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myront

Dammit, make it faster!!
upload_2018-10-2_13-22-49.png


rag right?
 

myront

Dammit, make it faster!!
I was given this guideline to make a new sign. Not sure if it's going to be legible enough here but...

A whole lotta wrongs going on here! Anyone else see them?!

upload_2018-10-2_13-28-46.png
 

Rick

Certified Enneadecagon Designer
Looks like alignments and sizes are off...

First Off:
-- The + logo is not where it's supposed to be called out, and there is no measurement called out on how high it sits on the sign.
-- The changeable number panel says one size, then gets thrown off on the detail drawing.
-- Also looks like baseline to baseline measurement on the "Safety is a Job Requirement" is off
-- Changeable panels and text do not match called out measurements,

Most likely someone pasted on the wrong scale layer and/or didn't verify the correct size, and shifted the drawing over a smidge...
 
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myront

Dammit, make it faster!!
I'd post the non-vector pdf here but it's really a pia to do so. p.s. I've forgotten my dropbox password.

Calls for Helvetica but the image to the right doesn't use helvetica.
Says black but shows red.
At one point it mentions 12.5" LH.

Why not design the sign at full scale first then right the notes/legend to match? Once it's all said and done make a copy and scale it down to 8.5 x 11 for print and while you're at it leave it all vector.
 

Rick

Certified Enneadecagon Designer
Why not design the sign at full scale first then right the notes/legend to match? Once it's all said and done make a copy and scale it down to 8.5 x 11 for print and while you're at it leave it all vector.

I agree that a full-size editable and vector template would be nice. On standards like this though, the reality is it takes one lazy person to mess up a drawing and it usually only gets worse as times goes on.

There are so many designers that are this lazy and there is so much wrong with that drawing. To cover your butt, I would rebuild it using whatever information you have, send them a scaled drawing of it, and then have them sign off on it.
 

Grizzly

It’s all about your print!
Is it really necessary to call out every size and spacing of the whole sign? Must have been an architect. (No offense to architects, just seems unnecessary for this type of sign)
Apparently we're dumb as designers and can't figure out how to layout a sign...
 

Rick

Certified Enneadecagon Designer
Is it really necessary to call out every size and spacing of the whole sign? Must have been an architect. (No offense to architects, just seems unnecessary for this type of sign)
Apparently we're dumb as designers and can't figure out how to layout a sign...

Actually, yeah, there are a lot of dumb replicators (sign shops)

This one drawing shows that even the person calling out the sign can't make a layout even when called out. There is a graphic standard for quite a few government signs, my bet is that some sign vendor rebuilt this drawing, and messed it up... and is now being circulated.

I'm also betting that a design firm that specializes in signage or in-house government office originally designed the graphic standard, maybe even before signs were computer drawn.

I design graphic standards, and have worked on quite a few government projects. The reason for such detail is that a replicator would not have to go out on the field and measure an existing sign and/or try to figure out typefaces, colors, materials. The idea is that each sign is made exactly the same as the next. Imagine allowing hundreds of sign shops access to interpreting a sign - even a simple one like this one.
 

ddarlak

Go Bills!
when i get specs like this they go right where they should in the garbage.

design it how it should be and send them a layout, nobody will be the wiser, only architects and engineers design signs like this and they don't matter.....
 

signman315

Signmaker
Actually, yeah, there are a lot of dumb replicators (sign shops)

This one drawing shows that even the person calling out the sign can't make a layout even when called out. There is a graphic standard for quite a few government signs, my bet is that some sign vendor rebuilt this drawing, and messed it up... and is now being circulated.

I'm also betting that a design firm that specializes in signage or in-house government office originally designed the graphic standard, maybe even before signs were computer drawn.

I design graphic standards, and have worked on quite a few government projects. The reason for such detail is that a replicator would not have to go out on the field and measure an existing sign and/or try to figure out typefaces, colors, materials. The idea is that each sign is made exactly the same as the next. Imagine allowing hundreds of sign shops access to interpreting a sign - even a simple one like this one.
I think of it like a free answer to a pop quiz....here's the size, fonts, and every other possible spec, now make it so. I generally enjoy these jobs, no thinking, just make the money um I mean just make the sign lol. The only time I don't enjoy them is when it's specified as something that's going to be a failure if made to said specs, at which point I decline the job and/or offer my own alternative. I'll either lose a job I didn't want or they will accept my alternative using methods that are in my lane and I'm comfortable with.
 

Rick

Certified Enneadecagon Designer
I think of it like a free answer to a pop quiz....here's the size, fonts, and every other possible spec, now make it so. I generally enjoy these jobs, no thinking, just make the money um I mean just make the sign lol. The only time I don't enjoy them is when it's specified as something that's going to be a failure if made to said specs, at which point I decline the job and/or offer my own alternative. I'll either lose a job I didn't want or they will accept my alternative using methods that are in my lane and I'm comfortable with.

If you are going into most of the these as a new project, most jobs I work on like this are in the hundreds of thousands, some of these jobs are in the millions of dollars. Most everything has been worked out code wise, permitting is usually a breeze, bidding is easy, sometimes all you have to do is double check the drawing, size it up and you are good to go...

It's when you have to make 1 sign - every few months or so, and different sign shops do them, imagine dealing with multiple interpretations, not all sign shops have the same capabilities, or skill or fonts... thats the problem.
 
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