his Facebook reels, which all included his image.
"Most people remember 'Johns', which is on the voting paper and is the most important thing for people to remember".
Clark has been approached for comment.
McIntyre said another mayoral candidate, Timo Neubauer, had made a "smart move" to ditch his surname and applauded his "sleek colour use".
Sleek colours and tick graphics made Timo Neubauer, Daniel Shirley, and Mike Kininmonth's signs winners for McIntyre. Photo: LDR / Max Frethey
Richmond candidate Daniel Shirley's sign also got the tick of approval from McIntyre, over fellow ACT Local candidate for Motueka Dave Ross, due to the angle and cropping of his photo.
She complimented ACT's bold pink background and the party's use of the tick graphic.
"I don't have time to read, so just show me the symbol and I'll know what to do," McIntyre said.
Sleek colours and tick graphics made Timo Neubauer, Daniel Shirley, and Mike Kininmonth's signs winners for McIntyre. Photo: LDR / Max Frethey
Moutere-Waimea candidate Mike Kininmonth's "clean" sign also featured a tick graphic and, like Rollo and Skeggs in Nelson, simply told residents to "Vote" - clearly a favourite direction for McIntyre.
Neubauer said he launched his campaign on a "shoestring budget" but knew signage was something "not to cut corners on".
He credited Nelson-based graphic design company This is Them for "creating something fresh, authentic, and distinctive".
Sleek colours and tick graphics made Timo Neubauer, Daniel Shirley, and Mike Kininmonth's signs winners for McIntyre. Photo: LDR / Max Frethey
Shirley said it was "fantastic to see independent data support how successful the ACT Local team's campaign [hoardings] have been".
A friend's daughter, who was a graphic designer, put together Kininmonth's sign, which, he said, had "the right mix" of clear information and bold colours and lettering.
Vandalism and theft of signs
Putting up election signs is always a risk, as several Nelson candidates have found out.
Stoke-Tāhunanui candidate Valmai Palatchie saw some of her billboards vandalised in late August.
Several candidates' signs have been vandalised, including some of Nick Smith's, which were spray-painted, and Sarah Kerby's, which were hacked at. Photo: Supplied
Several candidate signs at Miyzazu Park were hit in another spate in late September, which saw phalluses spray-painted over Nick Smith's hoarding while Sarah Kerby - also running in Stoke-Tāhunanui - had signs that were hacked away and faeces thrown at, and solar-powered lights stolen, among other defacements.
The signage rules were also important to follow, as Tasman's ACT Local candidates found out when their signs were found to be too big for urban environments.
Daniel Shirley and Dave Ross were forced to get around the rules by simply cutting their signs in half before mounting the two pieces next to each other.
All candidates' election billboards must be removed by the end of Friday 10 October.
*Out of those candidates' signs that were found by Local Democracy Reporting.
Tasman's ACT Local candidates Daniel Shirley (pictured) and Dave Ross cut their campaign signs in half after they were found to be in breach of Tasman's rules for election signage size in urban areas. Photo: Supplied / Daniel Shirley
Nelson City Council candidates whose signs weren't judged because they either hadn't erected any or could not be located: Lenny Blake, Anton Hyman, Marie Lindaya, Sand McDougall, Richard Osmaston, Kahu Paki Paki, John Wakelin, and Tilman Walk.
Tasman District Council candidates whose signs weren't judged because they either hadn't erected any or could not be located: Glen Daikee, Julian Eggers, Jo Ellis, Mark Greening, Tim King, Brent Maru, Dean McNamara, and all Golden Bay and Lakes-Murchison Ward candidates.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
