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Choosing the Best Lettering for Your Outdoor Signage
Author: Daniel Keane Posted: Friday, January 20, 2012 EST
Competition is tough in the business and retail world today, but successful advertising can make the difference between attracting new customers and losing them—perhaps permanently. Effective, legible signage can be the welcome beacon for your company. Whether strategically placed inside your business, standing independently outside, positioned on a building or posted on a marquee, well-worded and well-designed signs will advertise for you 24 hours a day and 365 days a year without ever requesting a pay raise or promotion!
Because signage can play such a crucial role in promoting or explaining your business, it is important that your sign letters and logos provide the best possible visibility. Several factors affect how well people can see and understand signs. Letter size, font style, spacing and choice of contrasting letter and background colors are all easy to design and control. The amount of available viewing time, outdoor weather conditions, quality of light, busyness of general background and placement may not be so adjustable.
A sign letter visibility chart is a handy tool to pinpoint the height of the letters necessary for optimum and maximum visibility. The standard rule of 1 inch for every 10 feet means that a 3-inch letter can be best viewed at 30 feet but still seen at 100 feet. Sign letters that are 24 inches tall will be most legible at 240 feet and still visible at a viewing distance of 1000 feet. These chart guidelines can help you choose the letter height for your signage that will have the most advertising impact.
In addition to letter height, the font you choose is also important for good legibility. Generally, tall, thin letters are less readable than bold, shorter, standard-font styles. Script or artsy fonts can be much more difficult to read, especially by those who are passing by or limited in their viewing time. A mixture of upper and lowercase lettering is also more readable. Adequate 'white spacing' between the letters can make a huge difference in legibility. The urge to crowd letters together to increase the message content should be avoided at all costs. The recommended distance between lines is about 75 percent of the height of the uppercase letters. A space that equals the height of an uppercase letter should be maintained between the words and the edge of the sign.
Color choices are also important when it comes to signage visibility. For greater viewing distance, choose higher contrasting letters and background. Black-on-orange or white-on-green combinations are most detectable at long distances. Yellow is recognized as the most-detectable background color. If you choose light letters on a dark background, a thin stroke is more effective. On the other hand, place bold, dark lettering on a light background for maximum effectiveness.
Choosing the most-appropriate lettering height and style can make a huge difference in how effective your outdoor signs and marquees are as advertising tools. Getting professional design help can offer big returns in the long run. Well-designed signage is a smart investment in your business and your business's future.
Because signage can play such a crucial role in promoting or explaining your business, it is important that your sign letters and logos provide the best possible visibility. Several factors affect how well people can see and understand signs. Letter size, font style, spacing and choice of contrasting letter and background colors are all easy to design and control. The amount of available viewing time, outdoor weather conditions, quality of light, busyness of general background and placement may not be so adjustable.
A sign letter visibility chart is a handy tool to pinpoint the height of the letters necessary for optimum and maximum visibility. The standard rule of 1 inch for every 10 feet means that a 3-inch letter can be best viewed at 30 feet but still seen at 100 feet. Sign letters that are 24 inches tall will be most legible at 240 feet and still visible at a viewing distance of 1000 feet. These chart guidelines can help you choose the letter height for your signage that will have the most advertising impact.
| Letter Height | Maximum Impact | Maximum Readable Distance |
| 2" | 20 feet | 48 feet |
| 3" | 30 feet | 100 feet |
| 4" | 40 feet | 150 feet |
| 6" | 60 feet | 200 feet |
| 8" | 80 feet | 350 feet |
| 9" | 90 feet | 400 feet |
| 10" | 100 feet | 450 feet |
| 12" | 120 feet | 525 feet |
| 15" | 150 feet | 630 feet |
| 18" | 180 feet | 750 feet |
| 24" | 240 feet | 1000 feet |
| 30" | 300 feet | 1250 feet |
| 36" | 360 feet | 1500 feet |
| 42" | 420 feet | 1750 feet |
| 48" | 480 feet | 2000 feet |
| 54" | 540 feet | 2250 feet |
| 60" | 600 feet | 2500 feet |
In addition to letter height, the font you choose is also important for good legibility. Generally, tall, thin letters are less readable than bold, shorter, standard-font styles. Script or artsy fonts can be much more difficult to read, especially by those who are passing by or limited in their viewing time. A mixture of upper and lowercase lettering is also more readable. Adequate 'white spacing' between the letters can make a huge difference in legibility. The urge to crowd letters together to increase the message content should be avoided at all costs. The recommended distance between lines is about 75 percent of the height of the uppercase letters. A space that equals the height of an uppercase letter should be maintained between the words and the edge of the sign.
Color choices are also important when it comes to signage visibility. For greater viewing distance, choose higher contrasting letters and background. Black-on-orange or white-on-green combinations are most detectable at long distances. Yellow is recognized as the most-detectable background color. If you choose light letters on a dark background, a thin stroke is more effective. On the other hand, place bold, dark lettering on a light background for maximum effectiveness.
Choosing the most-appropriate lettering height and style can make a huge difference in how effective your outdoor signs and marquees are as advertising tools. Getting professional design help can offer big returns in the long run. Well-designed signage is a smart investment in your business and your business's future.
© 2011 All rights reserved. Reproduction with permission.
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