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They've always played a role in my life. As a kid, my family
would drive through the streets of Kalamazoo and I would gaze out the
window at the many signs that dotted the streets. There was something
magical about the neon glow of the crown on liquor store on the shady
side of town, and the yellow arches on the early McDonald's signs. You
know...back when Mickey D's was counting how many hamburgers they sold
by the thousands, not millions. The Mona Lisa had nothing on the warm
glow of neon - radiating from everything from laundry mats to used car
dealerships.
I appreciated good signage back then and I still do. Advertising is one of the greatest art forms in American pop culture. Andy Warhol knew it, and I knew it...at age eight.
Still, some people don't grasp the beauty of advertising and that's the only explanation I have for the old signs that some retailers in town insist on keeping only because they haven't fallen down yet. If only the business owner with the plastic sign, as faded as a pair of worn jeans, understood that their sign is often their strongest form of advertising. For what does a sign that screams, "1968" say about the products or service inside the store?
I equate these expired signs to being too close to the situation. Kind of like when you're cleaning the microwave in your kitchen and suddenly notice the splattered wall behind the oven, containing remnants of past dinners. Because you live with it every day, you didn't pay attention to the slow buildup of spaghetti sauce and a multitude of other grease spots. Do these owners not notice that their signs died long ago and are now fossils in today's world of digital and neon?
Thankfully we have the other end of the spectrum, and the sharp business owners who understand that a sign noticed is a sign read. Striking digital signs that not only inform me about the smart shop that it belongs to, but also gives me the temperature and time. Just ask any owner of a digital sign if they're happy with the investment they made on their sign. They will probably tell you what an exorbitant amount of money the sign cost, and will then inform you that it was worth every penny. Smart owners, if you ask me....and great artists!
I appreciated good signage back then and I still do. Advertising is one of the greatest art forms in American pop culture. Andy Warhol knew it, and I knew it...at age eight.
Still, some people don't grasp the beauty of advertising and that's the only explanation I have for the old signs that some retailers in town insist on keeping only because they haven't fallen down yet. If only the business owner with the plastic sign, as faded as a pair of worn jeans, understood that their sign is often their strongest form of advertising. For what does a sign that screams, "1968" say about the products or service inside the store?
I equate these expired signs to being too close to the situation. Kind of like when you're cleaning the microwave in your kitchen and suddenly notice the splattered wall behind the oven, containing remnants of past dinners. Because you live with it every day, you didn't pay attention to the slow buildup of spaghetti sauce and a multitude of other grease spots. Do these owners not notice that their signs died long ago and are now fossils in today's world of digital and neon?
Thankfully we have the other end of the spectrum, and the sharp business owners who understand that a sign noticed is a sign read. Striking digital signs that not only inform me about the smart shop that it belongs to, but also gives me the temperature and time. Just ask any owner of a digital sign if they're happy with the investment they made on their sign. They will probably tell you what an exorbitant amount of money the sign cost, and will then inform you that it was worth every penny. Smart owners, if you ask me....and great artists!
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