Candidate: Clark Ray, running at-large for D.C. Council
Colors: Navy blue and white
Graphic elements: Star in the middle of the "a" in Ray's first name
Slogan: None
Spotted: Corcoran Street NW and 17th Street NW
Signspotter says: What's a candidate who comes into the world with two first names to do? Clark Ray goes heavy on his given name, relegating [...]

Candidate: Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, seeking re-election to Congress
Colors: Red, white, blue
Graphic elements: Abstract American flag
Slogan: OUR CHAMPION Bringing D.C. Jobs/Demanding D.C.'s Vote
Spotted: Georgia Avenue NW and Randolph Street NW
Signspotter says: It's easy to pass one of these on a streetlight and write it off not as part a large-scale print job, but an arts-and-crafts project [...]

Candidate: At-large Councilmember David Catania, seeking re-election
Colors: Hunter green, baby blue, white
Graphic elements: Three stars, a lot of borders
Slogan: No real slogan
Spotted: Arkansas Avenue NW and Taylor Street NW
Signspotter says: Catania gets the award for stateliness. "An elegant green, an elegant Caslon, an elegant Copperplate, some elegant, border-crossing stars," marvels Steve Lekowicz, who works in a semi-design capacity [...]

Candidate: Bryan Weaver, running for D.C. Council in Ward 1
Colors: Green and white
Graphic elements: A stylized version of the D.C. flag in the upper-right corner
Slogan: "Weaver. Ward One."
Spotted: Mt. Pleasant
Signspotter says: Bryan Weaver's genial introduction by web video is an unsubtle homage to a legendary ad used by Minnesotan Paul Wellstone when he first ran for Senate [...]

Candidate: Former Ward 5 Councilmember Vincent Orange, running for D.C. Council chairman
Colors: Green, orange, and white
Graphic elements: Just simple type
Slogan: Vincent Orange for DC Chairman
Spotted: Columbia Road NW
Signspotter says: Orange's is among the most straightforward of the signs out there this year, just five words in block type and not a single star or a swoosh or line [...]

Candidate: At-large Councilmember Phil Mendelson, seeking re-election
Colors: Royal blue with white type
Graphic elements: Elements of a D.C. flag linked in with his name, by making the third star the bowl of the "P" in "Phil"
Slogan: "Re-elect Phil Mendelson Democrat DC Council At-Large"
Spotted: Quebec Place NW
Signspotter says: Mendelson must have had a some very strong, thoughtful [...]

Candidate: Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham, seeking re-election
Colors: Red and white
Graphic elements: A bowtie adorning the last letter of his last name
Slogan: Unity—Unidad
Spotted: Quebec Place NW
Signspotter says: The bowtie has been perhaps our most useful trapping of political humility. For proud technocrat Anthony Williams, it was the affect of the accountant; for former New York [...]

Candidate: At-large Councilmember Kwame Brown, running for D.C. Council chairman
Colors: Royal blue and white
Graphic Elements: Tiers of text separated by white lines
Slogan: "Vote Kwame Tuesday September 14, 2010"
Spotted: Arkansas Avenue NW and Taylor Street NW
Signspotter says: In the Tarantinoesque cavalcade of candidates of color—ballots will feature a Mr. Gray, Mr. Orange, and a Mr. Brown—the [...]

Candidate: Ward 1 D.C. Council challenger Jeff Smith
Colors: Two tones of green—a hunter and a teal, we'll say—and white type
Graphic elements: The candidate's head shot and a green star
Slogan: No real slogan
Spotted: 700 block of Quebec Place NW
Signspotter says: How does a black candidate whose primary tool voter for contact could end up being [...]

Candidate: Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells, seeking re-election
Colors: A Fenty-ish green, sky blue, white
Graphic Elements: A silhouetted city skyline
Slogan: Tommy Wells: Building a livable, walkable city
Spotted: Capitol Hill
Signspotter says: Wells may have the most substantive sign of the season, only one around that could double as the cover of a campaign manifesto. It's wordy, but it [...]