® How to design big signs 0689 How to design Big signs The key to designing big is to think small. The manta ray (Manta birostris) is the largest species of the rays. It ranges throughout tropical waters of the world, typically around coral reefs. Mantas display curiosity around humans and swim among divers. Mantas breach the surface and launch into the air. Mantas feed on plankton, fish larvae and the like, filtered from the water passing through their gills as they swim. | Wikipedia Manta rays frequent cleaning stations where small fish such as wrasse, remora (above), and angelfish swim in the manta’s gills and over its skin to feed, in the process cleaning it of parasites and dead tissue. The Largest Rays
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How to design big signs 0689
How to design
Big signsThe key to designing big
is to think small.
The manta ray (Manta birostris) is the largest species of the rays. It ranges throughout tropical waters of the world, typically around coral reefs. Mantas display curiosity around humans and swim among divers. Mantas breach the surface and launch into the air. Mantas feed on plankton, fish larvae and the like, filtered from the water passing through their gills as they swim. | Wikipedia
Manta rays frequent cleaning stations where small fish such as wrasse, remora (above), and angelfish swim in the manta’s gills and over its skin to feed, in the process cleaning it of parasites and dead tissue.
How to design big signsWhether trade-show banners, billboards, wayfinding signs or wall posters, the key to designing big is to think small.
Big signs are everywhere — along freeways, on storefronts, at trade shows, in museums — but no matter how big they are, they have a paradox in common: at normal viewing dis-tance, they appear small. The key to good design, therefore, is to treat a big sign the same as a tiny one — one image, few words, simple typefaces, no overlaps (because you need clear silhouettes) — and keep it simple, because it’s often surrounded by clutter.
Here’s how that works:
Before Your sign looked good when it was alone on your computer (upper left), but hanging from the trade-show rafters (above), its finely tuned details disappear in the visual noise. And note how small it seems! This design has too many words, colors, overlaps and general complexity to withstand such a busy environment.
Edit your messageEdit your message to its essential minimum, and think white space — in a busy room you need to clear a stage so your message can be seen.
Big sound, quietly.audyssey dynamic eq
After What a difference! It’s the same photo — even the same size — but with few words in simple typefaces and colors, it’s now clearly visible above the trade-show floor! Hoist this banner to the rafters (right), and customers will head your way!
What’s interesting is that despite its large size, this is the same technique you’d use to design a tiny sign.
Several things are going on:1) The biggest element is the white, which contrasts sharply with
the dark ceiling and creates a stage for the message.2) Her face is more visible and natural-looking because it flows into
the white background. Before, it was boxed by black.3) The short phrase is in bold, simple lettering that’s actually big.4) Black and red are the most powerful colors, and on white they
Start with a short headlineOne to three words are ideal. The fewer words you use, the bigger they can be, and the more easily they can be read and understood at a glance.
LeopardSeeing spots! What
makes a leopard special.
Quick! What does the sign say? The one-word sign on the right is instantly readable, while on the left, two sentences, even short, tight ones like these, require a longer, harder look and can be read comfortably only at close range. On a freeway billboard, a long look is not even possible. Think short and simple.
Add a clear imageA clear image is a familiar object with little detail and a distinctive silhouette.
LeopardLeopardLeopard
Natural silhouettes
Quick! What’s on the sign? (Above) The leopard on the left in its natural environment is difficult to see, while the leopard on the right is clear. In this case, the silhouette was created artificially by masking, but many imag-es have natural silhouettes (left). The clearest have no background at all, and high contrast.
Design for close-up readingMost big signs will also be seen up close. For this distance, add a detailed reading level; it can include smaller type and more complex graphics.
Design your small material much like you’d design a small page. How small? To be read comfortably about three feet away, we’ll typi-cally set our text between 48 and 60 points. It’s a good idea to print full-size test pages
— at least the text portions — and read them while standing up.
Detailed Up close, the viewer has space and time to see the leopard in its natural environment (left). Even at this range, however, think minimum. Note that Africa has been simplified to a silhouette and colored to recede.
Establish a lookA series of signs — in a museum, for example — look best when they look alike. Pay attention to size relationships.
The eagle sign is different from the leopard in shape and
size, but the components are the same — single-word head, same
typeface, same colors, same small detail, same clear silhou-
ette. Key is to retain the size relationships — BIG headline, BIG
silhouette, small detail, always in similar amounts (below); if
the detail starts getting big or the image and head smaller, the
look will change enough that the sense of a series will disappear.
The size relationships don’t have to be physically identical, but
they must feel the same.
Repetitive detail Note on both signs that the detail consists of photo circle, map silhouette and color, and that they overlap. Relative positions are different, but the look is the same. This is key; don’t change it arbitrarily.
Super-size wall display (right) con-sists of a high-resolution photo and two short blocks of 90- and 75-pt text, sized to be read comfortably from three to 10 feet away. Ultra-light headline style pro-
claims “Manta” without overpowering the design. Underside view of the manta
is ideal here, because the viewer is lit-erally looking up. Note that the design
resembles a magazine page.
White and dark text can both be read against the mid-blue back-
ground, which yields pleasing differentiation and depth.
Informational signsInformational signs are for up-close reading, not for attention-getting, and can be designed pretty much like oversized pages. The manta ray (Manta birostris)
is the largest species of the rays. It ranges throughout tropical waters of the world, typically around coral reefs. Mantas display curiosity around humans and swim among divers. Mantas breach the surface and launch into the air. Mantas feed on plankton, fish larvae and the like, filtered from the water passing through their gills as they swim. | Wikipedia
Manta rays frequent cleaning stations where small fish such as wrasse, remora (above), and angelfish swim in the manta’s gills and over its skin to feed, in the process cleaning it of parasites and dead tissue.
The Largest Rays
Smoke-free campus
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Need help quitting?Call (916) 746-4369
One typeface, one color (white), aligned left, neatly links the two colored fields.
Sales signsSales signs — the kind you’d see at the mall — get attention and sell at the same time. Most are seen mid-distance and close-up.
Design for your audience Type atop a photo is not generally
a good idea,* but here it conveys a fashion-magazine look that’s immedi-ately familiar to its audience. Futura Bold type is unusually simple, which
minimizes the busy-ness. Bottom white panel “clears the stage” so effectively
that the store name in its ultra-light logotype is easily visible without resort-
ing to a bigger size or image-busting heavier weight or all caps.
*Type and photo will conflict where overlapping shapes and spaces have
similar size, width, color and value, as they do
in the inset. Type that’s much different from its background
works better.
Shapely sign works at all but the farthest distances because fork, salad, typeface and colors are simple and do not overlap. Every element conveys light weight — the tall, thin fork, the thin type, the white background (light and minimal) and the faintly hourglass shape. Great sign for a food-court diner.
3’ x 41⁄2’ sign is suit-able for floor or easel, ideal at a conference. Big headline announces the session, and the photo is functional, wordlessly conveying that the training is for home (not pro) audio.
Signs can seem plain. If you have the urge to angle your type (below), resist; it usually looks contrived, and on a page that you can’t turn in your hand, it’s not easy to read.
Focus on the headline You won’t miss this sign at the student bookstore! Key are the three bold words in industrial-strength type, big and densely packed. Analogous orange-yellow color range softens the look; for more intensity, use red (left). The photo is a decorative option.
cashforbooks
December 13–17Monday–Friday9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Hornet Bookstore. Come early. Student ID required.
Announcement signsAnnouncement signs are designed for quick, brief attention and are usually seen at mid-distance and up close.
Installer Training
Become an Audyssey EQ Certified Installer
Audyssey will host demos and training sessions for Installers
throughout CEDIA EXPO 2010. These sessions are free and
will be held on a walk-in basis each day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
in the Red Light Room at the Curtis Hotel less than 5 minutes
by foot from the EXPO. Appointments are not necessary for
Wayfinding signsWayfinding is about giving direction; it includes everything from billboard-size highway signs to the hotel arrow pointing to the lobby. Think distance.
Highway signs are huge, but the type must be set as though it were tiny, because at a long distance, it is tiny! Key here is to use a simple, clear typeface and spread it out — as far as 200% of its normal letterspacing — which adds enough air between letters to easily distinguish one from the next (below).
Indoor signs must be read easily but can be more decorative; here, the funky typeface reflects its surroundings. Space normally.
Smoking is not permitted inside or on the grounds of any Kaiser Permanente facility
Need help quitting?Call (916) 746-4369
The manta ray (Manta birostris) is the largest species of the rays. It ranges throughout tropical waters of the world, typically around coral reefs. Mantas display curiosity around humans and swim among divers. Mantas breach the surface and launch into the air. Mantas feed on plankton, fish larvae and the like, filtered from the water passing through their gills as they swim. | Wikipedia
Manta rays frequent cleaning stations where small fish such as wrasse, remora (above), and angelfish swim in the manta’s gills and over its skin to feed, in the process cleaning it of parasites and dead tissue.
How to design big signs 0689 16 of 16 | Printing formats
How to design big signs 16 of 16
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