Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Gardner
From a design standpoint, one thing my customers (not just racers) always wanted something that looked flashy on a computer screen. What looks flashy on a computer screen can be very difficult to read from any distance. Flashy outlines and shadows around text are the main reason. Another cause is fluorescent colors.
Another thing is letter size.
Size: Actual size in inches of a letter/number.
Impact: The distance where a letter/number is most readable.
Maximum: The farthest distance a person can read a letter/number.
Size - Impact - Maximum
2 in. - 20 ft. - 70 ft.
3 in. - 30 ft. - 100 ft.
4 in. - 40 ft. - 140 ft.
5 in. - 50 ft. - 175 ft.
6 in. - 60 ft. - 200 ft.
These distances vary depending on color combinations and vision. If you mix in a couple of outline colors, a shadow color, letter color and then background color... Forget about these measurements. If it's on your racecar, nobody is reading it unless there standing right next to it.
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I couldn't agree more, Bill, but you left out one important factor: contrast. I spent lots of years in the graphics industry, and am a firm believer in the "form follows function" theory. Cars have names/numbers for one purpose only, and that's identification (function). If the lettering is a beautiful piece of design (form) but can't be read, then why bother. Outlined lettering is, in my opinion, way overused, simply because most of the time the outline is proportionately too large for the character size or there isn't sufficient contrast between the car, the lettering, and the outline. Outlines are OK as long as they don't impede legibility. If a driver wants to run a visor with his/her name on it, which I personally like, think contrast. Because names on the visor are usually fairly small, keep it a simple font, one that's easily read at speed and from a reasonable distance.