In today’s fast-paced world, communications take many forms, from the orbiting satellites that we never see, sending vast amounts of information back and forth. To the never-ending cell phones, iPads and other electronic devices we see and use every day. With all the electronic creations of modem man, the written words and symbols used as signs are still one of the oldest forms of outdoor business branding advertising or visual communication.
Many hundreds of years ago, even this simple form of communication as advertising on public buildings where not used widely. The local city churches and meeting houses were identified by the shape, or design of the building. When you saw the spiral peak, you knew it was a church; it did not need to be identified as such. You always knew where the entrances and exits were. They were easily located and familiar to all. So no signage was needed to find your way around.. Craftsmen’s shops, such as the metal smith, were identified by a symbol of their trade; like a horse shoe or anvil. The few merchant signs communicated simple messages, you see them in the old westerns, “Saloon” was a popular message or “Hotel”, they were always generic in nature, maybe mentioning the name of the town.
However, as society became increasingly complex, and two or three saloons would compete to stand out from the crowd. For business owners generic slogans could no longer provide the quantity of information needed to help them attract attention and potential customers.. In an attempt to meet the need, signs began multiplying, often creating a kind of visual pollution, and an eye sore.
Now as time progresses, we begin to see city planners, developers, architects, designers, and mall owners, a way to control the visual chaos with total signing systems. An effective signage and graphics system functions not as a separate entity but as an integral part of its environment. Carefully planned signs communicate essential information while also enhancing the architectural environment. Graphics in the form of painted murals, flags, and banners, morphing into the visual digital graphics we see at ballparks or driving down the freeway. The digital aspect of signage can extend the esthetic scope of the sign system, by adding color, movement, and vitality.
In an area of signage and graphic design that is constantly growing and changing swiftly, there is a need to provide guidelines where none now exists. Guidelines and sign methods need to be successful, yet should also be sufficiently flexible to be applicable to any project. Sign Design is not art, nor is it science; it involves aspects of both. Designs should be an effective blending of creative intuition, logical analysis based on past facts and experiences, and technical knowhow. The result of this synthesis can be signage and graphics programs that communicate efficiently while enhancing your overall business-branding environment.
In an area of design, which is growing and changing swiftly, there is a need to provide guidelines where none now exists. The intent is to establish the guidelines in the form of a process and methods which have been found to be successful, and which are sufficiently flexible to be applicable to any project. Design is not art, nor is it science; it involves aspects of both. Design should be an effective blending of creative intuition, logical analysis, and technical knowhow. The result of this synthesis can be outdoor signs and graphics programs that communicate efficiently while enhancing the architectural environment.