The school club has a job for Open Day: make signposts for the library, the head teacher's office, the toilets and the football pitch. Keza and Byiringiro will design them on the computer, print them, and fix them to wooden boards.
"Let's use 3D letters," says Byiringiro. "But first," says Keza, "let's make sure people can read them!"
1Plan on paper first
Before you touch the computer, make a small, quick sketch, called a thumbnail. Decide:
The message: one to three words, for example LIBRARY.
The arrow: which way does it point?
A symbol: a simple picture, such as an open book.
Two or three colours with strong contrast, for example a dark green board with white letters.
2Build the signpost, step by step
Set up the page. Start a new drawing and turn the page to landscape (wide), because most signposts are wider than they are tall. Look for the page settings in the File, Page or Document menu.
The board. Draw a rectangle that covers most of the page and fill it with your dark colour. Many programs let you round its corners. Draw a second, slightly smaller rectangle inside it with no fill and a thin white line, to make a border.
The words. Click the text tool, click on the board and type your word in capitals. Select the word, then choose a bold sans serif font, such as Arial Black, Liberation Sans Bold or DejaVu Sans Bold. Make it big, for example size 72 or more, and colour it white. Move it to the centre of the board.
The 3D shadow. Copy and paste the word. Colour the copy very dark (almost black). Move it a little down and to the right with the arrow keys, and send it behind the white word (Arrange, then Send Backward; in Inkscape, Object, then Lower). Paint cannot send things behind, so there you type the dark copies first and the white word last, on top. Repeat with three or four more copies, each one a step further, and the letters look solid, like the painted wagon from the first lesson. In LibreOffice Draw, Edit, then Duplicate, can make all the copies in one go.
Arrow and symbol. Many programs have ready-made arrow shapes (look for "block arrows" in LibreOffice Draw or the shapes list in Paint). In Inkscape, draw the arrow with the polygon or pen tool, clicking its seven corners. Build the symbol from simple shapes: two slanted rectangles make an open book.
Group and check. Select everything and group it. Then zoom out until the sign is small on the screen, or stand three big steps away from the computer. Can you still read it? Check the spelling, and ask a friend to check it too.
Save and export. Save your file, then export it as a picture (PNG) or a PDF so it can be printed.
3From screen to signpost
Print the sign on A4 paper, or on bigger paper if your school has it.
Glue it onto stiff card or a thin wooden board.
Cover it with clear plastic or wide clear tape, so rain cannot spoil it.
Fix it to a post or a wall at eye level, where people see it before they need to turn.
4No computer or printer?
Make the same signpost by hand. Draw a light grid on card, sketch your 3D block letters from the first lesson, and paint the board, the letters and the arrow with poster paint or natural colours: charcoal for black, white clay for white, red soil for red. A poster, such as one for umuganda or a school event, uses exactly the same rules.
5Judge your signpost
Can a friend read it in three seconds from the back of the room?
Are there five words or fewer, with an arrow or a symbol?
Is the contrast strong, and are the 3D shadows all the same direction?
Is every word spelled correctly?
Tip
Plan, board, words, shadow, arrow, check
Six steps from a thumbnail sketch to a sign on the wall. The last step, checking, is the one people forget.
✦
Try it yourself
Try each one first, then tap Show answer to check.
1
What is a thumbnail in design?
Show answerHide answer
Answer: A small, quick sketch made to plan a design before you start the real one.
2
Which kind of font is best for a signpost?
Show answerHide answer
Answer: A bold sans serif font, such as Arial Black or Liberation Sans Bold.
3
How do you give the words a 3D shadow on the computer?
Show answerHide answer
Answer: Copy the word, colour the copy very dark, move it a little down and to the right, send it behind, and repeat with a few more copies.
4
Why should you zoom out before you print?
Show answerHide answer
Answer: To see whether the sign can still be read when it looks small, as it will from far away.
5
Make it: Design a signpost for a place in your school, with 3D letters, an arrow and a symbol. Print it or paint it, and ask a friend to judge it with the checklist.
What you learned today
Plan with a thumbnail: message, arrow, symbol and colours.
On the computer: landscape page, board, bold white words, dark copies behind for a 3D shadow, arrow, symbol, group.
Zoom out and check spelling, then export, print, protect from rain and fix at eye level.
Sources and credits
Written by Ganzaa, including the diagrams and the exercises (Try it yourself and the practice questions).
Quick check
Put the steps for making a signpost on the computer in order.
