Professor Charles R. Taylor, a marketing professor at Villanova University, and a Research Fellow at the Center for Marketing and Policy Research, conducted a survey of business owners as to the value of illumination for their on-premise signs. Surveys were sent to 750 business owners, and 333 useable responses were received. Here are some of […]
Continue readingCategory Archives: Visibility and Legibility
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, […]
Continue reading
How Does an Angled Sign’s Effectiveness Compare to a Parallel Sign?
The difference in conspicuity for parallel and perpendicular signs has been calculated by Penn State research, along with the requisite minimum sizes for the letters of each. But what if the local sign code won’t allow a bigger sign, and not enough projection length for a legible perpendicular sign? Would a sign with at least […]
Continue reading
What Happened in the Denny’s v. Agoura Hills Pole-sign Case?
In 1985, the city of Agoura Hills, California enacted a sign ordinance that prohibited all pole signs, with the exception of a few that were less than 6 feet tall. It included an amortization period that ended in March 1992, at which time all of the pole signs would have to come down, without any […]
Continue reading
What Does a Business Owner Think About the Bozeman, MT Sign Code?
Roger Koopman wrote an editorial for the Bozeman Daily Chronicle a quarter century ago. Does it sound like it could be written today? This appeared in the February 1991 issue of Signs of the Times magazine. One of the more interesting hypocrisies of contemporary liberalism is the ease with which its followers can advocate a […]
Continue reading
Where Can I Find a Model Sign Code?
Various model sign codes and related guidance documents have been published, and many can be viewed in their entirety including the following: From The Sign Research Foundation http://www.signresearch.org/research-sign-codes/ From the USSC Foundation https://usscfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/USSC-Model-On-Premise-Sign-Code-2018.pdf From the Sign Research Foundation https://www.signresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/A-Framework-for-On-Premise-Sign-Regulation.pdf
Continue reading
How Does the Americans with Disabilities Act Regulate Signage?
Undoubtedly, no aspect of any kind of signage regulations is more exacting, or likely to be altered, than those governed by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was originally enacted in 1990. Primarily, this concerned access for people with disabilities, such as wheelchair ramps, railings, handicapped parking, etc. But it also included stipulations for […]
Continue reading
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 […]
Continue reading
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 […]
Continue reading
Penn State Study Provides Optimum Lighting Levels
Illuminating signs, including electronic message centers (EMCs), at inappropriate lighting levels hurts everyone. If the LEDs that light the sign aren’t bright enough, then the sign won’t be legible at night, and the sign loses its nocturnal value. The energy used to light the sign is wasted. Conversely, if the LEDs are lit too brightly, […]
Continue reading