Neon Signs Rules Relaxed

The world economic downturn means that governing bodies are reviewing how they can help businesses to survive - as reported here in OHIO. Signs were the topic of choice at a Tuesday, July 7, City Council meeting, though debate over “regulating good taste” eventually led to the gutting of legislation governing neon signs in Uptown Oxford. The city’s Historic & Architectural Preservation Commission recommended limiting businesses to one 12-by-18 inch neon sign, but Council opted to completely remove requirements dealing with neon signs on the interior of buildings.

Considering the current economic climate, business owners should be able to explore any potential avenues available for drawing in business. “If you’re going to kick somebody while they’re down, why don’t you just step on their skull while you’re at it?” said a spokeman from the counicl. Council members also stripped the ordinance of a somewhat subjective requirement that would have required all exterior signs to be easy to read and maintain a simple design, color and materials.

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New Jersey Signs Point The Way

Visitors to the beachfront community of Seaside Heights New Jersey should have no trouble finding their way around this weekend with the help of a number of new signs recently installed by the borough. "The new signs incorporate a logo designed by our business improvement district and brightly coloured icons that truly say "this is a fun place to be,' " said Maria Maruca, executive director of the Seaside Heights Business Improvement District.

The signs are at two entrances to the borough: on Route 35 North, just before the exit to Seaside Heights, for visitors from Toms River and Seaside Park; and at the intersection of Route 35 South and Central Avenue, for those coming from Ortley Beach and other points north. Two additional signs may be found at Hamilton Avenue and Bay Boulevard, near an Ocean Ride bus stop; and in the center of the borough, at Grant and Central avenues.

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Village Signs

A village sign in some areas of England is a symbol of a village's history, heritage, or culture. They differ from regular road signs and other signage in that they are decorative, with the designs usually depicting some aspect of the history of the village. Sometimes made of cast iron or carved in wood, the designs are often made by the local community. The tradition of village signs started in Norfolk early in the 20th century when Edward VII suggested having signs to focus the identity of the villages around the Sandringham Estate.

In 1929 Harry Carter, an art and woodwork master at Hamonds Grammar School (which now serves as the sixth form buildings for Hamond's high school in Swaffham), carved a sign for his home town. When he died in 1983 he had carved over 200 town and village signs. While the practice is now widespread, decorative village signs are still most common in Norfolk and in the neighbouring county of Suffolk. Some village signs are actually sculptures like the one at Capel St.Andrew, in Suffolk, which is constructed from scrap metal.

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Urgent Signage Review Called For

Scottish Councillors have considered the Scottish Government's response to their call for greater use of Gaelic signage on trunk routes in the Highlands.Highland Council's Gaelic committee wrote to Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson strongly urging him to install bilingual signs on the A9, A96 and A82. However Mr Stevenson was quoted as saying that the impact of existing bilingual signage would have to be reviewed first. The Gaelic committee wrote to Mr Stevenson asking that the review should not be seen as a barrier to the expansion of bilingual signage

Road signs in both Gaelic and English have been requested by the local authority on key routes to and from the region. It has also asked that the Scottish Government to give "urgent consideration" to bilingual signage on the A9 from Perth northwards.

The Scottish Government said it was seeking to "fast track" this review. The report from the review of existing trunk road signage was not expected until 2011.

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Sandwich Signs Get The Crunch

As reported in the US press today .. in North Adams, Massachusetts— The Planning Board is taking a long hard look at both shops and eateries around the city because of what has been perceived as a proliferation of sidewalk signs over the past few years. Many of the sandwich signs appear to be unapproved and are infact illegal, said Chairman Michael Leary, who requested authorization to craft a letter at last Monday's Planning Board meeting to be sent to errant businesses.

The letter would be sent to business owners in the city who do have sandwich board-style signs that were not approved as part of their signage package or not approved afterward ... asking them to come before the board to have them approved as they should have been." Public safety is of paramount concern given that some of the signs in public ways. City Administrative Officer Jay Green said other downtowns, such as Northampton and Rockport, have had to deal with the issue as well.

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Breakthrough In New Signage Technology

It was announced today a team of top researchers at the University of California, Riverside has been able to fabricate microscopic polymer beads that can change colors instantly with the application of an external magnetic field. The most interesting aspect of the color changing properties of the polymer beads is that the color change can be reversed. The beads are being looked at closely for use in displays to make rewritable signage, posters, paper, and labels. The material could also be used to make magnetically activated security features and environmentally friendly pigments for paint and cosmetics.

The beads are technically magnetochromatic microspheres and have excellent structural stability according to the researchers. The microspheres are also very compatible with multiple types of dispersion media including water, alcohol, hexane, and polymer solutions. This allows the beads to retain their ability to be magnetically tunable in color when dispersed inside a variety of chemicals.

The color change of the microspheres is accomplished by simply changing the orientation of the particles. The microspheres themselves are created by mixing magnetic iron oxide particles into a resin that starts as a liquid and hardens with exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

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Las Vegas Neon Museum

In an barren yard not too far from the world famous Las Vegas strip that spawned them is a huge smiling duckling, a giant pool player, towering slippers, and a pair of immense golden nuggets. These, and more, are the still proud remains of vintage neon signs that once beckoned visitors. No longer wanted by the businesses that originally commissioned them, they are carefully propped up and stacked throughout the two lots that make up the Boneyard of the Neon Museum in Las Vegas.

Vegas is known for imploding much of its history, but the tangle of old icons that makes up the Boneyard, and the restored signs throughout Fremont Street Experience show that someone cared.

The Neon Museum was started back in 1997 with the simple goal of collecting, refurbishing and exhibiting that classic Las Vegas art form – the neon sign. A tour of The Boneyard makes it clear that the advertising has become not only a part of modern popular culture, but a form of public instant art. If the Neon Museum gets its way, these iconic signs will one day return to their former glory, and provide us with a glimmer of the vintage Las Vegas.

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Crackdown On Signage

As reported recently in the North Carolina press - illegal signage can cause problems. Folding sidewalk sign boards. Strategic street-corner signs. Intersection direction signs. All are tools of the trade some Southport business owners passionately defended this week as the city's sign code came under official review. But city officials say a contagion of sign clutter is making Southport streets unattractive and unsafe. And, they say, many of the signs are illegal under the city's sign code.

Four business owners, all defending their promotional signs, spoke during the public comment section of Southport Board of Aldermen's Thursday meeting. The backlash came just two days after sign ordinance enforcement was discussed by the Southport Planning Board.

"We are talking about something which is extremely sensitive," said Phillippe Arroyas, developer of The Cottages at Price's Creek.

Arroyas said that even though he knows his signs are in the city's right of way, they help guide people to his business, which is not on the main thoroughfare.

"It is very bad timing for this," he said of limiting signs during the summer tourist season and in a struggling economy. Arroyas said he used to employ 40 people building houses, but now he employs just six. "I have $5 million worth of property out there, and I will go bankrupt if I cannot advertise."

Other Southport business owners expressed concern about how, exactly, enforcement officials will decide which signs to allow and which signs to pull.

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Railway Signage To Aid The Less Able

It has been reported in the Indian press this week that a new project to upgrade the signage at the countrys 1500 railway stations has been agreed. With a view to giving convenience to physically challenged people, the Railways have decided to provide special facilities in over 1,500 stations in the country. Special facilities like access ramps, reserved parking slots, low height water taps and suitable toilets for differently-abled people will be developed in phases at important railway stations, a senior Railway Ministry official said.

"The decision in this regard has been taken by the Railway Board. We have earmarked 1,560 stations for the purpose and the work at all these B-Category stations -- most of them in state capitals and important cities -- will be completed by the end of 2010," he said.

Railways have nearly 7,000 stations spread in 16 zones. Non-slippery walk way for the handicapped and special signage for the blind will also be put up at the stations. "The Board has also decided to have 'May I help you booths' especially to guide and assist them in case of need," the officer said.

Sounds like a really great idea.

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Woman Injured In Horrific Seagull Attack

Signs are normally there for a reason - so really you ignore them at your peril. Sometimes the consequences can be quite scary as this report in the Dorest Echo reveals. A grandmother was battered and bruised during a bizarre seagull attack just a few yards from her Weymouth home. Apparently three birds repeatedly dive-bombed Delphine Mutch as she tried to get home from a nearby doctor’s surgery.

But she tripped, landing face first on the pavement, where the birds – described as ‘something out of Hitchcock classic scary film’ – continued to attack and peck her as she cowered helpless on the floor. Eventually, reportedly covered in blood, she managed to stumble to nearby OJos hairdressers to raise the alarm.

“When one of the girls heard my calls for help she came to the door and said, ‘Have you been beaten up?’” said the 49-year-old.

A spokesman for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council sympathised with Delphine’s plight, but added: “We put up signage and do all we can to discourage people feeding the seagulls. Unfortunately at this time of year, because they are nesting, they can be aggressive.”

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Better Bike Lane Signage

As reported in the US press better bike lane signage is a low-cost, high-impact solution for Urban Cyclists. Project 'Better Bikeways' is causing quiet a stir. While the rest of us spin our wheels waiting for that infrastructure cash to kick in so that we can have a smooth new bike path to ride on, Los Angeles-based designer Joseph Prichard has a much better idea-one that not only gets bikers on the road, but makes them safer too.

His proposal, Better Bikeways, calls for a simple, cost-effective overhaul of bikeway signage instead of the pricer options of paving new routes or marking dedicated lanes on the streets. Plus, it raises awareness for car and motor cycledrivers who may not know they're sharing the road with two-wheelers. "Unfortunately all too often the role of signage is overlooked during the design of new bicycle routes," he writes in his introduction.

Even better, he says, good-looking signs can work as an advocacy campaign for biking alternatives. "Effective widespread signage can be a powerful tool in convincing people to take up cycling as a mode of transportation." Here are some of the concepts presented in his signage system:

Navigation signs function like bus stop maps, pointing out major streets, neighborhoods and lengths of routes. Connection signage points out how far away riders are to other routes and distances to bus and Metro stops. Caution signs are attention-getting and use iconography that's vastly different than other street signage. Points of interest signs include resources for bikers like repair shops and cultural institutions.

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Iconic signs : Grain Belt Beer Minneapolis

This has to be one of the most iconic signs of the US Midwest hearlands. The Minneapolis Brewing Company rebounded in 1933 in the form of long-neck amber bottles with an updated logo,"The Friendly Beer With the Friendly Flavor". The company developed new packaging to meet the increasing consumer demand that changed since the pre-Prohibition days. Consumers wanted an easily refridgerated brew as more and more drinkers now consumed at home rather than in taverns. Over the years, Grain Belt experimented with several different bottle designs and advertisting techniques.

Around 1938, the Grain Belt logo began to feature the trademark bottle cap logo behind a red diamond. A few years later, the giant Grain Belt sign was built on the west side of Nicollet Island along the Mississippi River near downtown Minneapolis. For years, the billboard flashed the letters in sequence: "G-R-A-I-N B-E-L-T B-E-E-R". The neon sign hasn't cast a glow over the city since the late 1980s, but the vintage sign continues to be a popular fixture in the city.

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'Apprentice' winner to join Sugar's digital signage arm

Yasmina Siadatan, the latest winner of the BBC show 'The Apprentice' will join Sir Alan Sugar's digital signage business, Amscreen, to help promote their digital signage offerings within the healthcare sector. Last year's winner of the show, Lee McQueen, also works for the same digital signage company as a development director.

The company was previously known as Comtech M2M, and was bought by Sugar in 2008 to be a wider part of his Amstrad empire. His son Simon Sugar is the CEO of Amscreen.

The company was recently appointed by BP's UK retail business as its exclusive digital signage partner

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Digital Signage Storms the Channel

Digital signage is one of the hottest plays in the channel these days – and it’s poised for hotter times ahead thanks to Tech Data expanding its specialized business unit (SBU) for digital signage software and hardware. The most significant part of the expanded SBU is Tech Data’s new distribution deals with market leaders HANNspree North America, Hitachi Home Electronics, and Vivitek Corp. However, the expansion also covers the addition of Panasonic commercial displays; digital signage bundles from leading vendor partners; and nationwide installation support services through TDOnCall.

“Our expansion is in response to growing demand from our customers for greater product choice and depth of service,” said Wendy Linsky, Tech Data’s vice president of peripherals product marketing. “Digital signage is among the fastest growing technology segments in the channel.”

Digital signs are used in both public places (train and bus stations, retail stores, etc.) and private spaces (corporate offices) to convey information or advertisements to a targeted audience. Digital signage can be in the form of LCDs, LEDs, plasma screens or even images projected onto a wall.
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Neon - A Modern History

The Audi advertising slogan that was as brilliantly simple as it was ingenious: Vorsprung durch Technik! - this has actually evolved over the years and in 1980, it finally starts to appear more and more frequently when the Audi quattro is launched. This marketing era also marks a page in the Neon Sign history books with the Audi marketing machine pushing the current Neon technology to its then limits.

It features in the advertising rather than in the sales documentation. And it is advertising which sends out a very clear signal in May 1984. Europe’s largest neon advertising sign at that time is erected atop a high-rise building directly next to the Ingolstadt North exit of the A9 motorway from Nuremberg to Munich: a reddish-brown Audi oval bearing the slogan “Vorsprung durch Technik”. The lettering tips the scales at seven tonnes, while the trademark weighs four tonnes. 7,500 watts of power are needed to let Audi shine out for all to see at night too and to proclaim exactly where leadership through technology has its roots.

From October 1986 onwards, following the launch of the third generation of the Audi 80 with its fully galvanised body and styling that had been perfected in the wind tunnel, the words “Vorsprung durch Technik” once again make their way into the sales brochures and on-board literature. Ever since, the Audi claim has been an intrinsic element of the corporate identity that is now set in stone – perfection just can’t be bettered.

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National Signage Conference Announced

Everyone associated with the signage industry is invited to participate in the National Signage Research and Education Conference (NSREC) at the University of Cincinnati (UC), October 13-15, sponsored by the Signage Foundation, Inc. (SFI) in collaboration with the UC Colleges of Business and Design, Architecture, Art and Planning. The conference is designed for planners, governmental regulators, appraisers, marketing/branding specialists, sign makers and their suppliers, businesses that use signage, and those students and faculty who study signage and its impact on the business, social and visual environments.

The conference will provide an important venue for discussion of on-premise signage issues and concerns in positive, non-confrontational and research-driven dialogue.

Peer-reviewed research will be presented at the conference with numerous opportunities to interact with researchers on specific topics and their implications.

The UC is uniquely qualified to participate in these discussions because of the recent establishment of the James S. Womack/Gemini Chair of Signage and Visual Communications and the Terence M. Fruth/Gemini Chair of Signage Design and Community Planning. Both chairs were established through donations from Jim and Sharon Weinel, Gemini, Inc. and are the basis for the university's vision to become the nation's first center for signage

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Frankfort Chicago Greenlights Neon Signs For Local Businesses

As reported in the local Chicago press Frankfort’s long-standing prohibition of neon signs was overturned in 4-3 vote by the Village Board Monday at the request of business owners seeking attention from customer. Village officials, however, reassured residents that Frankfort isn’t likely to be mistaken for Las Vegas.

The town’s 51-page sign ordinance will be revised to permit businesses to display one neon “open” sign as long as it is no larger than 2 feet by 2 feet. The signs “cannot flicker, flash or change color” and can display only the word, “open,” in one color, Trustee Mike Stevens said.

Business owners, who said “open” signs are “”vital in the economic downturn,” first brought their concerns to the Plan Commission and the Land Use and Policy Committee, which recommended allowing them, Stevens said.

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The Importance Of Signage

Melanie McIntosh is a Retail Consultant and the founder of Inspire Retail Solutions, a British Columbia firm that helps retailers create strong, professional business images that attract customers. She made the following remarks in a recent online article.
In this day and age of modern computers, ink jet printers and desktop publishing programs, I am still amazed to see store owners that put little effort into producing quality signage for their stores.
Signage is one of the most important ways to convey your message to your customers. Your store name, promotions, pricing, and product information may all be conveyed through signage. Are you getting these messages across effectively?
As a customer walks by your store, you have about 3 seconds to let them know what they will find inside. What message are you sending? Professional signage will attract the customer, provide just the right amount of information and invite the customer to enter your store or try your product.
Unprofessional signage is confusing to the customer and sends a negative message about your store and product. Common problems include too many signs, ambiguous or misleading messages, spelling errors or signs that are difficult to read. I don't know about you, but I avoid stores that have signs littered throughout the store that scream, "SALE! 9.99" and in small print at the bottom they add, "and up."
Allan Bird, MD of Hants and Dorset Signs and Plastics believes that as signage professionals the industry must make every effort to give best advice. He says he encourages his sales staff to take the time needed to ensure the client’s needs are met, and that mediocrity is not acceptable.