In the most recent edition of The Interdisciplinary Journal of Signage and Wayfinding, one article is entitled “Providing brand guidance for independent businesses: A supplement to District Signage Standards.” Written by Lisa Fontaine, Associate Professor, Department of Graphic Design, and Susan L. Bradbury, Professor, Department of Community & Regional Planning, both at Iowa State University, the […]
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Advice on Reed v. Gilbert Included in AACSRE Interdisciplinary Journal
An article in the 2017 Interdisciplinary Journal of Signage and Wayfinding, which is published biannually by the Academic Advisory Council for Signage Research and Education (AACSRE), offers advice for communities with regard to their sign codes in the aftermath of the SCOTUS Reed v. Gilbert 2015 decision. Written by Alan Weinstein, who is the director/professor […]
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Legal Considerations in Sign-Code Development
Alan Weinstein serves on the Board of Directors of both the Academic Advisory Council for Signage Research and Education (AACSRE) and the Foundation for the Advancement of the Sign Industry (FASI), and he was a three-time presenter at the American Planning Association’s 2017 National Planning Conference. A professor at Cleveland State University’s Marshall College of […]
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How do the First and Fourteenth Amendments affect regulation of my business sign?
The following article originally appeared on the Small Business Administration website in February 2001, but it was subsequently removed. First Amendment protections guarantee some of our most basic freedoms, including freedom of speech and assembly, freedom of the press, and freedom of religious expression. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment to the […]
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Time, Manner, Place Regulations / Exercise of “Police Powers” as part of Zoning or Land Use Codes
The following article originally appeared on the Small Business Administration website in February 2001, but it was subsequently removed. In the United States, “police power” is the power inherent at every level of government, from the U.S. federal government to the states and jurisdictions within the states, to enact laws within constitutional limits to promote […]
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Sign Glossary
The following article originally appeared on the Small Business Administration website in February 2001, but it was subsequently removed. ADVERTISING MEDIA: The means by which an advertising message is carried to potential customers, including the Internet, magazine, newspaper, radio, signage and television. AESTHETICS: A term dealing with form, design and/or quality of construction of a […]
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Fourteenth Amendment Application to Sign Control
Fourteenth Amendment Application to Sign Control Under the Fourteenth Amendment, applicable to the states and their subdivisions, a state or local-government regulation may not deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor deprive a person of equal protection of the laws. Due process. A fundamental requirement of due process […]
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First Amendment Application to Sign Control
The Fourteenth Amendment makes the First Amendment’s freedom-of-speech provision applicable to states and their political subdivisions. While many sign codes begin as content neutral “time, place, and manner” regulations (or “police power” exercises), further analysis often reveals the ordinance violates First Amendment “free speech” guarantees. Even in cases where the subject ordinance is not per se […]
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Signage Quarterly – Vol 1 – No 3 – 1978 Glossary
This glossary of terms is the creates a standard for consistency in signage terminology. It not only defines technical terms which are used to refer to sign materials and manufacturing, but also explains legal terminology which is relevant to signage, as well as words used when discussing the advertising functions of signs. It is hoped that these definitions will […]
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What’s Your Signage? (2004)
How On-Premise Signs Help Small Businesses Tap into a Hidden Profit Center A handbook developed by The New York State Small Business Development Center and the Signage Foundation for Communications Excellence. Download What’s Your Signage?
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