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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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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What are Some Guidelines for Electronic Message Center Resolution?
A critical aspect of any sign is viewing distance. The appropriate amount of detail varies greatly, depending on the distance from which the sign will be viewed. In digital printing, this “resolution” is determined by “dots per inch,” or DPI. The more closely an image will be viewed, the higher its resolution needs to be, […]
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Route 66 Neon Project in Tulsa Seeks Donation “Votes”
The Route 66 Development Group (Tulsa, OK) has launched a project to erect a double-faced, 18 x 20-ft. neon sign in Tulsa on Route 66, and it wants people to vote for one of two designs by making a donation at www.route66dg.com. Each sign uses the famous song lyrics, “Get your kicks on Route 66” […]
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How Big Do the Letters on Signs, Parallel to the Road, Need to Be?
As noted elsewhere on this website, “visual acuity” and “conspicuity” and “cone of vision” are very important for signs, because motorists must be able to detect signs, read them and then react to them in a few seconds. So how much does the visibility change when a sign directly faces the driver (perpendicular to the […]
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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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How Can the Value of an On-Premise Sign Be Calculated?
Richard Bass is a certified appraiser in Sarasota, Florida. During his more than 30 years in business, he has testified in court as to how a sign’s value can be appraised. In a presentation for The Signage Foundation, Bass outline three case histories where the absence of a sign could be measured economically. Planners, Signs […]
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Do Wall Murals Benefit Small Towns?
The Walldog Festival movement began more than two decades ago when more than 100 signpainters descended upon Allerton, IA, on July 30- August 1, 1993. In addition to restoring an eight-year-old painted wall mural, they created seven other hand-painted murals. Currently, the vast majority of non-electric signs are created with computer-cut vinyl or digitally printed […]
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Can a Sign’s Location Make it Worth $1.8 Million?
In Cincinnati, OH, a building was ideally situated on Pete Rose Way, proximate to the confluence of I-71 and I-75. In 1997, the building housed Caddy’s, a 50s style entertainment complex. The Cincinnati Bengals NFL football team was about to build its $400 million Paul Brown Stadium, and the land and building were being taken by […]
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