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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.B. Community Center Sign4ROSEMOUNTEXECUTIVE SUMMARY CITY COUNCIL City Council Work Session Date: June 12, 2013 AGENDA ITEM: Community Center Sign AGENDA SECTION: Discussion PREPARED BY: Kim Lindquist, Community Development AGENDA NO. Director 2 ATTACHMENTS: Sign Designs APPROVED BY: RECOMMENDED ACTION: Provide Staff Direction. ISSUE The Council directed staff to research replacement of the existing freestanding sign at the Community Center. Staff has hired a design consultant that was recommended by one of the sign companies contacted. Attached are several sign designs that are grouped in a "design- related" way. DISCUSSION Staff met with the sign design consultant, Frank Hickey, out on the site. He reviewed the current location of the freestanding sign and also took some photos. It was explained that a readerboard was very important to the City and must be readable from Hwy 3. Also, both the National Guard and Community Center must be advertised on the sign. He was also directed to look at the Welcome to Rosemount signs and the sign for Fire Station #2. Parks and Recreation Director Schultz has contacted the National Guard who has expressed interest in being advertised on the sign and also has indicated they may be able to financially contribute to the new sign. Until there is a better cost estimate, they have not indicated what they would be willing or able to contribute to the project. The Consultant provided the attached drawings to give a range of ideas for the design. They are grouped around a similar design style. The A signs use the existing freestanding sign and make some minor modifications. The B signs are more consistent with the existing Welcome signs, and are generally preferred by staff. The C signs are a combination of pylon or monument signs that are more utilitarian. The D signs are all monument style with a larger base that brings in the stonework of the Welcome signs. From a cost perspective, it appears that the cost of the readerboard is the variable that impacts total cost. The consultant gave examples of cost of the following: A3) National Guard ... $3,100.00 Rosemount ID .... $9,700.00 38" x 11' -5" EMC ... $21,600.00 R &D / Install .... $2,500.00 Total ...... $36,900.00 62) Rosemount ID / National Guard .... $8,200.00 38" x 9' -7" EMC ...... $19,500.00 Footings / stone, etc....$13,000.00 R&D/ Install ..... $5,000.00 Tota I ..... $ 45, 700.00 C3) ID cabinet and related structure ..... $15,000.00 5' -1" x 11' -5" EMC.....$30,500.00 R &D / Install $6,000.00 Tot a I ..... $ 51, 500.00 It appears that provision of a new sign would cost approximately $50,000 for existing sign demolition and reconstruction. Further discussion would need to take place regarding the specifics of each section of the sign but this information gives the Council something to discuss. At this time staff is looking for direction from the Council regarding design preferences. Additional work needs to occur regarding ultimate size, coloring, readerboard sizing and type. These details will be worked out after direction on the design is given. Staff wants to make sure the sign is easily readable from the site to Hwy 3 in both directions and is not obscured by the parking lot or landscaping in the area. We are also interested in having the design complement existing City signage although does not have to be the same in shape or size. RECOMMENDATION Staff is requesting the Council review the potential sign designs and give some direction. Staff will work with the consultant based upon that direction and provide a more definite sign design, taking into consideration size, cost, readerboard legibility, and other design features. Staff will bring back for Council approval of a final design in the near future. 2 D w D c�� c l�•��!!i � . � 5 /ƒ � � |t | ■,,i)f$ !| \ 70 }� CD � ! � ® \ 4 | | |j li ; |¥� 6 A 9 ,cn (D r) 1p \ � 22 ■ §� \ ■ } |�f || | | |i VI = /� y� |` n w n n N 3 O 3 (n �m �o cn CD W O a in O S •4 94 �� S � 3 fYtc � � SD _. ...� � m O 7 � W Yi ESQ= (D Z i Cl) CD 0 ; F C• Y =3 ' ^] 8 e A 0 N go r 0 =3 9 F a D m � = ?� ii 3 *Z i q. s CD iA z 8 Elliott Design Letter Size Visibility Chart LETTER SIZE TO VISIBILITY CHART Page 1 of 3 This Letter Sizing Chart is placed here for your convenience in helping you determine the size of letters based on the distance they are to be viewed. This is by no means an exact representation, there are many factors involved and this chart only represents the averages. The color of the lettering on different background colors, (see below) textures, letter styles, weather conditions, amount and quality of light, a person's eyesight and the speed at which you are driving past the signage can all impact the readability. Larger letters doesn't always mean better legibility, the area around the letters or what is known as the 'white space' must be sufficient to allow the lettering to create a contrast with the background. Many people make the mistake of placing lettering too close to the edge of the sign background or crowding the 'useable' sign area on a building. Placing letters too close together in order to fit larger letters in a smaller space can drastically reduce the legibility of the sign. Tall slim letters are usually less legible than shorter standard styles, so the 'height' of a letter is not the main concern when creating readable copy on your sign. Your professional sign artist can help you determine your needs. An example from above: at the top of the chart shows that from as far away as 100' you can "read" a 3" tall letter, this does not mean that this is the best size choice for readability it only means that under the best situations you could read the letter. The center column shows that at 30' you get the best readability for a 3" letter. A rule of thumb is a distance of 10 feet for each inch in letter height, you can test this by typing in a few words in a computer program at different font styles, colors, sizes, and printing them out and posting them on a wall, then stand back and view them at different distances to see how all these variables come into play in choosing the proper lettering for your sign. Trying to save a few dollars by purchasing smaller letters is not a wise decision, neither is trying to use too large letters in too small a space, you may be wasting all your expense and efforts when the sign cannot be read by the customers you are trying to attract. COLOR CONTRAST /VISIBILTY CHART Black /Yellow Black /Yellow Black /White Black /White Black /Orange Black /Orange This Color Contrast /Visibilty Chart will help you in determining the proper use of color combinations to achieve the greatest readability. Signage that MUST be read from longer distances require the use of more contrasting colors than for marketing materials that will be viewed up close. Billboards need more contrast than magazine ads, not only for letter size, shape and color but due to the fact that stationery advertizements are affected by the readers response time. You may only a file:// /C: /Users/kj h/AppData/ Local /Micro soft /W indows/ Temporary %20Internet %20Files /... 06/07/2013 READABLE MAXIMUM READABLE DISTANCE FOR MAXIMUM LETTER DISTANCE IMPACT HEIGHT 100 F7 30' 3" 150 40' 4" 200' 60' 1 F-6" 350 F7 80' 8" 400' 90' 9" 450' 100' 10" 525' 120' F 12" 630' 150' 15" 750' F7 180' 18" 1000' F— 240' _...........1.2.5.�� —� ( 300' —� 30" 1500' 360' 36" 1750' F 420' 42" 2000' 1 480' 48" 2250' F— 540' 54" 2500' 600' 60" Page 1 of 3 This Letter Sizing Chart is placed here for your convenience in helping you determine the size of letters based on the distance they are to be viewed. This is by no means an exact representation, there are many factors involved and this chart only represents the averages. The color of the lettering on different background colors, (see below) textures, letter styles, weather conditions, amount and quality of light, a person's eyesight and the speed at which you are driving past the signage can all impact the readability. Larger letters doesn't always mean better legibility, the area around the letters or what is known as the 'white space' must be sufficient to allow the lettering to create a contrast with the background. Many people make the mistake of placing lettering too close to the edge of the sign background or crowding the 'useable' sign area on a building. Placing letters too close together in order to fit larger letters in a smaller space can drastically reduce the legibility of the sign. Tall slim letters are usually less legible than shorter standard styles, so the 'height' of a letter is not the main concern when creating readable copy on your sign. Your professional sign artist can help you determine your needs. An example from above: at the top of the chart shows that from as far away as 100' you can "read" a 3" tall letter, this does not mean that this is the best size choice for readability it only means that under the best situations you could read the letter. The center column shows that at 30' you get the best readability for a 3" letter. A rule of thumb is a distance of 10 feet for each inch in letter height, you can test this by typing in a few words in a computer program at different font styles, colors, sizes, and printing them out and posting them on a wall, then stand back and view them at different distances to see how all these variables come into play in choosing the proper lettering for your sign. Trying to save a few dollars by purchasing smaller letters is not a wise decision, neither is trying to use too large letters in too small a space, you may be wasting all your expense and efforts when the sign cannot be read by the customers you are trying to attract. COLOR CONTRAST /VISIBILTY CHART Black /Yellow Black /Yellow Black /White Black /White Black /Orange Black /Orange This Color Contrast /Visibilty Chart will help you in determining the proper use of color combinations to achieve the greatest readability. Signage that MUST be read from longer distances require the use of more contrasting colors than for marketing materials that will be viewed up close. Billboards need more contrast than magazine ads, not only for letter size, shape and color but due to the fact that stationery advertizements are affected by the readers response time. You may only a file:// /C: /Users/kj h/AppData/ Local /Micro soft /W indows/ Temporary %20Internet %20Files /... 06/07/2013 Elliott Design Letter Size Visibility Chart Blue /White Blue /White Green /White Green /White Red /White Red /White Red /Yellow Red /Yellow Red /Black Red /Black Red /Orange Red /Orange Red /Blue Red /Blue :1 Red /Green Red /Green Page 2 of 3 have two or three seconds to view a billboard and safely watch the traffic, while the magazine ad can be studied at leisure and the less contrasting colors may appear more appealing for close viewing. Your local graphics professional should be able to help you with creating the best color combinations for the type advertizement you need. Please keep in mind that not all graphic artists are trained in the best overall use of design for all different types of work, some may create stunning magazine ads but fail completely when trying to design a billboard and those specializing in web design may not make the best decisions for printed marketing materials. There are many factors that should be considered for the type graphics you need for your project. If you are putting together a marketing campaign you would be smart to hire a graphics firm that has a broad range of services that can be coordinated into one project that covers all your needs. It is unwise to hire out each aspect of the project to several different companies, you will end up with too many variations that could render your project useless as a marketing tool. The colors from top to bottom show the descending contrasts of colors in combination to each other. The top 6 rows are the better choices of colors for good contrast, the next three rows show less contrast and the last two rows would be very poor choices for readability. These last two rows although considered bright and vivid colors, their uses together should be limited to accents only. Many unknowing and untrained amateurs will try to use these at the customers request to create signage and end up with unprofessional and unreadable results. The eye cannot focus on Red /Blue or Red /Green when the colors touch and that is what makes them appear to "sizzle" when used together. When using these last two color combinations, the introduction of white or a very light yellow must be used as a transition to create contrast and avoid the sizzle effect as shown below. [C—, Colors on computer monitors never match real world printed colors due to the fact that it is two different technologies that create the colors you see. Computer screens are made up of phosphorous coatings on a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) and lit by an electron beam or from Liquid Crystal Diodes (LCD) being turned on or off by electrical charges, either way these are called transmissive colorization because the colors are beamed from the monitor to your eyes. Whether in a brightly lit room or a totally dark room you can still see the colors on the monitor, whereas with printed colors they appear best in a well lit room but cannot be seen in the dark as there is no light to "reflect" them to your eyes. Printed colors are made up of inks or paints printed onto surfaces that reflect the colors from the page to your eyes. Transmissive colors appear more vivid on screen than the same "true" colors do on paper, color calibration of monitors is vital in getting a close approximation but there is NO WAY the two technologies can provide exact color matches across their spectrum. Do not use your computer monitor to accurately choose colors for your marketing materials, always use actual ink or paint color swatches available through sources such as Pantone. For more information on color and the theories of its use in various projects, do an internet search on the subject of "the use of color" file : / / /C:/Users/kj h/AppData/Local/ Microsoft / Windows / Temporary %20Internet %20Files /... 06/07/2013 Elliott Design Letter Size Visibility Chart This letter readability chart is compiled with information based on the California Institute of Technology. Readability distances will vary with various color combinations and letter styles and stroke weight. The maximum distances shown above are based on a standard weight, block style letter, in RED or BLACK on a WHITE background. Contact your local sign manufacturer for more information. The color contrast chart is compiled from various sources and the author's own personal experience of working with color for over 40 years. This Size Chart Provided By Elliott Sign & Design and GEMINI Inc. Page 3 of 3 NOTICE: if you have arrived here through clicking a link from a SEARCH ENGINE listing, you maybe missing a lot of our design samples, try this link to go to Elliott Sign & Design Home Page to view our complete web site. ©1998 -2010 All images, design /layouts and artworks are the copyrighted property of Elliott Sign & Design, all rights reserved. file: / / /C: /Users/kj h/AppData/Local/ Microsoft / Windows / Temporary %20Internet %20Files /... 06/07/2013