Distinguishing the differences between fonts such as Helvetica and Times Roman are fairly obvious, but when comparing other typefaces that are similar in design it is harder for most to see.

There is a science to examining the anatomy of letters that make up our alphabet. Becoming acquainted with the terminology used to describe the different characteristics, makes communicating about typefaces much easier.

Do you know what a counter is? A spur is? A bar is? An ear is? To see the complete list of definitions for each part of a character, check out… www.fonts.com

Have you ever wondered how traffic engineers know how tall to make the letters on a freeway sign so that you still won’t miss the exit? Or how far away a person walking in a downtown street will see the entrance to that awesome new sushi restaurant? Or why you can see the Las Vegas strip signs from a mile away?  These are questions we know keep you up late at night pondering the wonders of signage and letter heights.

So, no need to worry, we’ve got your answers, and you can sleep soundly – the always popular and sought after RSM Letter Visibility Chart has been re-designed is now on line for you to download and give to all in your office.

Download a printable copy here…

Download a printable copy in metric here…

The designers at RSM wanted to share with you a few ADA signage guidelines that we know will be helpful in your next project. Did you know that signage plaques using correct ADA standards must have…

• Letters that are all uppercase and be sans serif

• Letters measured vertically from the baseline that are 5/8″ minimum and 2″ maximum in height

• Raised letters with a minimum of 1/32″ depth and accompanied with Grade 2 Braille

• Letters that are selected from fonts where the width of the uppercase “O” is 55% minimum and 110% maximum of the height of the letter “I”

• Pictograms that have a field height of 6″ minimum

To learn more about ADA guidelines and signage, please download the following additional guidelines…

While munching on colorful macaroons, (thanks Caleb) the RSM team presented their individual research on color.  

Color Theory applies to all aspects of our everyday life- from selecting a paint color for a room, the way contrast on a sign makes it legible, how you select your socks, to the exposure of a photograph. Color also appeals to the appetite. Red and orange in the McDonalds brand makes people eat faster, while the muted color palette of Starbucks invites the visitor to linger. 

Color theory has been applied to personality traits, such as, red means hot and passionate and blue means cold and mellow. While there are always exceptions to every rule, color has meaning. 

Different cultures around the world use color to represent important events in a variety of ways. In Ireland, orange is a religious color, and here in the US we think of Halloween and autumn. 

Color applies to all cultures in multiple ways- understanding the differences is the key to color.

Below are some sites we explored during our color theory discussion:

http://www.colormunki.com

http://www.colorstrology.com

http://www.colormatters.com

http://www.avivadirectory.com/color

http://www.colourlovers.com

http://webdesign.about.com/od/color/a/bl_colorculture.htm

This week RSM University was led by senior designer “Professor” DJ Thomas on useful tools in Adobe Illustrator. Yes, our team is already expert at this program, however DJ started designing on the original version of Illustrator (for all of you youngsters, this was way back in 1988) and thought he would share his extensive knowledge on some original tools that may get overlooked due to advancements in the program over the years. All-in-all it was a fun round of team learning and will make us even more efficient in our work practices in the future. Thanks DJ for the dose of enlightenment!

FYI – In his spare time, DJ is a professor at Palomar College and has taught Typography Design for the last 9 years.

In order to nourish our passion for growing as designers, RSM Design has introduced a new program titled RSM University as a part of our team schedule. RSMU is designed to be a series of ‘learning lunches’ with the overall  goal of Learn + Teach + Practice = Growth. We believe that the best way to learn something is to teach it yourself, with the target objective of broadening our perspectives on creativity and the arts, polishing our skill sets and refining efficiency both in imaginative output and production. If you find yourself feeling hungry for inspiration, come on by and fill up at our next meeting.