Interpretive Signage Style Guide
Interpretive signs are a great tool for helping our visitors learn about our natural resources and understand the opportunities provided in the outdoors. To assist in the creation of new interpretive signs, and to help ensure all new signage on NGPC sites look similar and align with our agency’s branding, a team from the Wildlife, Parks, Fisheries and Communications divisions worked together to develop a style guide and templates for signage. Use this guide to start the process and, when ready, utilize agency graphic designers to help design your project. This guide may also be used when working with outside vendors.
Click the Style Guide below to see the templates available.
Sign Acquisition Process
- Develop content
- Contact Regional Superintendent for project approval and assignment of project manager.
- Select template from Interpretive Style Guide and/or select design from the existing signs options shown below.
- Collect required information, i.e., text, photos or graphics. Text should be written in a 8th grade reading level. Check reading level here.
- Submit text to Bob Hanover or Regional Superintendent for approval. You may also consider having someone from the Fish and Wildlife Education division review the content.
- Request design
- After content is approved, submit sign design request to Communications Administrative Assistant, including project files like text, photos and graphics. Your project will then be assigned to a graphic designer.
- Work with Communications graphic designer to create the digital artwork.
- Finalize
- Work with Regional Superintendent to adhere to current purchasing and procurement regulations.
- Upon final approval from Regional Superintendent, order signage and submit digital artwork to vendor.
Existing Signs
Looking for inspiration? See below for more than 50 examples of existing signs in our parks. These signs can easily be used as is (if appropriate for your area), or modified as needed. The images below are to be used as reference material only. You will need to work with the Communications division to design your signs.
The signs are organized by type of content: wildlife, plants, landscape/ecosystem, conservation management and history/fossils. This collection is a sampling of our signs, not an entire catalog of all our interpretive signs.
Wildlife – Click to view sign examples +
Plants – Click to view sign examples +
Landscapes and Ecosystems – Click to view sign examples +
