I’ve spent so much of my life the past 20 years doing digital stuff that I’ve neglected print. And now I’m tasked with designing a door hanger!
Here’s everything you need to know about designing a door hanger. Let someone else learn from my research!
Decisions, decisions
- Size: there is no “standard” size for door hangers. Dimensions seem to vary by printing company, so check with your printer before designing. That said, “common” sizes are approximately 4×8.5 and 4×11. Here are some templates:
- Slot/cutout: nor does there appear to be a standard placement for the cutout (the hole) or the slot (the cut that makes it possible to hang the card on a door handle).
Door hanger cut out with slot at 11 o’clock; the one most likely to easily fall off. 
Door hanger cut out with slot at 11 o’clock is slightly more stable. 
Door hanger cut out with slot at 3 o’clock (or 9 o’clock if flipped). More difficult to put on a door, perhaps, but less like to fall off. 
Door hanger cut out with slot at 7 o’clock (or 4 o’clock if flipped). Least likely to fall off.
Inspiring examples
Exhibit A
:
A non-traditional slot that angles towards 7 o’clock with a design that incorporates the sweep of the handle.
Exhibit B
:
Cute and appropriate for Hard Rock Cafe (they have hotels?). But I can’t figure out the pattern with the small vowels.
Exhibit C
:
Two examples from the 2008 presidential election. Note the difference in shape.
Exhibit D: two generic political hangers. Most integrate the flag either indirectly (left, the wavy lines) or directly (right).
The door hanger as designed
Alice is using red as her primary color, in part because of her association with the University of Georgia Bulldogs. So we wanted to use red here, too. She didn’t want the materials to be overly “flag-wavy” so I suggested the three stars. We thought it would be good to have the web site address at the very top, especially since it reinforces the message.
The door hanger as printed
We also decided the overtype had better contrast as dark blue. Unfortunately, the printer was unable to print in the area around and above the cut-out, so we had to drop the stars and move the web site address. Nevertheless, I’m still pleased with the result!
4 replies on “Tips for designing a campaign door hanger”
Great ideas, very direct and people would take notice. i would!
The examples are definitely inspiring! What I really liked was the information on size and cut-out types. Articles with these kind of details are hard to come across.
Thanks, Jenny!
Tips for designing a campaign door hanger http://t.co/K981ZHqI0Y