But will my sign be easy to read? It was a fair question, one that I wish were asked more often.

I asked if I might ramble for a few minutes and simply share some thoughts that come to mind and share some situations that I have seen over the years.

For almost thirty years, I have told clients when they ask me about readability that there is a reason school buses are yellow. That reason is the same as why McDonalds signs are yellow as well as many chineese restaurant signs. People that have yellow signs have placed readability and visibility over aesthetics. Put simply, they want their sign to be seen.

But my client this week that asked the question of whether or not his sign would be easy to read was with a church. You do not see many churches with yellow signs.

Visibility is very important. When I speak of visibility, I also mean readability. Why then, do more people not have yellow backgrounds on their signs and black lettering? They have accepted compromise.

You compromise when you say that you want your sign to be aestheticlly pleasing. We do not get it both ways. I am waiting though I will admit to see someone with a sign that has a yellow background on one side and some dark shade of blue or green on the other. I would have to stop and meet him.

After yellow backgounds, white are the most readable. This fact is not always accepted. Facts though prove white to win.

For several years, I served on the Board with United States Sign Council ( USSC ). It really was a lot of fun with meetings in Philadelphia and an annual trade show in Atlantic City that we had to attend. While I enjoyed those few years, I struggled with what I thought to be an abundance of self serving happenings. The purpose of this story is not to address association's problems. I will write about that some other time. USSC funds a number of studies at Penn State studying sign legibility. The Association contributes hundreds of thousands of dollars to conduct these studies. Why they do so will also have to be a subject for another posting. It is the conclusions and facts revealed by the studies that I am writing about today.

White backgrounds with black letters are easier to read than are dark backgrounds with white lettering. While this is true, I must mention that you do not see many institutional church signs with white backgrounds; compromise.

Almost all institutional church and school signs have dark backgrounds; burgundy, blue, green, brown, or some other dark color. The lettering is almost always white.

I am not claiming that all compromise is bad. What has happened is that aesthetics has won out over legibility. There are a number of things that a sign designer can bring to the design that can assist legibility even when the sign's background is dark. The choice of font and the use of negative space around the sign face are the two most important. The use of upper and lower case lettering is probably equally important. Recently, many cities around the country have begun replacing their street signs with signs containing upper and lower lettering. In cities like New York City, the cost will be in the millions. Legibility is driving that trend. Potential lawsuits may also play a role. Remember, injured parties have up todate legibility studies in their briefcases to help convince juries that they never should have had to struggle to read that sign as they crashed and were subsequently injured. I will write more about this at a later time.

USSC's legibility studies have proven that san serif lettering is easier to read than is serif lettering.

When I design a sign with sans serif lettering, I run the risk of my design being labeled boring. I understand and accept that. I do not like it but I accept it.

I tend to design with a lean toward legibility. Doing so costs me. I often wish that were not the case. It is very much like the delema I face when I ask if someone has obtained a sign permit. That question has cost me many, many sales over the past thirty years. It has cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars in sign business.

If you want your sign to be easily seen and read, order it with a yellow background. If you find that unacceptable, prepare to compromise. Accept that your focus is on aesthitics and ask that your sign's design be as pleasing as possible to make up for the loss. If you really want to help your sign be easy to read, also accept that every sign needs a fair amount of negitive space. Negative space is blank space. Blank space make your eyes read more easily. You do not believe me, write Penn State or USSC. They can confirm what I say. In fact, you can purchase a copy of recent legibilty studies at www.ussc.org/publications.html.

I have often tossed into a conversation with a client that if their sign can not be read, there is no point in having a sign. That is about as dumb as asking about a permit. I often wish I did not do that.

My focus should be on providing signs. The goal of my business should be like every other one should it not; to make a profit. My client's focus can be on getting the most attractive and effective sign possible for their investment. Compromise is just a part of life isn't it?

I have long loved to end a writing by sharing a quote on what I am writing about. I would share one on compromise but they all fly in the face of what I am suggesting. Read a dozen quotes on compromise and you may find yourself believing that all signs should have yellow backgrounds. Maybe they should. Maybe I should keep asking if someone has a permit.

I think I will. One of those. I hope I do anyway.