A sign of interest can be big business
Signs that capture peoples attention are not a new thing, and have evolved and developed as technology has allowed. One example of this is LED signs, these have come a long way from the first moving message boards that I remember in the 80’s. They were the ones that contained a single line of text that scrolled through continuously, and they were often in cinemas. We used to sell or hire lots of these machines back then and I remember being amazed at the technology. LED technology became stagnant for quite some while, and in the sign industry there were not huge advances in this technology for many years, mainly due to the cost. The “green generation” has seen resurgence in this technology and this has also led to its use in many settings and a subsequent reduction in cost.
On a recent visit to Macau we were amazed with the clever use of water and led’s that transformed a seemingly average water feature into a work of art. The scale of these objects captures your interest and the LEDs change colour regularly ensuring that you linger a while and witness this spectacular.
The use of signage in this clever way ensures that your sign becomes not just a means to an end but becomes part of the visual landscape and a feature that people notice. These advances in technology mean that your signs can now be a vision of technological advancement as well as an extension of your companies branding. It should be noted that your sign doesn’t always have to contain words; artwork which is interesting to the eye can capture people’s attention ensuring that they notice and remember these places, as the image captures their imagination. There are plenty of examples of this in most urban centres. The all Australian example of signs used in this way are our ‘big things’, the Big Pineapple, the Golden guitar, the Big Lobster, the Big Banana. These signs become icons in their own right. How many of us have taken photos of ourselves in front of these ‘big thing’ icons? I know I am guilty!
Brisbane residents should not feel left out, as the big boot on Gympie Road Chermside is an icon that is still standing today, even though it is currently above a paint shop and has no relationship to the company. The big boot sign is an icon that many of us use in directions etc, and the advertising that it generates for the company on the premises is invaluable. A recent newspaper article states the history of the boot and the benefit that it has for the business that are situated underneath it.
By Claire Cox
