Letter Visibility for Sign Design.

Need help with letter sizing for maximum visibility?

When choosing a letter size for your particular signage needs you'll want to be aware of letter visibility. This is especially true in the event that you need very large signs that will need to be seen from a long distance. For smaller signage, or signs that only need to be viewed close-up or from a short distance, your lettering or graphics will usually be nicely visible under four or five inches in height though. The letter visibility chart below will give you a little insight as to the ratio of visibility to letter size.

Keep in mind that font colors, font styles and that the overall color scheme of your sign play a very important role in letter visibility as well. Weather can also play a role in letter visibility as well. And space availability versus letter visibility needs could be an issue as well in your sign design. (See below for more information.)

ONE INCH = APPROX. 30 FEET OF VISIBILITY

(This letter visibility chart is based upon clear weather conditions on signs with light colored backgrounds and dark text, logos or graphics.)

Things to consider that can impact letter visibility....

FONT STYLE: There are tons of different font styles and types. Some font styles are basic, some bold, some scripty, some dainty or very artistic in style. Strong bold fonts are easier seen from a distance, whereas font styles that are more akin to handwriting can cause readability issues from a distance.

FONT COLOR: When your letter visibility needs long distance visibility you will want to consider the font color scheme. The best combination is a light and dark color sequence. This simply means that if your background coloring is dark utilize light colored lettering and vice versa. Dark text on dark background color schemes can completely inhibit sign visibility without any contrasting light colors.

WEATHER: Clear weather days versus inclement weather days can affect your letter visibility as well. If your sign will be displayed in an area where varying weather conditions might play an issue in sign clarity you may want to consider choosing a larger letter size to keep the sign legible in bad weather.

SPACE AVAILABILITY: If you need large text for maximum visibility from a distance but don't have the proper amount of space to display it on could affect what your sign can say or possibility the size of your text as well. To figure out if your chosen letter visibility size will fit onto your available space involves a little math to figure out if the width and height of your text will fit the sign. Most letters are roughly as wide as they are tall so if you need 7 inch tall lettering that reads "NOW OPEN" you'll need to have an available space of at least 48 inches in width. (Lettering width is determined by multiplying the height by 0.85; then multiply that number times the amount of characters needed.)

 

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