This is part of a series of articles designed to help you craft powerful and engaging protest signs.
After you've nailed down your message, you're ready to build your sign! Read below for an overview of materials you will need and for guidance on weatherproofing your sign.
Sign Backing Options
Cardboard
Cardboard is an easy to find and often free material for signs, especially if you have boxes lying around the house.
Foam Boards
Foam boards or gator boards are better options though because it is lightweight and more rigid than cardboard, depending on its thickness. For a dramatic look, try black form board with white lettering.
Handle Options
Wood
Wooden dowels or yard sticks are the most common go-to option because of their steadiness. Big-box home improvement stores offer free paint stirrers, which you can tape together to make a handle.
Shipping Tubes
Try 2-inch shipping tubes that you can find at shipping supply stores. These are lighter than wooden handles, but aren't as comfortable to grip.
DIY
At around the 12-minute mark in her video, Zanne the Librarian demonstrates how you can fold poster board to create a handle for your sign. The technique seemed confusing and labor-intensive, but your mileage may vary.
Securing Handles
To secure a handle to your sign, use gaffer tape or duct tape. Or you can get fancy and use screws, but that seems like overkill.
Wearable Signs
Posters without handles are common at protests. But if you don't feel like carrying a sign for several hours, you can create wearable signs.
Sign Necklace: Punch holes in top corners of your sign, and then thread each hole with a cord that is long enough so the sign begins around your shoulders. Cords can be made from rope, cotton braid tape, cotton jersey sashes or elastic banding. Try out different options and a material that will be comfortable and won't chafe your neck as you walk.
Sandwich Board: Double your impact by wearing 2 signs: one facing front, the other facing behind you. Punch holes in top corners of each sign, and then connect the signs on each side using the cord material of your choosing.
Waterproofing Options
Since we live in New England, it's a good idea to make your signs as weather proof as possible. Here are some ways to do that.
- Option 1: Use a corrugated plastic sheet with waterproof pens. Decocolor Paint Markers are ideal for writing on plastic. They are solvent based, though, so be sure to use them in a well-ventilated space or outdoors.
- Option 2: Use cardboard or foam core sheets that you then cover with clear packing tape or clear contact paper.
- Option 3: Convert an umbrella into a sign by adding text and graphics to it with waterproof markers.
Next: Color Considerations
Further Reading
- Sophie Bushwick, "How to Make the Best Protest Sign", Popular Science, April 10, 2017.
- Justin Caffier, "How to Make a Protest Sign That Isn't Garbage", Vice, February 22, 2017.
- Tula Jeng, "March On: How to Make A Protest Sign", Whorange, February 16, 2017.
- Felicity Shoulders, "How to Make a Sturdy, Rainproof Protest Sign", Medium, January 30, 2017.
- Brooke Tully, "How to Design an Impactful Protest Sign", Brooke's 2 Cents, February 25, 2017.
- Wiki How Staff, "How to Make Protest Signs", WikiHow, July 10, 2025.
- Zanne the Librarian, How to Make A Protest Sign (video)
