What size sign do I need?
Tell us how far away people will be and what your sign says. Get the letter height that reads, the standard size that fits, and a to-scale preview, before you spend a dime.
1 How far away will people read it?
2 What's the main line?
Just the headline. Your logo, phone number and smaller details go underneath and we leave room for them.
3 Where's it going?
Letter height by distance
The sign-industry rule of thumb: about 1 inch of letter height for every 10 feet for comfortable reading, and 1 inch per 30 feet as the outer limit of legibility.
| Viewing distance | Best letter height | Minimum |
|---|---|---|
| 10 ft | 1 in | 0.5 in |
| 25 ft | 2.5 in | 1 in |
| 50 ft | 5 in | 2 in |
| 100 ft | 10 in | 3.5 in |
| 200 ft | 20 in | 7 in |
| 300 ft | 30 in | 10 in |
Bold, simple fonts and strong contrast read farther. Script, thin and condensed fonts read shorter.
Make it readable at a glance
Fewer words
A driver gets about 3 to 5 seconds with your sign. Aim for 7 words or fewer in the main message, and let the phone number or URL be the only other thing they need.
Contrast wins
Dark on light or light on dark, never mid-tone on mid-tone. Black on yellow, white on red and white on navy are classics for a reason.
Bold and simple
Chunky sans-serif fonts read farthest. Skip thin scripts and long all-caps sentences. One or two fonts per sign, tops.
Leave breathing room
Empty space is what makes the important words pop. Plan for about 30 to 40% of the sign being background.
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