4.5 Signage typeface

FIP Manual, January 1988

Introduction

This section sets out the design of the signage typeface and describes the spacing system to be used. The typeface was adopted to provide a graphic standard for the government’s signage system and to achieve consistency in the production of signs. Chapter 470, “Federal Identity Program” of the Administrative Policy Manual, outlines the application of these design standards.

Computer-aided design

The unit system of the signage typeface makes it highly suitable for computer-aided design applications. Programs can be designed that make the assembly of characters or the production of sign layouts much more efficient than manual methods.

Use of pre-spaced legends

When multiples of a particular signature or message are required, using pre-spaced legends is generally more economical than having to assemble each individual signature or message. The term “pre-spaced legend” refers to a product that consists of die-cut characters positioned on a carrier sheet, ready to be applied to a substrate.

Visual criteria

The character spacing system was developed to achieve optimum legibility of messages under normal viewing conditions. This means those conditions generally found in and around government facilities.

The system was designed for sign messages that are viewed under available ambient light, and is therefore not intended for signs that are internally illuminated or fabricated of retro-reflective materials. Because the irradiation associated with such signs reduces legibility, the space between characters should be increased proportionally to compensate for this optical effect. Depending on the degree of irradiation, the space may need to be 50 to 80 per cent greater than the data on character spacing shown in this section.

Design of the typeface

The FIP signage typeface is based on Helvetica medium. Variances in stroke width and design detail make other versions of Helvetica medium visually incompatible when combined with the FIP signage typeface. In view of the need for consistency when revising or updating messages, the FIP signage typeface should be used for the production of all signs.

Scope

Guidelines and specifications set out the requirements on the use of the FIP signage typeface, which is specified for all signs and for the markings of vehicles, aircraft and watercraft.

Enquiries

Advice regarding the use of the FIP signage typeface and its spacing system is available from the Administrative Policy Branch of the Treasury Board Secretariat. This office also keeps the original artwork of the typeface.

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The typeface

The typeface includes all characters commonly used in sign messages; the letters, numerals, symbols and punctuation marks are shown in Appendix A.

When preparing dies, film strips, or other items needed for reproduction, the original artwork of the typeface should be used (see “Enquiries”).

Symbols of the FIP

Generally, the signage typeface is used with the corporate symbols of the FIP. The use of these symbols is described in Section 1.1, “Design” and their application is set out in 4.2, 4.3 or 4.4.

Directional arrow

For the design of the standard directional arrow and the guidelines on its use refer to Section 4.3, “Common-use and operational signs.”

The system of measurement

The unit is the basic measure of the typeface. It is an arbitrary measurement based on the division of the x-height into 50 equal portions. The unit serves to measure the width of individual characters, and the space between adjoining characters and words. The actual measure varies according to the character size in use (Fig. 1).

Character size

The character size is based on the x-height and is measured in millimetres. The standard character sizes with their corresponding unit widths are indicated in Table 1.

See Section 4.1 for guidelines on the selection of character size based on the viewing distance. For the convenience of the reader, the basic data on viewing distance have been included here as well (see Table 2).

The character spacing system

This system controls the space between characters and is based on the unit value, a number which represents the width of a specific character including a space on either side (Fig. 2). As mentioned above, the actual measure of the unit value varies according to the character size in use.

The data that indicate how the unit value for each character is constructed is presented in Table 3. The application of the character spacing system and the methods that can be used are described below.

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Assembly of characters

Several methods are used to assemble characters. All derive from the spacing system but each is suited to different conditions. Factors such as character size, type of equipment and method of reproduction determine the choice of one of the following methods for producing sign messages.

Spacing characters manually

This basic method involves the use of Table 4, which indicates the inter-character space in number of units. This space is measured and each character is positioned accordingly. In view of the relatively small spaces that may have to be measured, this method is practical only with the larger character sizes (e.g. 50 mm and up).

Normally, the characters are positioned with the aid of grid paper which indicates the space between lines.

How to use Table 4

The inter-character space shown in Table 4 represents the total of the “units following” one character and the “units preceding” the next character. The inter-character space is expressed in number of units. To convert units into millimetres, refer to Table 1 to find the width of one unit in any given character size.

To find the space between characters, locate the first character in the left-hand column and the one that follows in the row above. The intersecting field shows the number of units required. For example, an uppercase “G” followed by a lowercase “o” will require a space of 10 units in between. See Fig. 3.

Spacing characters visually

Although the inter-character spaces should be measured with a ruler, a person can acquire the skill to space characters visually and achieve satisfactory results. This applies to the smaller character sizes in particular (e.g. up to 50 mm). To verify that inter-character spacing is accurate and consistent enough, appropriate checks should be made. This may be done by measuring the length of a line of text that has been spaced visually and comparing it with the results of calculations using the unit values of the particular characters in that line.

Computer-generated spacing

A variety of output devices that either set type or cut letters can be used to generate characters and the space in between. Organizations planning to use such an output device should assess whether it can be adapted to accommodate the FIP signage typeface.

In order to use the FIP typeface with a particular output device, each character must be fitted into the unit system of the equipment concerned. See “Enquiries” for the availability of the original artwork.

Tiles to assemble characters

The term “tile” refers to a product that consists of a die-cut character positioned on backing paper that is trimmed to include the prescribed space on either side of the character. When assembling characters, the individual tiles are simply butted to form words (Fig. 4). The result is an accurately spaced message.

Space between words, lines, columns

The following rules apply in general, regardless of the method of character assembly used.

Space between words, punctuation marks and special characters

One of three measures (Fig. 5) is used to control the space between words, punctuation marks and special characters. These measures are:

• 35 units for a full space;
• 25 units for a medium space;
• 15 units for a small space.

When inserting these spaces, principles of good typographic practice should be followed. The conventions of the two official languages need to be observed.

The examples show the different spaces in a particular context (Fig. 6).

Spacing of lines

The spacing of lines is measured from baseline to baseline. It equals 2x (Fig. 7).

Space between columns

The space between the left and right-hand columns is measured in number of “x”. For guidance on the standard spaces used in sign layouts refer to the manual sections dealing with specific types of signs.

Vertical alignment of lines

The vertical alignment of different lines of text must make allowances for the particular shape of the first character of each line. Any characters that have straight vertical strokes (e.g. B, D, E, b, k, 1, m, etc.) align perfectly, of course, but characters with a rounded or angular shape must be aligned optically, otherwise the characters do not appear to line up.

Optical alignment

Optical alignment is normally achieved by manually adjusting the position of the first character, if required. Any character with a rounded or angular shape should extend slightly beyond the start line (Fig. 8).

Adjusting the unit values

Optical alignment may also be achieved by using an output device, and programming it to subtract a certain number of units from the unit value of the first character in a line.

For example, the unit value of the letter “E” is constructed of 7+52+6 units. Therefore the 7 units at the left of the character need to be subtracted. In the case of a “C”, which has a unit value of 4+64+2, the adjustment consists of subtracting the 4 units to the left of the character and an additional 2 units to account for the portion of the “C” that must extend beyond the start line. This results in an adjusted unit value of 62+2. The number of units to be subtracted is summarized below.

To achieve optical alignment of the first character of a line, the character’s unit value should be adjusted as follows:

• subtract 3 units from j v w x y z J T Z
• subtract 4 units from f t A V W X V
• subtract 6 units from a c d e g m n o p q r s u C G O Q S
• subtract 7 units from b h i k l B D E F H I K L M N P R U

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Using the system

In addition to providing a standard for inter-character spacing, the system of measurement is also useful for calculating sign dimensions. Whether the sign layout and character assembly is a manual or computer-aided process, the unit system can be used for calculating the length of a line, the space occupied by a message, and the total dimensions of a sign.

Calculating line length and sign dimensions

To pre-determine the length of a line of text, the unit values of the individual characters, including any word spaces, must be added together. (See Table 3.) By dividing the total of the unit values by 50, the number of “x” occupied by that line of text can be determined. To convert the number of ‘‘x” into millimetres, the character size being used is multiplied by the number of ‘‘x”.

Calculating the dimensions of the sign shown in figure 9

Refer to Section 4.2 for details on layout and standard spaces. Two character sizes were chosen for this particular sign: 20 mm for the federal signature and 30 mm for the message ‘‘Canadian Wildlife Service”. The calculations are as follows:

Sign length

a

Establish the longest line in each column (i.e. “Canadian” and “de la faune”). By referring to Table 3, add the unit value of each character in the word ‘‘Canadian” as follows: C(70 - 4 = 66), a(57), n(57), a(57), d(60), i(27), a(57), n(57 - 6 = 51); the total is 432 units. To convert the units into number of “x”, divide by 50: 432 ÷ 50 = 8.6x. To convert the number of ‘‘x” into millimetres, multiply by 30 mm, the character size used for the word “Canadian”: 8.6 x 30 = 258 mm. Similarly, calculate the length of ‘‘de la faune”, which comes to a total of 318 mm. Add the subtotals: 258 + 318 = 576 mm

b

According to the tables in Section 4.2, 14x are required for the left margin. Multiply that number by the character size used for ‘‘Environment Canada” (20 mm): 14 x 20 = 280 mm 4x are required between the two columns. Multiply that number by the character size used for ‘‘Canadian” (30 mm): 4 x 30 = 120 mm 4x are required for the right margin. Multiply that number by the character size used for ‘‘de la faune” (30 mm): 4 x 30 = 120 mm Add the subtotals: 280 + 120 + 120 = 520 mm

c	Determine the sign length by adding a and b: 576 + 520 = 1096 mm

Sign height

d

According to the tables in Section 4.2, 5.5x are required between the sign’s top edge and the baseline of the signature, and between the baseline of the signature and the baseline of “Canadian”. Add these spaces: 5.5 + 5.5 = 11x, and multiply the total by the character size used for the signature (20 mm): 11 x 20 = 220 mm

e	4x are required between the baseline of “Canadian” and the baseline of “Service”, and 2x are required between the baseline of “Service” and the sign’s bottom edge. Add these spaces: 4 + 2 = 6x, and multiply the total by the character size used for the sign’s message (30 mm): 6 x 30 180 mm

f	Add the results of d and e to determine the height of the sign: 220 + 180 = 400 mm

Note: for purposes of these calculations, the sign area required for the Canada’ wordmark has been omitted. For details on the height of that band, see Section 4.2.

Sign dimensions

Based on the 20 mm and 30 mm character sizes used in the example, the sign in figure 9 would measure 400 mm x 1096 mm.

Assessing alternative character sizes

Once the dimensions of a sign are known in number of “x” (Fig. 10), the effect of a smaller or larger character size on the sign’s dimension can easily be calculated.

For instance, instead of combining 20 mm and 30 mm as in the example above, the dimensions of the sign in Fig. 9 may be calculated by combining 15 mm and 25 mm, or 25 mm and 40 mm. The calculations are shown in Table 5.

Commonly used character sizes

When assessing character sizes see Table 2 for the data on standard sizes, and Fig. 11 for an illustration of the sizes commonly used.

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Use of UPPERCASE and numerals for codes and abbreviations

The inter-character spaces that govern the assembly of UPPERCASE characters differ from those used for assembling a combination of upper and lower case characters.

The data that indicate how the unit value for each character is constructed are presented in Table Bl. The use of the spacing system for UPPERCASE characters is described below.

Note that the use of UPPERCASE characters applies solely to abbreviations, codes, and the like.

How to use Table B2

Characters are assembled with the aid of Table B2 which shows the inter-character space required. This space is expressed in number of units, and represents the total of the “units following” one character and the “units preceding” the next character.

To find the space between characters, locate the first character in the left-hand column and the one that follows in the row above. The intersecting field shows the number of units required. For example, a “G” followed by “R” will require a space of 16 units in between. If a character size of 25 mm were to be used, 16 units represent 8 mm (16 x 0.5 mm).

Using the inter-character spaces prescribed will normally result in a relatively even spacing of all characters in a particular abbreviation or code. Nevertheless, adjustments may be needed for certain awkward character combinations (e.g. LY, WJ). To achieve consistent spacing, such adjustments should be done visually by comparing the space between all characters of the particular abbreviation or code.

For guidance on the methods of assembling characters, see “Assembly of characters” (p. 7). The details on the spacing of punctuation marks are provided in Table 3b (p. 7); the inter-character spaces for numerals are shown in Table 4b (p. 9).