Wednesday, October 28, 2009

5 Sign Schedule Pitfalls to Avoid

Sign projects rarely fail because of poor type kerning, but I know from hard experience that they routinely self-destruct as a result of poor documentation and ineffective communication. At the heart of an effective signage documentation package is the Sign Message Schedule. Here are 5 pitfalls to avoid when compiling your sign schedule.

1. Too much or too little data. You want to be like Goldilocks here and get it "just right". Some sign schedules don’t contain enough information to be useful, while others contain far too much. The sign schedule is part of a package of information that also includes sign location plans, sign type specifications, and drawings. Use the various components of the package to your benefit.

Unique sign type identifiers can act as a reference between sign specifications and the sign schedule, and unique sign numbers link between the sign schedule and the sign location plan. In this way all the pieces of documentation work together, and you can avoid cramming sign type specifications onto the sign schedule, or displaying the entire sign message on your location plan. Too much data on any given piece of the documentation generally results in confusion, not clarity.

Conversely, too little information in your sign schedule does a disservice to the fabricator, installer, and most importantly, the client. At a minimum, an effective sign schedule should contain:
  • Sign Number: differentiates individual signs and can be used to identify specific installation locations.
  • Sign Type designation: references the constructions specifications for each individual sign.
  • Quantity: defines the quantity for identical signs.
  • Sign Message section: contains the actual text, and other graphic content that is to appear on each individual sign.
  • Notes section: provides special instructions or information that pertains to an individual sign.
Sign message schedules for complex and large projects can also incorporate additional types of information such as level designations, building names, or project phase indicators. This additional data can be helpful in managing large sign message schedules.

2. Inaccurate data. This is pretty obvious, but if you want accurately fabricated signs, you need an accurate sign schedule. Reminds me of a conversation that I had with a sign buyer and a sign product manufacturer about the importance of accurate sign schedules. The sign buyer said, "What’s the big deal? You know what we want. So what if not every ‘i’ is dotted and not every ‘t’ is crossed?". The sign product manufacturer responded, "That’s fine, as long as you don’t mind if the signs we fabricate are missing some dotted i’s and crossed t’s."

The point is that ultimately the quality of your sign schedule has a direct effect on the quality of the fabricated product. Leaving it up to the fabricator to figure things out will lead to errors, changes, and lost time and money. Save everyone headaches and provide an accurate sign schedule.

3. Inconsistency. This is related to the accuracy issue I just discussed. All sign projects have stakeholders that must be informed and engaged. This requires that the sign schedule be available in a form that is easily read and reviewed. This review can be aided by displaying your messages in a consistent way and adopting standard conventions.

For example, present the sign messages so that they are capitalized, punctuated, and formatted, as closely as is practical, to their appearance on the actual sign. In the case of multi-column signs this is not always possible, but let that be the exception to a well-followed rule. Also, be consistent in the presentation of non-text sign messages. For example, if you need to indicate the presence of a graphic symbol, and you choose to do this by putting a descriptive phrase such as "Male Toilet Symbol" with brackets or parenthesis, [Male Toilet Symbol], then follow that format consistently throughout your sign schedule.

4. Inflexible format. Death, taxes, and changing sign schedules — all certainties. Trying to create sign schedules in a word processing program is a recipe for disaster. At the very least, create your sign schedule in a spreadsheet program where you can easily sort and rearrange your data. Better yet, use a database or a purpose-built program like Identia Online to manage your sign schedule, and make changes faster and easier.

5. No linkage to sign location plan. The big disadvantage to creating your sign schedule in a spreadsheet or database, and then doing a sign location plan in a drawing program, is that the two pieces of documentation are not linked together. A change, or addition, in one often needs to be reflected in the other. On large projects this can lead to a lot of time wasted spent checking and rechecking sign schedules and location markers. How often have you asked yourself "Am I sure that every sign on my sign schedule is reflected on my location plans, and am I certain that every marker on my plans corresponds to an entry on my sign schedule?" Using a single software tool — such as Identia Online — to create both your sign schedule and sign location plan saves time and headaches.

Monday, October 26, 2009

What is a Browser?

In a random survey conducted by Google this summer in Times Square, only 8% of respondents knew the answer to this question. Google recently put together this nice little video on this topic.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Using Identia Online: Donor Recognition

In the current issue of "Sign & Digital Graphics", John Bosio (associate principal at architecture firm RMJM and director of MERJE, the firm's EGD practice) writes about how to create a donor recognition program. Identia Online can be a valuable tool for managing donor recognition programs, as there is lots of vital information to track and organize (names, corporate identities, class years, etc.). Also, this information often requires many levels of detailed review. Using Identia Online's project information management features makes this process easier and alleviates many of the issues related with donor recognition programs.

Click here to read the article.

Redesigning the Stop Sign

What if a corporation was in charge of inventing stop signs? A funny parody on the designer-client relationship.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Using Identia Online: Presentations


At a recent job meeting, I had to report to the contractor’s site trailer for a final review of the sign schedule and sign location plans for a very large high school. It was daunting to contemplate flipping back and forth through 22 location plans and a 90 page sign schedule to find the scattered signs in question. Then I thought of taking just a laptop so I could review all of the documents at the meeting using Identia Online. A quick call to the contractor to confirm that they had Wi-Fi in the trailer and I was all set.

I decided to take a colleague with me - the person who had actually created the sign schedule. Being knowledgeable about the plans and the sign types, she could quickly scroll thru to the location in question, while I did the talking. She zoomed in on the plan so that it was large enough for everyone to see on the screen. Location markers were moved around, some signs were deleted, and some text was revised – right there at the meeting.

The fire marshal wanted stand pipe ID signs to be added and the architect could look over our shoulders and show us exactly where to place the markers on the plan. It went incredibly fast, and it was great to arrive at the meeting with just a slender laptop case, not burdened with armloads of binders and rolls of drawings. At the end, the senior project manager complimented us on how organized our presentation was.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Architectural Signage, Environmental Graphics, and IPD


An article about IPD, or Integrated Project Delivery, appears in the September 2009 issue of Architect magazine, and I and was struck by its relevance to architectural signage, and environmental graphics. The importance of coordinating the development of sign and environmental graphic programs with the larger overall architectural design, engineering, and general construction process is self-evident, if not easily achieved. So here is a movement within the AEC community that is focused on increasing collaboration between project team members, transparent transfer of information, and risk sharing.

How might the work we do, and the processes we utilize as EGD professionals be altered or improved as we adapt to his larger schema?

For those interested in learning more about Integrated Project Delivery, the AIA has published a 62 page IPD Guide that is available at no cost.

Image credit: Jana Kollarova