Examples of signs produced by the company that used to be the West Coast’s largest sign manufacturer endure in various California locations. Unique signs withstanding the test of time lend a strong sense of place and nostalgia to neighborhoods throughout America. https://la.curbed.com/maps/epco-signs-california-neon-los-angeles-bay-area
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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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Penn State Study Examines the Effect of Fonts
Penn State’s Philip Garvey, with the assistance of Wie-Yen Eie and Jennifer Klenna, conducted a study to determine which fonts are the most legible. Sixty-four subjects from 19-87 years of age viewed 64 displays using 33 fonts shown on a computer monitor. The results of this study appear in different formats. One report was published […]
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A History of the Highway Beautification Act
The International Sign Association’s Kenny Peskin wrote on article for Signs of the Times magazine in 2015 that documented the history of the landmark Highway Beautification Act on its 50th anniversary. You can access the entire article in Signs of the Times’ digital edition at https://www.signsofthetimes.com/content/the-highway-beautification-act-50-years-later
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How business profitability is enhanced by effective quality signage.
The following article originally appeared on the Small Business Administration website in February 2001, but it was subsequently removed. Frenchy’s Bistro Background: Frenchy’s Bistro is a small restaurant in southern California specializing in authentic French cuisine. Frenchy’s fronts a busy local business street, with only a sidewalk between the building facade and street curb. The […]
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Cases on Sign Law (1975)
The exercise of power to regulate signs is not unlimited. This comprehensive look at the case law relating to signs. Download Cases on Sign Law.
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The Dollar and Cents Value of the On-Premise Sign
The following article originally appeared in the February 1977 issue of Signs of the Times magazine. By R. T. Anderson, Director of Research, National 3M, Bedford Park, Ill. This is the first of three comprehensive installments being presented as a service to the sign industry in general and to individual sign salesmen in particular. Based […]
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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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Texas A&M Study Shows No Correlation Between EMCs and Traffic Accidents
In 2012, Texas A&M University’s Texas Transportation Institute conducted a study to see if electronic message centers (EMCs) cause traffic accidents. Research included data from the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) own Highway Safety Information System (HSIS), a comprehensive database of traffic-accident records from several states. Researchers identified 135 cites in which EMCs had recently been […]
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What Does “Conspicuity” Mean for Signage?
Conspicuity for signage is determined by the contrast between the sign and its background. A sign must be conspicuous first, because, without it, the sign’s legibility and readability are moot points. While the appropriate size for signs is addressed on this website under the heading “How big should a sign’s letters be?”, conspicuity includes factors […]
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