5.1 Typography Project requirements.

Typography project requirements are the needs, conditions and limits that shape how text is designed for a particular job, gathered before any font is chosen or layout begun. They come from the client's brief and the project's context, and cover the purpose of the text, the audience, where and how it will be read, the content, the size and medium, brand rules, accessibility needs, budget and deadlines. Clear requirements prevent costly redesigns and ensure the finished typography communicates well in its real setting. Example: before designing wayfinding signs for a county referral hospital, a designer records that signs must be read by patients of all ages, including those with poor sight, from up to 10 metres, in English and Kiswahili, on aluminium panels that match the hospital's brand colours, within a set budget and a six-week deadline.

Key typography project requirements

• Purpose: What the text must achieve, such as guiding visitors, informing, selling or creating a mood.
• Target audience: Who will read the text, including their age, language, literacy and any visual impairments.
• Medium and output: Whether the text will appear in print, on signage, on screens or on fabricated surfaces, since each has different needs.
• Viewing distance and conditions: How far away, from what angle and in what lighting the text will be read.
• Content: The amount of text, languages used and the kinds of information, such as headings, body text, numbers and symbols.
• Format and size: The dimensions of the page, board, sign or screen that the text must fit.
• Brand guidelines: Fonts, colours and rules the client already uses and expects to be followed.
• Accessibility and regulations: Legibility, contrast and any standards for signage, such as fire exit and accessible facility signs.
• Budget and timeline: Funds for design, fonts, materials and production, and the deadlines for each stage.
• Deliverables: The final files and items to be handed over, such as print-ready PDFs, sign schedules and font licences.

Requirements by type of typography project

Sources of project requirements

• Client brief: The written or verbal instructions from the client describing what they need.
• Site visit: Observing the space, lighting, viewing distances and wall surfaces where text will be placed.
• Brand manual: The client's guide to logos, fonts, colours and layout rules.
• Stakeholder interviews: Conversations with users and staff to understand how they will read and use the text.
• Standards and regulations: Building codes and safety rules that affect sign content and placement.
• Supplier information: Limits from printers and sign makers on materials, sizes and finishes.

Steps for establishing typography project requirements

1. Receive and read the brief: Note the client's goals, deliverables and deadlines.
2. Meet the client: Ask questions to clarify the purpose, audience and preferences.
3. Visit the site: Measure surfaces, check lighting and note viewing distances.
4. Gather brand materials: Collect the brand manual, logos and approved fonts.
5. List the content: Collect all text, languages and symbols that must appear.
6. Identify constraints: Record budget, materials, regulations and production limits.
7. Write a requirements document: Summarise all requirements in a clear checklist.
8. Get client approval: Have the client sign off the requirements before starting design.

Worked example: budgeting a typography project

Total cost = (design hours × hourly rate) + font licence cost + production cost

A designer quotes for a signage package for a children's home: 30 design hours at Ksh 2,500 per hour, a font licence of Ksh 18,000 and sign production of Ksh 145,000.

Total cost = (30 × 2,500) + 18,000 + 145,000

Total cost = 75,000 + 18,000 + 145,000

Total cost = Ksh 238,000