Attachment G National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior NPS UniGuide Standards: Volume 2 Roadway Signs Volume 2 Roadway Sign Design Standards National Park Service UniGuide Program Volume 2 Contents Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Graphic Standards 2.1 Overview 2.2 Typography 2.3 NPS Arrowhead 2.4 Color Standards 2.5 SEGD National Recreation Symbols 2.6 Directional Arrow Chapter 3: Grid Layouts 3.1 Overview 3.2 Road Guide Grids 3.3 Highway Guide Grids 3.4 Pathfinder Grids Chapter 4: Fabrication Drawings 4.1 Road Guide and Highway Guide Sign Fabrication Drawings 4.2 Pathfinder Sign Fabrication Drawings 4.3 MUTCD Regulatory and Warning Sign Fabrication Drawings Chapter 5: Specifications 5.1 General Requirements 5.2 Materials Overview 5.3 Panel Fabrication 5.4 Aluminum Angle Fabrication 5.5 Painting 5.6 Sign Posts 5.7 Stabilizer Blades 5.8 Graphic Layout and Production 5.9 Assembly National Park Service UniGuide Program National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior NPS UniGuide Standards: Volume 2 Roadway Signs Chapter 1 Introduction National Park Service UniGuide Program 1 Introduction 1.0 Roadway Signs This category includes three kinds of signs: Road/Highway Guide Signs, Pathfinders and Park Boundary Signs, and MUTCD Regulatory and Warning Signs. A distinctive system to guide motorists to park entrances and along park roadways, these signs use new lower-cost, brighter, and longer-lasting materials which — along with the recently developed NPS Roadway type face — will enhance message legibility and visitor safety. Traffic regulatory signs will follow Federal Highway Administration standards unless otherwise supplied. Highway Guide Signs are placed on state roads outside of a park entrance and are intended to direct visitors to a park. Pathfinders serve as an additional assist in guiding visitors to specific park sites and features in urban and highly developed suburban environments. By displaying the NPS Arrowhead and other graphic elements, Pathfinders also help to reinforce park and agency identity. Boundary Signs designate the beginning of park land. These signs are useful in areas of multiple land ownership, or where it is better to place an entrance sign at a location other than the official park boundary. Road Guide Signs are placed on park roads to direct the first-time or infrequent visitor to facilities and areas within a park. MUTCD Regulatory and Warning Signs are used within a park to govern the operation of motor vehicles. As required, MUTCD Regulatory and Warning Signs in the UniGuide System comply in content and appearance with Federal Highway Administration guidelines as expressed in the Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The other three categories of UniGuide Motorist Guidance Signs meet or exceed MUTCD performance requirements, but they have a distinctive appearance from most road and highway guide signs. NPS signs will continue to have a brown background. However, the UniGuide Standards specify the use of the NPS Roadway typeface rather than Clarendon, the font currently used on NPS signs. The change was made because tests proved NPS Roadway to be more legible than Clarendon. Additionally, signs made with NPS Roadway can be 11.4% smaller than with Clarendon. Use of NPS Roadway, one of the two official NPS typefaces, helps reinforce NPS identity. National Park Service UniGuide Program Volume 2 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1-1 Introduction 1.1 Highway Guide Signs Highway Guide Signs are used on public highways and expressways to guide visitors to a park. National Park Service UniGuide Program Volume 2 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1-2 Introduction 1.2 Road Guide Signs Road Guide Signs are placed on park roads to direct the first-time or infrequent visitor to facilities and areas within a park. Meadows National Park Service UniGuide Program Volume 2 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1-3 Introduction 1.3 Pathfinder Signs Pathfinders serve as an additional assist in guiding visitors to specific park sites and features in urban and highly developed suburban environments. By displaying the NPS Arrowhead and other graphic elements, Pathfinders also help to reinforce park and agency identity. 1.4 Boundary Signs Boundary Signs designate the beginning of park land. These signs are useful in areas of multiple land ownership, or where it is better to place an entrance sign at a location other than the official park boundary. National Park Service UniGuide Program Volume 2 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1-4 Introduction 1.5 MUTCD Regulatory and Warning Signs MUTCD Regulatory and Warning Signs are used within a park to govern the operation of motor vehicles. National Park Service UniGuide Program Volume 2 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1-5 National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior NPS UniGuide Standards: Volume 2 Roadway Signs Chapter 2 Graphic Standards National Park Service UniGuide Program 1 Overview 1.0 Introduction The building blocks for the UniGuide Program consist of six graphic components: typography, grid formats, Arrowhead symbol, directional arrow graphics, recreation symbols, and color. These components are used in specific ways to visually enhance particular types of communica- tions consistently throughout the National Park System. This chapter provides specific guidlines on graphic standards for Roadway Signs. National Park Service National Park Service Typography Grid Formats NPS Arrowhead Type 3, NPS Arrowhead Type 2, Single Color Multiple Color National Park Service UniGuide Program Volume 2 Chapter 2: Graphic Standards 2.1-1 Overview Recreation Symbols Directional Arrow Graphic Color System National Park Service UniGuide Program Volume 2 Chapter 2: Graphic Standards 2.1-2 2 Typography 2.0 Introduction The Uniguide Standards specify three typefaces for sign legends: NPS Rawlinson (a serif font), and Frutiger and Clearview (both san serif fonts). NPS Roadway (designed specifically for the National Park Service) is the primary typeface used on Roadway Signs. Frutiger (used under license from Adobe), replaces the Helvetica formerly used in many NPS media. Along with Rawlinson, Frutiger is used as a secondary typeface on VIS Signs and Park and Facility Identification Signs. Clearview (which was created by the same firm that designed NPS Rawlinson) is used as a sec- ondary typeface on all Roadway Signs and on those VIS (see Volume 3, Uniguide Standards) Signs that provide information to motorists. Clearview is similar to Frutiger in appearance, but — unlike Frutiger — is approved by the Federal Highway Administration for use on roadways. NPS Roadway ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789 Clearview Highway ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789 Frutiger 65 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789 National Park Service UniGuide Program Volume 2 Chapter 2: Graphic Standards 2.2-1 Typography 2.1 Specifications and Compliance Only these fonts are to be used on Roadway Signs. Alternates — such as Helvetica, Century, Times Roman, or Clarendon — are not acceptable. Specified typefaces are to be used in the production of all graphic panels. Conversions that change the typographic style, letterspacing, alignment, stroke-width, or size will be rejected. 2.2 Method of Typographic Display All legends are displayed in NPS Roadway, in upper and lowercase (U/lc), with initial capital letters only unless otherwise noted. Advance Guidance Legends are displayed in Clearview, in uppercase (UC). 2.3 Letterspace Adjustment for Legibility Signs viewed from a distance require more space between letters (additional tracking) than those viewed by pedestrians from a standing position. Computer software programs provide precise adjustments for such tracking needs. Within the UniGuide program, custom tracking of legends is limited. NPS Roadway and Clearview have the correct proportional letterspacing built into the font for Roadway Sign applications. The numerical value of the specified tracking is identified with the individual grid specifications. 2.4 Typographic Alignment Destination legends are placed flush left (left justified) on the grid with initial letter aligned to the left side of a vertical stroke unless specified as centered on the layout grid. Alignment: Initial capital letters align on the leading edge of the vertical stroke. Round and angu- lar letters are placed slightly to the left as shown so as to appear Yos aligned flush left on the grid. Vertical alignment: The serif is allowed to extend beyond the edge of the grid. Letters including Y, W, A, etc. are aligned inside the serif at the location where the body of the actual Nat letter begins as shown in the diagram on the left. Horizontal alignment: The distance between the baseline of a line of type and the imaginary line across the top of capital let- ters becomes the dimension on Cen which interline spacing is based. National Park Service UniGuide Program Volume 2 Chapter 2: Graphic Standards 2.2-2 3 NPS Arrowhead 3.0 Introduction Since its introduction in 1952, the NPS Arrowhead logo has become a well recognized sym- bol of the agency. Changes to the logo, adopted in 2001, helped to ensure that the Arrowhead appears more often, more consistently, and more legibly on all NPS communication materi- als, including signs. The UniGuide Sign Standards prescribe the use of the NPS Arrowhead on selected Park and Facility Identification signs, and on specified Roadway Signs, including Pathfinders. Information about the NPS Arrowhead is available online at <www.graphics.nps.gov>. The two Arrowheads required for use on signs have been optimized for a variety of imaging technologies and for distant viewing. The Arrowhead Symbol is to be considered all inclusive. The Arrowhead should not be altered or redrawn, nor should any element within the Arrowhead be removed, replaced, or modified. National Park Service UniGuide Program Volume 2 Chapter 2: Graphic Standards 2.3-1 NPS Arrowhead The decision of when and how to use the NPS Arrowhead logo on signs should be made with care. Although the Arrowhead is an integral part of the agency’s public identity, it should not be overused.