Better Homes & Gardens magazine conducts annual surveys with its subscribers as part of The American Grocery Shopper Study™. Over a three-year period (2011-2013), University of Cincinnati professor Dr. James Kellaris added questions about the importance of on-premise signage. Here are the three-year summaries (presented chronologically) of “yes,” “no” and “don’t know” responses to specific statements: “One of […]
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How Big Should a Sign’s Letters Be?
Signs need to be legible and readable, for both pedestrians and motorists. But the safety consideration becomes paramount for the latter. Consequently, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) sets minimum standards for the letters that appear on the interstate signs that say “Cincinnati” and “Second St.” and “Next Exit.” These standards are outlined in the FHWA-produced […]
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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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Do Electronic Message Centers Cause Traffic Accidents?
Subjective statements often suggest that electronic message centers (EMCs) cause traffic accidents because they are distracting. Yet, does any empirical evidence document this theory? No. In 1980, the Federal Highway Administration published its “Safety and Environmental Design Considerations in the Use of Commercial Electronic Variable-Message Signs” study, which was hugely inconclusive. It conducted the study […]
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Do Signs Help Non-profit Charities Raise More Money?
A Goodwill Industries store in Sarasota, FL was underperforming, even though it was located at an intersection through which 100,000 vehicles traveled on a daily basis. Other entities at the same intersection included a Wal-Mart, a Home Depot, a chain motel and a hospital/medical complex. Unfortunately, a canopy of trees blocked the Goodwill wall sign, […]
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Do Signs Economically Benefit Nonprofits?
A good wall sign appreciably helps Goodwill Industries By Richard Bass Signs have value. This has been demonstrated by such publications as “The Signage Sourcebook” http://signreference.org/the-signage-sourcebook/ and Signs of the Times magazine http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/STMG/sott, and through educational opportunities like the International Sign Assn.’s annual Signage Symposium. On-premise, or place-based, signs add value to a business and its […]
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Court Overturns Madison, WI Ban on Portable Signs
This article, written by sign-code expert, John Gann, originally appeared in the September 2002 issue of Signs of the Times magazine. Madison, WI, has been rated by Money magazine as the best medium-sized city in the United States. The city owes its amenities not only to nature and the generosity of taxpayers, but also […]
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How An Appraisal Could have Defeated Amortization in Mississippi
Mississippi circuit court upholds amortization of signage, but could this tragedy have been prevented? The following article originally appeared in the June 1999 issue of Signs of the Times magazine. By Dr. R. James Claus Thomas A. Claus contributed to this article. He is completing studies at Portland (OR) State University and will begin attending […]
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The Economic Worth of On-Premise Signs, Part II
Appraising techniques can isolate the cause-and-effect value of on-premise signs to merchants This article originally appeared in the October 1998 issue of Signs of the Times magazine. By Dr. R. James Claus and Richard M. Bass Last month, the authors discussed the First Amendment protect ion that signs (as commercial speech) enjoy. In addition, they […]
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Penn State/USSC Legibility Study Helps Signshop Earn Variance
Practical application of USSC’s Penn State study helped Mercer Signs obtain variances The following article originally appeared in the July 1999 issue of Signs of the Times magazine. By Wade Swormstedt Nearly four years ago, the United States Sign Council (USSC) embarked on an ambitious study with the Penn State Transportation Institute. Signs of different […]
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