Blueprints and Construction Drawings: A Universal Language 13
Lettering.
Lettering is used on construction drawings as a means to provide written information. A construction
sketch or drawing without lettering rarely communicates an adequate description of the object. It is al-
most always necessary to provide additional labels, notes, and dimensions to clarify the size, type of ma-
terials, and location of the component. Drawings are therefore a means of communication of information
to others, and text generally is one of the main mediums to transmit information in the form of notes, ti-
tles, dimensions, etc. Lettering should enhance a drawing by making it easy to interpret and pleasant to
look at; it should not detract from the drawing or be illegible or unsightly to look at. Legibility and consis-
tency are the key ingredients to good lettering. Architectural lettering is often done using all uppercase
letters, and abbreviations are commonly used to save space and drafting time (refer to the abbreviation
list in the Appendix). When necessary, specific notes can be placed close to the item being identified or
connected to it with leader lines.
Although most of the lettering done today on construction drawings is computer-generated, skill in
freehand lettering adds style and individuality to a designer’s work. And in any style of lettering, unifor-
mity is important. This applies to height, proportion, strength of lines, spacing of letters, and spacing of
words. Letters should be spaced by visually equalizing the background areas between the letterforms
and not by mechanically measuring the distance between the extremities of each letter (Figure 2.3). The
use of light horizontal guidelines (using a hard lead such as a 4H) should be practiced to control the
height of letters, while light vertical or inclined guidelines are required to keep the letters uniform. Words
should be spaced well apart, while letters should be spaced closely within words.
A cursory examination of the various alphabets and typefaces in use today clearly shows that the
vast majority fit into one of four basic classifications as outlined below (Figure 2.4):
- Roman: perfected by the Greeks and Romans and later modernized in the 18th century, the Ro-
man alphabet displays enormous grace and dignity and is considered by many to be the most
elegant typeface family. - Gothic: this alphabet is the base from which our single-stroke technical lettering has evolved and
is the primary style used by the majority of today’s designers. It is an easily read and simply ex-
ecuted style that has been in use for many years as a commercial, block-type letter. Its main
characteristic is the uniformity in width of all of the strokes. Modifications of this letter include in-
clined, squared, rounded, boldface, lightface, and serif. - Script: script alphabets are cursive in nature and resemble handwriting. The lowercase letters
are interconnected when used within words or sentence beginnings. Their characteristic free-
flowing strokes impart a sense of delicacy and personal temperament and are not considered
appropriate for general use in technical drawing. - Text (Old English): originally used by European monks for recording religious manuscripts, this
alphabet is characterized by the use of strokes of different width, due to the original employment
of a flat quill pen. This alphabet is rarely used in modern work and is not considered suitable for
technical drawing because it is difficult to read and draw.
All of the above typefaces can be produced in italic (which has inclined, lightface, and curved char-
acteristics). The character of the typeface used should always be appropriate to the design being pre-
sented. Today there is a large body of well-designed typefaces available in the form of pressure-sensi-
tive dry-transfer sheets in addition to computerized typography.