A 45-year-old, outdoor-advertising act in Tennessee has been declared unconstitutional by a Memphis district judge, because of content-neutrality issues. An April 3, 2017 article in U. S. Today states, “U.S. District Judge Jon P. McCalla said the 1972 law ‘does not survive First Amendment scrutiny’ because it bans some forms of commercial and non-commercial speech […]
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Should Signs be Regulated as Lighting Devices?
The answer is a very clear “no.” An article by FASI President/Executive Director Bill Dundas published in the January 2016 issue of Signs of the Times magazine explains that electric signs are not lighting devices, per se. Their purpose is not to provide light, but to deliver messages. Thus, they should not be regulated as […]
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Hacking of Electronic Billboards Reported in Augusta, Georgia
An electronic billboard owned by Be Still Displays was hacked on the night of January 28, 2017 on the main thoroughfare of Washington Road in Augusta, Georgia. A similar hacking occurred in Atlanta in 2015. As of Monday, January 31, neither the display owner, Chris Withers, nor the Richmond Count Sheriff’s Office, could explain how the […]
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New Book Documents 23 Wall Mural Projects
A new book, simply called “The Walldogs Book,” documents 25 events over a 23-year period, in which signpainters have created more than 500 wall murals on brick walls to help commemorate communities’ histories. These artisans, who call themselves the Walldogs, have held annual events every year since 1999. The documentation is complete through 2016. Most […]
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American Sign Museum Featured in New York Times Best Seller Book
Atlas Obsura, a compilation of “over 600 of the most curious and unusual destinations around the globe,” reached #1 on the New York Times best-seller list, even though it was only published in September 2016. The book includes places of interest on every continent (yes, even several items from Antarctica!), and a feature on the American […]
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FASI Board Member Weinstein Speaks at National Planning Conference
Alan Weinstein, an acknowledged expert on planning, who holds a joint faculty appointment at Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, and also serves as director of the colleges’ Law & Public Policy Program, will speak at two separate sessions at the 2017 American Planning Association’s National […]
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“10 Digital Signage Topics You Need to Know Before Buying” is Released
A guide, entitled “10 Digital Signage Topics You Need to Know Before Buying – The Complete Guide,” has been released by Agosto, Inc, a content-management-system (CMS) developer. Companies such as NEC, Intel, Best Buy for Business and Fastsigns participated in the creation of the guide. Each of the topics has its own chapter. They are: […]
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What has the Federal Highway Administration said about Off-premise Electronic Message Centers?
The 1965 Highway Beautification Act established federal guidelines for off-premise signs (billboards) located within 660 feet of federal highways. When “changeable Electronic Variable Message Signs (CEVMS),” (typically called electronic message centers, or EMCs, in the sign industry), began to become more commonplace, individual states began to establish agreement (Federal/State Agreements — FSAs) with the Federal Highway […]
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How is the Size of Signs Measured?
The most common restriction in sign codes concerns the size of signs. This includes such considerations as the “setback,” (distance away from the road), the height and the dimensions of the sign itself. When the sign is a rectangle, and the copy fills it, it’s easy — height x width. A 4 x 6-foot sign […]
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What Types of Signs are Most Commonly Used?
A significant way to divide the sign industry is into “electric” signs (which have internal illumination) and “commercial” signs, which are non-illuminated. For approximately three decades, a trade journal for the sign industry, Signs of the Times, conducted surveys of sign companies as to how their businesses were faring. These were called State of the […]
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