What Should Go on a Campaign Palm Card?

I've designed quite a few pieces of campaign literature over the years, and there's one almost universal temptation:

We have some space. What else can we put there?

Usually, my answer is: maybe nothing.

A palm card doesn't need to tell a voter everything about you. It needs to give them enough information to remember who you are, understand why you're running, and know where to go if they want to learn more.

That's a much more manageable job.

Make your name and office obvious

Someone should be able to glance at your palm card and immediately know two things:

Who are you, and what are you running for?

Those shouldn't be buried underneath a slogan or surrounded by so many other elements that they get lost.

This is especially important in races where voters may be meeting several candidates in a short period of time.

Decide what you actually want people to remember

You probably have more to say than you have room to print.

That's okay.

Pick a few priorities that help someone understand what your campaign is about. Add a short introduction or relevant experience if it helps tell your story.

Then stop.

Your palm card isn't your website printed on a smaller piece of paper.

Give the design some room

White space is your friend.

You don't have to fill every corner with another bullet, photograph, logo, endorsement or QR code. When everything on a piece is competing for attention, it's harder to figure out what actually matters.

Good design should help guide someone's eye through the information.

Sometimes taking something away does more than adding something else.

Tell people where to go next

Your palm card should give someone an easy way to learn more.

Usually that's your website. Depending on the campaign, you may also want to include social media or other contact information.

QR codes can be useful, but I still like having the actual website printed somewhere. Don't make a voter pull out their phone and scan something just to find out where the link goes.

Check the requirements before you print

This isn't the exciting part of designing campaign literature, but it's an important one.

Campaign materials can have specific disclaimer or disclosure requirements depending on the race and jurisdiction. Figure out what you're required to include before the design is finished.

Nobody wants to discover a required disclaimer is missing after 5,000 palm cards have already been printed.

Keep it simple

When I'm looking at a finished palm card, I come back to four questions:

Who are you? What are you running for? What matters to you? Where can I learn more?

If someone can answer those questions after looking at the card, you've probably done your job.

You can put everything else on the website.