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Park-Produced Publications
Cable Mountain Draw Works site bulletin

Cable Mountain Draw Works site bulletin, Zion National Park, Utah.

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Introduction

In the early 1980s the Publications Department of Harpers Ferry Center initiated the site bulletin program as a way to help parks supplement their official brochures and give them more flexibility in managing information. The system was updated in 2001 as part of the NPS Graphics Identity Program. Many NPS publications did not reflect the consistency of style necessary for a strong public identity. By applying new graphic guidelines (including standard typographic treatments, use of distinctive bars and rules, and a more frequent application of the Arrowhead), NPS publications and other media express greater organizational unity and purpose. The program also includes booklets, reports, office forms, business cards, CD-ROM labels, and signs, and will include accessibility guidelines for printed materials in the near future.

A site bulletin is generally a black and white publication produced in-house by the park. Site bulletins use standard paper sizes to create folded brochures and rack cards. They can address a number of topics, issues, and managerial problems that change frequently, and are the ideal medium for seasonal information. They are quickly and cheaply produced and easily reprinted by the park staff. Site bulletins add a handy and versatile tool to a park’s interpretive and management programs.

Site bulletins also promote use of consistent graphic standards in the National Park Service to maintain an organizational identity. Like our brochures and handbooks, site bulletins are set up on a grid system to make designs easier to produce and to give them structure and coherence. Site bulletins integrate well into the system of color park brochures, handbooks, and posters. Since the early 1980s the traveling public has become familiar with the graphic language of this system. This website goes into practical detail about the steps you can follow, using standard computer hardware and software, to create site bulletins for your park. Much of it can be applied to the rest of the family of publications as well.

Review by HFC Staff

Harpers Ferry Center is always glad to review your park-produced publications. We’ll look at them with an eye to your local needs and to National Park Service graphic standards. These standards play the same role in interpretive media that the National Park Service uniform plays for personal contacts with the public. A strong visual identity speaks with authority, conveys an organizational unity, and creates expectations of high quality in information provided to the public. NPS Graphic Identity Program »

Printing Your Publication

If you need advice about printing your publications, contact Harpers Ferry Center Publications Specialist Donna Huffer (phone: 304-535-6015; email: Donna_Huffer@nps.gov).

Links to the publication Information Design, Tools & Techniques for Park-Produced Publications (104 pages - PDF) are available throughout this site for those wishing more detailed discussions about specific subjects.

  
    Using a Design System »    
Author: Harpers Ferry Center
Last Updated: Tuesday, 16-Jan-2007 10:29:39 Eastern Standard Time
http://www.nps.gov/hfc/products/pubs/pubs-sb-01.htm