Identia Blog

Architectural Signage Survey Results

2010-11-03T15:13:00.009-04:00

What We Learned From Our Survey

Earlier this year, we conducted a survey of architectural sign companies as part of an ongoing effort to compile information about the workings of our industry. Our survey focused on the process by which architects design and specify sign programs. Before we share the results, I think it would be helpful to layout some background information.

Everyone in the industry is familiar with sign programs that are designed by EGD firms and architectural signage specialists. While you may quibble with the design of a given program, these sign programs are normally well documented, and they almost always are the result of a serious design effort. We put these projects into Bucket 1.

Those of us who work for architectural sign companies are also familiar with a very different kind of sign program: one which is specified by an architect and incorporated into the general construction documents of a building project, but one which lacks the basic information that is necessary for pricing and fabrication. Sign drawings, message schedules, and location plans are all missing, and the only available information is typically found in a vague and confusing section 10-14-00 specification. This kind of sign program is not the result of a serious design process, and we put jobs of this type into Bucket 2.

The primary purpose of our survey was to try and figure out how often architectural sign companies encounter projects that belong in Bucket 2, and to understand how they handle them.

Here is a quick summary of the survey results:

There were a total of 140 respondents.
There were 109 respondents who do mostly architectural work, interact with architects, prepare bids, and receive deficient specs.
Of these, 55% receive deficient specs more than 50% of the time. 12% reported that they received deficient specs on almost every project that they bid.
86% reported that for the poor specs, that the sign company was responsible for untangling the signage requirements and extracting the necessary information for fabrication and installation.
The biggest negative consequence of the poor signage specifications is that comparing bids was made very difficult.

The survey questions and results can be seen in detail here.

Why Is This Important?

We found an overwhelming number (96%) of architectural sign companies have had experience with sign specifications that are vague, contradictory, or incomplete. We have also discovered this is not an isolated or unusual event: 57% of the survey respondents say that they encounter this type of documentation on more than 50% of the projects they try to bid.

So we know that signage for thousands of building projects in the United States is governed by poorly crafted specifications and construction documents, and sign design responsibility is ceded by the architect to the sign contractor. These projects include schools, libraries, assisted living facilities, condominiums, university dormitories, municipal buildings and many, many more.

What can we infer and deduce from these results?

It is safe to assume that poor specifications result in poor implementations. While there are certainly examples of an architectural sign company dutifully fleshing out poor specifications, we also believe that there are an equal number of – if not more – cases where this is not done. The signage product on these projects typically reflects a lowest common denominator profile of design, cost, and product quality.
Signage is governed by many national, state, and local codes and regulations. Without a sign specialist assisting with a project, it is likely that code compliance errors or omissions are routine occurrences.
Many sign specifications focus only on code-compliant signs, or include vague statement such as "put a sign at every door". These specs omit the many important functional and wayfinding signs are that are critical to the operational characteristics of a building, but go beyond what is required by codes.

What difference does this make to you and your architectural sign company?

No difference at all. This information is meaningless to you, provided you want to ignore the largest untapped sales opportunity for architectural signage in our market.

What do we mean?

These projects that are governed by poor specifications represent thousands of small and medium sized projects executed every year in the US. Instead of receiving poor quality specs for these projects, imagine instead that you were hired to create the design documentation for the architect, or that you engaged in a consultative sales approach with the architect that led to improved specs, or even that you turned projects into design-build jobs for your company.

However, if you want to sell signs for these projects, the results of this survey clearly indicate that the key lies with the architect. The current process by which architects design and specify signage is seriously flawed – possibly because the architect doesn’t understand all of the options available to them. If we as an industry work with architects to change the process, we can change the profile of the signage installed on their projects.

I have never spoken with an architect or a building owner who said they wanted the signage on their project to be shoddy or poorly designed. To the contrary, they want the signage on their projects to be well designed, manufactured to high quality standards, and properly installed.

Our industry's task is to show them how to do it.

More Thoughts about Signs and Design-Build

2010-05-27T12:02:00.009-04:00

We have spent considerable time over the last several months investigating how architectural sign programs are designed and implemented, and it has become increasingly clear that the Design-Build model has a significant role to play in this process. That part of the big picture is in pretty sharp focus, but it’s so easy to get caught up in the nitty-gritty details, you can lose track of exactly why this is a good thing for architectural sign companies. Here are the 3 most important reasons we think you ought to be excited about Design-Build, and why it should be in the mix as you plan for the future.

Conversion rates. I'm not talking about dollars to euros here. I am talking about the number of proposals that are converted into real revenue generating projects. For our small firm in the Boston area, we have converted more than 70% of the Design-Build proposals we submitted over the last 2 years into actual jobs. This compares with a success rate of less than 20% on traditional "Design-Bid-Build" projects that we have pursued. It is true that writing a successful proposal is time-consuming, but the return is nothing short of remarkable. I will go out on a limb here and predict that this model will be adopted by more and more architectural signage companies, and I would not be at all surprised to see EGD firms sticking their toes into the water as well.

Collaboration opportunities. The subject of design-build is a touchy one within the EGD community and understandably so. This is particularly true of projects where the architectural signage company finds itself in a lead role. However, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that there is real potential for collaboration here. From our perspective, the design-build process can only succeed when competent design skills are brought to bear on the project, and although some architectural signage companies have qualified in-house designers, many do not. It would be natural, and mutually beneficial, for qualified signage companies and independent EGD firms to form partnerships for the purpose of executing specific projects.

Playing to your strength. Design-build, as a business model gives you the control you need to leverage your experience and professional expertise so that you can produce great solutions for your customers, while maintaining the profit margins you need to grow. It is an innovative approach to the future that can make your architectural signage business more dynamic and more profitable because it encourages you to focus your efforts on doing what you do best.

Design-Build Article

2010-05-26T15:28:00.005-04:00

Last month, Travis delivered a seminar about the design-build process at the ISA International Sign Expo. His article based on that seminar appears in the current issue of "Sign Media Canada".

» Click here to read the article.

Identia Online & Project Information Management

2010-05-25T10:48:00.003-04:00

Project Information Management (PIM) is critical for the successful delivery of architectural sign projects, and there is a lot of project information to manage: sign message schedules, sign location plans, sign type specifications, construction documents, conceptual drawings, client communications, etc.

The biggest problems with architectural sign projects generally tend to be with product quality and information management. While much attention is paid by sign companies towards addressing the product quality issues, too often PIM is not given the attention it merits. Part of the reason for this is that until now any solution to the PIM problem has been unavailable or too costly. Identia Online is the first purpose-built cost-effective PIM tool for architectural sign projects.

In order to grow your company effectively, correct and efficient PIM will be more important than ever. You cannot afford to have projects slowed or derailed by the inability to manage the important details of each sign. A robust, easy to use, and globally accessible information platform will be necessary in order to accomplish your business growth goals.

Blogs, News, and Other Links: February 2010

2010-02-26T11:17:00.004-05:00

Children's Hospital in Poland

Portfolio of signage, wayfinding, and graphics for a Polish children's hospital [Kasia Kaczmarek]

Healthcare Wayfinding

Thoughts on healthcare wayfinding [GNU Group]

The Value of Glocalization

Thinking locally and nationally when in comes to wayfinding and signage [Corbin Design]

Setting Sights on the Arrow

Article about that most basic but important symbol: the arrow [AIGA]

Changing Landscape of EGD Education

EGD education at universities [Arrows & Icons]

Cisco Simplifies Digital Signage

Cisco offers their Digital Media Creative Services [CNN Money]

Signage at new Red Sox training facility

A look at the signs at the Red Sox new spring training facility in Florida [signweb.com]

Lousy Signage in Well-Designed Buildings

2010-02-02T11:55:00.011-05:00

Our company in the Boston area, like architectural signage firms everywhere, routinely receives bid requests from general contractors for the "signage" subcontract portion of construction projects. Unfortunately, we usually encounter documentation that is so seriously flawed we are unable to prepare an accurate bid.

Here are just a few of the problems we have seen:

The signage documentation package normally includes a written spec, but almost never includes drawings, a sign message schedule, or sign location plans.
The sign contractor is required to submit construction shop drawings for signage, but is given little information about critical variables such as overall size, typestyle, or graphic layout. In other words, design responsibility for the signage elements is assigned to the signage contractor.
The sign contractor is required to compile and submit a message schedule for approval, but there is no indication as to where the text information for specific signs is to be found.
In most instances the specifications on these projects include a blanket statement stipulating overall code compliance, but since they do little to define actual code requirements, the responsibility for code compliance is also assigned to the sign contractor.
Products are specified that do not exist, such as "cast stainless steel letters", or approved manufacturers are listed that are no longer in business.
Confusing signage specifications are created when information is copied from past projects, or directly from product specifications, without making the necessary selections or editing for the projects’ requirements.
These specifications almost never include a quantification of the scope of the signage work, leave bidders to do their own "take-off" based on vague information, and invariably result in multiple bids that are simply not comparable.

What other problems do you encounter?

Because of these kinds of problems, the signage installed on thousands of building projects in the United States is governed by poorly crafted documents, and often reflects a lowest common denominator profile of design, cost, and product quality.

I have never spoken with an architect who said they did not want the signage on their projects to be well designed, manufactured to high quality standards, and properly installed. Unfortunately, the signage on many projects is falling well short of these goals, and the creation of better construction documents would be a good way to start improving the status quo.

Our firm has developed a unique approach to CSI format spec writing for signage. If you would like to see a copy of a typical specification that illustrates this approach, give us a call or drop us a line and we would be happy to share.

Environmental Graphics and Design Excellence

2010-01-12T09:34:00.007-05:00

The coveted Harleston Parker Medal was established in 1921, and is awarded annually to recognize "such architects as shall have, in the opinion of the Boston Society of Architects. . . completed the erection for any private citizen, association, corporation, or public authority, the most beautiful piece of architecture, building, monument or structure within the limits of the City of Boston or of the Metropolitan Parks District".

A nine member jury empanelled by the BSA has recently issued its report and recommended that the Harleston Parker for 2009 be awarded to the Parker Community Boathouse designed by Anmahian Winton Architects. The entire report of the BSA jury may be seen here.

In the words of the report: "The boathouse stood out amongst the nominations this year in its ability to embody many of the different notions of beauty that had been advanced. The building is a striking presence on the water. Its rich wood panels and articulated facade draw attention to the structure, yet it remains elegant and simple."

Our firm made a small contribution to the boathouse by implementing an architectural signage program for the project. The program consisted of several sets of stainless steel lettering, some donor recognition signs, and a small number of Identia Sign System plaque signs to identify functional spaces within the building.

The design of the signage was handled in a collaborative manner by the architect, the owner, and our office. We believe the design character of the signage is instructive: it is restrained, well detailed, and simple. It is also consistent with a design orientation that endorses the idea that signage is a functional background product that should be subordinated to architectural priorities, and which ought to complement architectural features, rather than compete with them.

This point of view does not imply that signage should be overlooked. It only suggests that signage should take its appropriate place within the entire building system and perform its task effectively, and without excessive fanfare.

Blogs, News, and Other Links: December 2009

2009-12-30T14:16:00.003-05:00

Sign09 Vienna Seminars

A summary of one day's worth of seminars at Sign09 in Vienna. [designworkplan]

Patient Room Information

Study of patient room information signs [Corbin Design]

New Signs At Parkinson's Center

New signs at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center in Phoenix [DD&F]

Wayfinding Project at Ski Resort

Wayfinding project for ski resort in Australia [ID/Lab]

Branded Environments

Article on branded environments and identities [Arrows & Icons]

New Techniques for Autodesk's Headquarters

Article on how Autodesk's new building utilized BIM and IPD techniques [HQ Construction]

Blogs, News, and Other Links: November 2009

2009-12-01T12:13:00.003-05:00

Green Signs and Platinum Status

Identia Online subscribers Archetype Signmakers responsible for green signage at new college campus building that contributes towards LEED Platinum accreditation. [SignWeb]

New Airport Identity

Identia Online subscribers Indigo Signworks create main identification sign for Hector International Airport in Fargo, ND. [Sign Builder Illustrated>]

New Signs for Cooper Union

New signs designed by Pentagram at Cooper Union in NYC. [Pentagram]

Designing Intelligent Navigation Systems

Wayfinding design article [Sign Builder Illustrated]

EGD and LEED

Article examines how EGD can contribute to LEED certification. [Arrows & Icons]

LSU's New Wayfinding System

Louisiana Statue University works on new wayfinding system. [lsu.edu]

Signs Point to More Business for GNU

Profile of EGD firm, GNU Group. [San Francisco Business Times]

Using Identia Online: Take-offs

2009-11-23T14:02:00.001-05:00

Identia Online is a great tool to help with take-offs and estimating. Instead of using paper plans and a highlighter, create a project in Identia Online, load the location plans, and start placing markers!

Use the "Add Marker" button to place markers on the plans. Create one or more sign types to organize the markers. If you wish, add sign messages based on information from the plan. When you are finished, print out the sign schedule PDF and use the summary page to get a count for each sign type. Later, you can flesh out the details of the sign schedule, or export the data as an Excel file.

Blogs, News, and Other Links: October 2009

2009-11-02T10:16:00.004-05:00

EGD and the ADA

Interview with several EGD firms about designing within ADA regulations. [Communication Arts]

Innovative Signage at Boston Food Bank

Optical illusion greats drivers on side of new Greater Boston Food Bank building. [Boston Globe]

AIGA Symbols

A collection of sign symbols in the latest issue of Arrows & Icons. Also in this issue: an article about New Jersey's statewide wayfinding program. [Arrows & Icons]

Wayfinding Starts in the Parking Garage

Signage is often overlooked in hospital parking garages. [Healthcare Design]

Using iPhones for City Navigation

Will iPhone apps change the future of city wayfinding?.[designworkplan]

Gas Pumps and Wayfinding

Compares wayfinding to the process of filling up.[Corbin Design]

Tampa Riverwalk Solor Signs Case Study

Solar powered wayfinding signs in Tampa. [The Green Resource Guide]

The Cost of Healthcare: EGD Edition

How responsible EGD can help reduce costs for health care facilities. [FocusEGD]

5 Sign Schedule Pitfalls to Avoid

2009-10-28T10:31:00.003-04:00

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.

What is a Browser?

2009-10-26T10:55:00.002-04:00

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.

Using Identia Online: Donor Recognition

2009-10-23T15:41:00.005-04:00

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

2009-10-23T10:40:00.005-04:00

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

Using Identia Online: Presentations

2009-10-12T13:46:00.004-04:00

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.

Architectural Signage, Environmental Graphics, and IPD

2009-10-01T17:20:00.006-04:00

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

Blogs, News, and Other Links: September 2009

2009-09-29T09:47:00.008-04:00

Durham's New Wayfinding Program

A design professor from NC State critiques the new wayfinding program installed in Durham, NC.

What is Environmental Graphic Design?

One attempt to explain what EGD is and where it is going.

States and the ADA

A handy list of accessibility regulations for each state. For more info on the ADA, see Sign Builder's special ADA supplement in their August 2009 issue.

Holiday Inn ‘Green’ Signage

Holiday Inn needed new exterior signs for their rebranding effort and used efficient LED lighting.

Wayfinding Through Technology

How technology can assist with wayfinding.

Architectural Signage Outlook

From the August 2009 issue of Sign Builder, a small article on the architectural signage market during this recession.

Traffic Sign Typefaces

A blog post about a new typeface created for highway signs and other wayfinding applications.

Remembering Joan Goody

2009-09-21T11:03:00.009-04:00

It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of Joan Goody, principal of the architectural firm Goody Clancy. I have known of her and admired her for 30 years. For women of my generation, Joan was a beacon, showing the way through the labyrinth of the male-dominated world of architecture. I did not know her well enough to be privileged to call her a mentor, but she certainly was a role model. I was always impressed with her youthful vigor, right up to the last months of her life. I found her to be open and approachable and was amazed at her ability to remember names and faces of folks, even lowly sign design consultants like me.

More information on her professional life is available here.

Mint.com to be acquired by Intuit

2009-09-18T13:24:00.012-04:00

This week, mint.com announced that it will be acquired by Intuit, makers of Quicken and TurboTax. I use mint.com to manage my personal finances and I think it's great. With mint.com, you can combine your various online financial accounts (banking, credit card, mortgages, investments, etc.) into a single mint.com account, which makes it much easier to track your overall financial picture. There are also great budgeting and "ways to save" tools. And it's free.

Don't know how this acquisition by Intuit will affect mint.com. Hopefully, there won't be any negative changes to the website. There are also some cool opportunities for integration between mint.com and a product like TurboTax. For instance, I could imagine that TurboTax could suck in the information from mint.com that you had labeled as charitable giving.

Check out mint.com if you haven't already. It's not intended for business use, but for personal use, it's really good.

NPR's website redesign process

2009-09-17T16:15:00.003-04:00

Nice case study at the AIGA site of the redesign process undertaken by NPR of their website.

Selecting Colors

2009-09-14T11:51:00.032-04:00

When designing an architectural sign program how does the designer select colors? This is a fundamental question, but it is not often asked. The following is an attempt to discuss 8 factors which may influence the designer’s choice:

Cultural Basis of Color

All cultures seem to use certain colors in particular ways. Many of these colors come from a country’s history and traditions. For those firms and individuals designing sign programs for facilities in foreign countries, some knowledge of the prevalent colors in a culture may be useful in relating the sign program to a place. Even in the United States projects involving the cultural influence of color can be encountered. An example is the design of a sign program for an elderly housing complex which caters to those of Scandinavian descent.

Symbolic Meaning of Color

Colors are associated with certain objects and feelings. Intense, basic red, for example, is associated with blood, tomatoes, danger, fire, excitement, and action. It commands attention. Primary yellow is associated with the sun, lemons, caution, and gold. It tends to be both an uplifting and commanding color. The same color may have different associations in different countries. Again, those designers working on projects outside the United States should try to be aware of the differences.

Color Trends

Throughout history certain colors have been used in a given period. In the 1950’s pink and black was a trend. In the 1960’s natural colors became popular. Currently a deep green color is used by many companies in their advertising to associate themselves with the "green movement". When creating an architectural sign program the designer tries to select colors based upon more significant parameters than what is currently popular.

Personal Taste

Often colors are selected by the designer because "he likes them". While this is sometimes successful, it is not a significant enough reason to choose colors for an architectural sign program.

Existing Environment

The existing interior and exterior project environment includes colors that can affect the design of an architectural sign program. The colors selected can either compliment or contrast with the existing colors. This can be difficult if many materials and colors are used for walls. Usually a neutral color scheme can be found.

Corporate and Institutional Identity

Many corporations and institutions establish specific colors to be used for various items, such as their logo, building exterior, packaging, and vehicles. In some cases the colors are designated for signs and must be used.

Visibility

The ability to see the sign message clearly depends upon many factors, such as character height, character spacing, and illumination. Contrasting colors for the sign message and background can aid in visibility. While not mandated the message is usually black or white with a more expressive color chosen for the background.

Color Combinations

Perhaps the most subjective area of color selection involves the topic of color combinations. Why do some colors "look good" with certain other colors? While theories exist, it is usually a trial and error process, involving drawings and/or mock-ups.

All photographs by Peter A.Calvin, petercalvin.com

© 2009 Peter A. Calvin

IKEA's Typeface Dilemma

2009-09-08T11:51:00.003-04:00

Recently, I saw some online articles and blog-posts on IKEA's typeface change. I think this is an important issue. The use of typeface affects company branding, and thus how the audience perceives the company and its products. Details, such as choice of typeface, don't seem to matter that much, but they do have a subliminal effect to the viewer.

Futura and Verdana were created at different times for different purposes. Futura is one of the best typefaces that has been used over the years, and its geometrical characters have a beauty that you don't see in many other typefaces. It was created in the 1920's and intended for printing, and it doesn't read well on the screen unless used in a larger size. Verdana was created during the 1990's, and it shows its best value when viewed on screen. The serif is exaggerated, and the lowercase letters have tall x-height for easy reading of small type. However, when it is printed, especially in a large size, the letterform looks too exaggerated. They both have great value, but don't work too well when used in the medium for which they weren't created.

I just saw the IKEA online catalog, which has the same layouts as the printed catalog. I clicked some of the online pages while I was flipping through the printed catalog, and I can see why Verdana was used for screen viewing, but still miss Futura in the print catalog very much. I don't know what is the best answer to this dilemma, knowing that designing the two versions with different typefaces would result in almost double the production time.

I believe the IKEA's typeface change ended up showing the company's vision on their products and sensitivity on their design. This is the issue which affects many companies who have similar branding issues.

Roadway sign type study by Ralf Herrmann

2009-09-03T14:52:00.015-04:00

This is a useful research and type study for roadway signs. Through the author's step-by-step studies, we can see the difference between the existing typefaces and his new creation.

He emphasizes the importance of legibility and creates a new typeface by exaggerating details of letters in order to stress the individual letterform. It is good to see his sensitivity on typography and letterforms, and on stroke width differentiation used on light/dark background colors.

His study prompts us to reexamine our own roadway signs in the US.

Click here to read Ralf’s article.

Blogs, News, and Other Links: August 2009

2009-08-31T09:33:00.005-04:00

Arrows and Icons Launches

A new online magazine for the EGD community was launched this month.

EGD Tweeters

People and organizations in the EGD community that are on Twitter.

US Border Sign Removed

A sign at a US-Canada border crossing designed by Pentagram is being dismantled because of fears that it will be target for terrorists.

Signs at Historic Sites

Post on the National Trust Historic Sites blog about signs at historic sites.

National Signage Research and Education Conference

October 13-15 in Cincinnati.

College Students Build 'Wayfinder' For Their School

Two students at Simon Fraser University in Canada built an interactive "wayfinder" kiosk for navigating around the campus.

The Uproar Over IKEA's Typeface Change

There's a lot of chatter about this on the web.

Who is Dieter Rams?

2009-08-20T11:04:00.005-04:00

Dieter Rams, born in 1932 in Germany, is one of the most influential industrial designers in the 20th and 21st centuries. He served in many capacities at Braun for 40 years, until 1995. Braun is a well-known German manufacturer of electronic consumer products. Braun products are characterized by simple, refined design with an emphasis on function and reasonable cost. He has influenced many younger designers, including Jonathan Ive, the head of design for Apple. Of particular interest to all designers is Dieter Rams' personal definition of "good design". A profile of the man, some of his work, and his definition can be see online at www.designmuseum.org.

How does the Dieter Rams' definition of "good design" apply to the design of architectural sign programs? Many sign installations are over-designed. They are aggressive and demand too much attention. They exhibit personal expression rather than problem solving. Architectural signs should take their place as part of the building, like a door hinge or window. It is the designer's job to find the solution which integrates the architectural sign program into the environment in which it is placed. The solution need not be bland, just not overdone.

Signs at the border

2009-08-12T17:42:00.002-04:00

Fast Company has published a short interview with Michael Beirut of Pentagram on the subject of the recent decision to dismantle a set of 21’ high letters designed for the US crossing station at the Canadian border in Massena, NY. The story briefly describes the chronology of design, and the subsequent decision to remove the letters for security reasons. I was impressed by Beirut’s subtle discussion of the issues at hand and his determination not to fall into the easy and predictable mode of good design advocate vs. bureaucratic cretins. I was particularly moved by his awareness of the difficult tasks facing individuals who are charged with insuring our safety and security. This is a good read!

Click here to read the interview.

Microsoft to release web versions of Office apps

2009-08-04T15:07:00.000-04:00

There was a story on NPR's "Morning Edition" this morning about the rise of web applications for word processing, spreadsheets, and other office needs. Google and others have had their own versions of these online apps out for a while now, but soon Microsoft will be jumping into the mix with free online versions of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint when Office 2010 is released next year.

Click here to listen to the NPR story.

Architectural sign programs and the design-build process

2009-07-20T11:14:00.000-04:00

I approach the subject of the design-build process with respect for the strong feelings it arouses in the environmental graphics industry, but I am also convinced it is an important topic that should be discussed in a serious and balanced way. This topic resides just below the surface of the relationship between sign manufacturers and environmental graphic design firms; when it rises to the surface, it is often accompanied by acrimony and hostility.

Why is it so important? I participated in a panel presentation at the SEGD conference several weeks ago in San Diego, and at the conclusion of the session I asked an audience of about 3 dozen designers the following question: If you add up all of the construction projects in the United States that require an architectural sign program, what percentage of these sign programs are designed by an independent SEGD member or firm? When I received no response, I asked that they speculate… did they touch 50% of the projects? No. Did they touch 25% of them? No. Finally, a verbal consensus began to emerge that they probably were not involved with more than 10% - 20% of these projects.

I then asked another question: If SEGD designers are not responsible for the signs that are going into all of these projects, who is doing the design work that is necessary for signs to actually appear on the wall? A fellow sitting next to me, an architect who had been a co-panelist for the presentation, spoke a single word: manufacturers. The designers in the audience quietly murmured their agreement, and a pretty disagreeable conclusion was apparent.

It is likely that up to 80% of the sign programs implemented in the United States each year are not designed by members of the professional organization that has been created to foster a responsible and design-sensitive approach to the performance of this exact function in the marketplace.

So what do we think this means? At one level, it means that design control of many sign programs resides with manufacturers. But it also means that an opportunity may exist in the marketplace for environmental graphic designers and manufacturers alike. Let’s step outside the box and really examine the nature of design-build, what it could mean for the architectural signage industry, how it works, and how it might be made more design-sensitive. The observations I make here are my own, drawn from experience over more than two decades, and they reflect the perspective of a designer as well as a fabricator. My goal is to initiate a conversation, and to that end, at Identia we plan to continue an exploration of various aspects of the design-build process. Our purpose is to identify financial opportunities, and to foster collaboration between designers and sign manufacturers.

Observations:

1. Design-build in the architectural sign industry is a reality. It fills a gap in the marketplace, especially for projects with limited budgets.

2. Design-build appears in 2 principal configurations: (a) architectural sign companies may provide design and programming services with in-house staff or (b) architectural sign companies and independent EGD firms may form joint venture partnerships for specific projects.

3. The quality of design/programming/documentation work, and the overall sign product quality executed, supplied, and installed by firms working in the design-build mode varies wildly from poor to excellent.

4. Adoption of professional standards for sign program documentation by design-build firms would be beneficial to owners, designers, and manufacturers alike.

5. There are advantages to working in the design-build mode, and they include establishment of a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) at the beginning of a project, a single source of responsibility, overall cost savings, and faster project timelines. There are also disadvantages: design-build sometimes considers a narrower range of product solutions, there is always a potential downside to “putting all your eggs into one basket”, and design-build forgoes competitive bidding as one means of lowering total implementation costs.

6. The idea that the design-build model is not capable of producing architectural sign programs that are well-designed is simply not correct. Highly skilled and independent EGD firms can partner with manufacturers, or, alternatively, sign manufacturers can employ qualified and experienced design professionals within their own organizations. The quality of sign programs that emerge from the design-build approach vary as widely as they do under the independent design / competitive bid model.

7. Owners are capable of making sound decisions about the way the work on their projects is executed. There are various approaches to managing different types of building projects that professionals in the construction industry are familiar with. Each approach defines its own particular set of professional roles, responsibilities, and relationships. It is important for us to provide owners with accurate information about the design-build process, as it relates to signage, so they can make intelligent decisions.

8. A number of factors determine whether or not design-build is appropriate for a particular project. Is it financed with public funds and therefore subject to competitive bidding requirements? Is the project large or small? Is it straight-forward or complex? Are the sign requirements connected to other segments of design work such as identity or brand development? Is the project schedule compressed? All of these factors, and others, must be taken into consideration when considering design-build.

9. Architectural sign companies that are involved in design-build projects should not cut documentation corners, they should not disparage the value of environmental graphic design, and instead, should retain the services of competent design professionals, both within their own organizations, and through their project partners. Architectural sign companies that do not take this approach will reinforce the stereotype that design-build is long on build and short on design.

10. Professionals within the EGD community should not talk about “blackballing” manufacturers who participate in design-build projects. It would be more productive for the EGD community as a whole to recognize the compelling evidence of a need in the market for a model by which sign programs can be delivered with shorter project timelines, and with a lower total implementation price-tag.

Well-designed signs give us the safe and easy access we need to the places where we live, study, and work. It is unlikely that one process model for signage can effectively serve as a universal solution for all projects. We can see how forcefully the market has worked to define and select design-build as one alternative method for creating and implementing sign programs for certain types of projects. At Identia, we are working to develop tools and products that
enable designers and fabricators to be more productive, no matter what project approach they adopt. I look forward to your thoughts and comments!

New Features Released in Identia Online

2009-06-15T10:08:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we released three exciting new and improved features in Identia Online. These new features include a redesigned set of filters for the Project List, a Copy Rows feature in the sign schedule, and improved tools for doing take-offs and project programming.

For more info on these features, please see the release announcement.

The demographics of signage

2009-05-20T09:17:00.000-04:00

What do we really know about the architectural sign industry?

I have long been frustrated that so little hard information exists about the size and nature of the architectural sign industry. Over the years, I have compared notes with magazine publishers, designers, and owners of architectural sign companies, and the subject was a topic of discussion again last month at the ISA Sign Expo in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, it’s clear that there is scant real evidence on which to base a quantitative description of our industry. Opinions, hunches, and anecdotal observations are poor substitutes for facts.

Let’s start with this basic question: How many architectural sign companies are there in North America? To be included in the count, a company must meet one of the following criteria: it must sell only architectural signage, or it must derive a significant portion of its total sales revenue from architectural sign projects. Where would you go, and what resources would you use to try and answer this question?

Some information can be gleaned from surveys that have been conducted by trade organizations and publications; mailing lists based on SIC codes present another means by which we can identify large numbers of sign companies that could be included in the count; and web-based search engines created specifically for the sign industry make it possible to filter data base lists of sign companies by product categories. Information from all of these sources sheds a little light on our question, but the picture is still not very precise. Hoping that I was not going off on some kind of fool’s errand, I decided to simply try to count individual architectural sign companies, while keeping in mind the following data points:

An industry survey conducted by Signs of the Times reports 33,000 sign companies in North America
In a recent member survey conducted by the International Sign Association, only 4.5% of the respondents specifically identified their firms as “architectural” sign companies
“Data Keepers” in the same organization, ISA, report that 33% of its members state that architectural signage work is part of their business
The publisher of Sign and Digital Graphics magazine reports that in their most recent subscriber survey, 32.5% of respondents indicated “architectural” signage is part of their business
The same source reports that in prior years, when subscribers were asked to classify their business by selecting just one category, only 2.5% selected the “architectural” category
Items 2-5 above are self-reported statistics submitted by individual sign companies and are not independently confirmed

The phrase “architectural signage” means different things to different people, and its usage and context varies throughout the sign industry and the design community. I have developed a check list of 4 attributes that can be used to distinguish “architectural” from “non-architectural” signs.

Architectural signs conform to a higher than average product quality standard when compared to the entire range of general signage products produced by the industry at large.
Architectural signs are normally specified by a 3rd party designer such as a graphic designer, an architect, an interior designer, etc; sometimes the specifier functions within the organizational structure of the purchaser as with facility-management design professionals, or within the sign fabrication company as a professional design service provider.
Architectural signs normally exist as part of a coordinated sign program, rather than as individual sign elements.
Architectural signs typically convey some type of utilitarian information that the sign viewer needs in order to gain access to a particular facility or environment; hence the growing use of the word “wayfinding” in the architectural signage industry today.

I began the counting process with a web-based search engine that claims to have more than 30,000 sign companies in its database. I looked for firms that said they could produce and sell “architectural” signage by executing individual searches, using the same filtering criteria, in 35 major US and Canadian metropolitan markets. This exercise returned a total of 4,480 individual companies, of which 3,482 (78%) maintain promotional websites with photographic examples of their work. I then conducted a visual inspection of each website and identified 366 companies that obviously met my definition of an architectural sign company. Let’s call these companies Group A. I also identified an additional 325 companies that probably met my criteria, and placed them in Group B.

The goal of the visual survey was to find examples of architectural signs within the product portfolio section of each website, and to answer two questions. How prevalent in the portfolio was architectural signage, as compared with other types of signs? Was there sufficient evidence to support the conclusion that architectural signage constitutes a “significant” portion of a given company’s sales revenue? Admittedly, the process of surveying and evaluating all of these websites was subjective, but I was guided by 25 years of experience in the industry, and the duck theory which holds that if something has webbed feet and goes quack-quack, chances are excellent it’s a duck. In this situation, I felt pretty comfortable trusting my instincts. This survey effort identified a pool of 3,482 potential candidates, determined that 691 (20%) of these met the architectural sign company criteria, and therefore, I believe it is reasonable to suggest the following:

If there are approximately 30,000 sign companies in North America, and if 1/3 of these companies say they are involved with architectural signage, we can assume a pool of about 10,000 companies. My survey of website portfolios indicates that 20% of the 10,000 are likely to be, according to our criteria, authentic architectural sign companies. Therefore, my hypothesis is that there are approximately 2,000 architectural sign companies in North America.

A number of questions arise right away. If there are 2,000 architectural sign companies out there, and I have identified 691, where are the remaining 1,309? There are a couple of things to keep in mind as we wrestle with this. First, we should remember that based on our survey, 22% of the sign companies in our pool of candidates do not have websites and were not, therefore, eligible for selection. Second, we should assume that some architectural sign companies are not in the search engine’s database. Third, and most important, our search covered only 35 major urban markets. We know from the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis that there are more than 100 additional 2nd, 3rd, and 4th tier market zones within the United States alone. A substantial number of the remaining 1,309 companies are located in these smaller markets.

Some confusion also surrounds the discrepancy between the large quantity of companies that say architectural signage is a portion of their business, (33%), and the comparatively small number of companies that self-identify exclusively as architectural sign companies (2.5% - 4.5%). My search did confirm one fact that may help to explain the numbers: it is absolutely clear that the degree of involvement in the architectural sign business by individual companies varies dramatically from very high to very low. This may indicate there are a relatively small number of companies with a very high degree of involvement with architectural signage, and a much larger number of companies with a very low level of involvement.

This effort to count architectural sign companies was not a “scientific” one, and at least 3 qualifications should be noted:

The assumption that there are about 30,000 sign companies in North America is unverified; therefore, the derived quantity of 2,000 architectural sign companies is also unverified. The absence of verification does not mean that the data is necessarily inaccurate, it does mean that it has not been independently confirmed.
My definition of architectural signage, and my criteria for selecting an architectural signage company from a pool of candidates, are both subjective.
My survey of websites could not obtain any measurement of the portion of a particular sign company’s sales revenue that is attributable to architectural signage. My selection criteria required that the portion be “significant”, but my judgment was not based on any quantifiable data.

These qualifications notwithstanding, I think it is important to note that we did succeed in compiling a hard count of 691 real architectural sign companies, and that all of them have been individually vetted. If we are going to develop a body of quantifiable information about the nature of architectural sign companies, and the architectural sign business as a whole, we have to move away from the current reliance on self-reported data. The commercial interests of all sign companies involved in the architectural sector of the industry, their customers, and their suppliers would be well served by the availability of this kind of information.

I welcome your comments!

Article on Type Designer

2009-02-20T15:20:00.000-05:00

Interesting article in yesterday's "Washington Post" about type designer Matthew Carter. Carter is responsible for creating Verdana (used in this blog!), Georgia, Tahoma, and other fonts that we see and use every day.

Here's a highlight from the article:

" . . . when Carter designs a typeface, he typically starts with a lowercase h. It has an ascender (the stroke going up on the left), but it also reveals a lot about the character of the typeface. From a lowercase h, he explains, you can tell what a lowercase l, m and n will look like. Graphic designers, however, usually identify typefaces by more flamboyant letters of the alphabet, such as a capital "Q" or a lowercase "g." The fact that Carter is more of a lowercase h guy says much about his design style.

He creates "the fonts that do the heavy lifting as opposed to being flashy," says New York-based type designer Jonathan Hoefler. . . ."

We like to think that Carter's approach to design is similar to ours, and that the Jonathan Hoefler's quote could apply to the Identia Sign System as well.

Link to the article

Backups vs. Versioning

2009-01-09T17:11:00.000-05:00

"What about backups?"

This is a question that is often asked when we are conducting demos of Identia Online. Sometimes there is some confusion between "backups" and "versioning". The short answer is that Identia Online conducts backups but has no versioning.

We back up our database nightly to another server as part of our disaster recovery program. In addition, any newly uploaded files (plans, My Storage files, etc.) are backed up to a third server. Therefore, if there is a critical server malfunction with our primary application server that requires recovery, we can restore the entire system back to the previous day’s data backup.

These backups are really intended to protect your data in the event of catastrophe. We do not systematically do any account level backups — or versioning — for individual subscribers. In terms of your data, what you see on the site is what you get. This means that you cannot revert back to a version of your project’s data from the previous night.

This versioning is very complicated to do technically in a database application such as Identia Online. It’s also why Identia Online does not have an Undo features. Both of these features are nearly impossible to implement in an online database-driven system. However, the advantage an online system is that your data is always up to date and current. You don’t have to worry about what version of the data you are looking at. Versions can sometimes be a blessing and a curse.

One of the things that we are exploring is giving subscribers the ability to backup their data to their own servers and systems. This would provide any additional level of protection knowing that your data was backed up on your own system as well as ours. We will update you on any developments as we explore this area more thoroughly.

Finally, we realize that unintentional mistakes do happen with software. If you do find that you have mistakenly deleted an entire project, or committed an equally significant mistake with your data, please do not hesitate to contact us immediately. We may be able to recover and salvage your data.

Where did the idea for Identia Online come from?

2008-12-15T11:51:00.000-05:00

Some time ago I was challenged by the blunt-spoken CEO of a company with whom I was negotiating a strategic partnership to answer a simple question:

He asked: What do we need you for?

The question was confrontational and provocative. It nagged at me during my flight back to Boston and forced me to figure out what our company had that was of real value in the marketplace. In a surprisingly short time I concluded that the most valuable asset we possess is a clear understanding of the process by which architectural sign programs are designed and implemented. A review of this process reveals a characteristic common to all sign programs: multiple stakeholders have a need to create, share, and review loads of information. Stakeholders include building owners, sign companies, architects, designers, general contractors, and product manufacturers. The information includes drawings, sign messages schedules, location plans, specifications, and so on. It was pretty easy to jump from a need to share information to the concept of a website that would facilitate and organize the storage and exchange of that information.

The moral of this little story is not about insight or creativity. It is about the importance of listening carefully to questions, even when they are a little hostile. It is also about trying hard to answer questions honestly. Reflecting back, I have wondered why the concept did not occur to me years ago. I am sure that without the question, Identia Online would not exist today.

Welcome to the Identia blog!

2008-05-22T10:43:00.001-04:00

This is the blog for Identia. In this blog, we will cover topics about the Identia Sign System and the Identia Online application. Stay tuned for more updates!