Technical guides from our sign specialists.
Reference sheets we produced for our own customers — ADA sign regulations, ARDOT interstate logo specifications, Arkansas boat dock safety law, color and contrast, and how to prepare artwork files. Free to download, no form to fill in.
Know the rules before you order
Three guides covering the sign regulations Arkansas businesses most often get wrong.
ADA Sign Regulations
Who must comply and who is exempt, the difference between tactile and visual signs, and the physical requirements — 1/32" raised characters, domed braille dots, 48" mounting height, latch-side placement, and non-glare contrast.
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ARDOT Interstate Logo Program
Specifications for official Arkansas Department of Transportation logo signs — mainline signs at 36" × 60" and ramp signs at 18" × 30", using 5052-H38 aluminum with Type III high-intensity reflective sheeting.
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Boat Dock & Marina Safety Signs
Make sure your dock sign complies with Arkansas law. Recommended specification: 12" × 18", ACM or aluminum, reflective vinyl copy area, 0.75" radius corners, sans serif type.
Download PDFGet the design right the first time
Five guides on color, contrast, layout, and the artwork files a sign shop actually needs from you.
Mastering Signage Design
Communication at a glance — the 10-foot rule, the 3–5 second rule, leaving 30–40% negative space, hierarchy, viewing height, and three methods for optical centering so a layout never looks bottom-heavy.
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Color Tips: Contrast & Readability
Eighteen color combinations tested and ranked for visibility at distance, from most to least readable — plus the combinations that have no effective contrast at all and should never go on a sign face.
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Mastering Color Theory
The color wheel, classic harmonies from monochromatic through triadic, the 60–30–10 rule for applying a palette, color psychology by sector, and the anatomy of hue, saturation, value, tint, shade, and tone.
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Defining Color Modes
RGB versus CMYK and why a screen color cannot always be printed, plus HEX, LAB, and grayscale — and where the Pantone Matching System fits when you need exact brand color across different printers and materials.
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Image File Types in Graphic Design
Vector versus raster and why it decides whether your logo can be scaled to a billboard. Covers .AI, .EPS, .PDF and .SVG against JPEG, PNG and TIFF, and the 72 DPI web versus 300 DPI print rule.
Download PDFOur graphics department will handle the artwork.
These guides exist because getting color, contrast, and file formats right before production saves everyone time. If you would rather hand it over, our graphics department develops the design and specifications, and we take it from artwork through permitting to a licensed installation anywhere in Arkansas.
