Signs

Is Bright Right or Blight?

A proposal to create a new outdoor advertising district in San Francisco has some locals anticipating a retail revival, while others dread the possible billboard blight.

16 October 2009 - 10:00am

San Francisco Chronicle

Smoke Signals

Could smoke rising from a barbeque pit be considered a sign, and thus be controlled under sign regulations? Zoning officials in East Berlin, PA say yes.

29 September 2009 - 7:00am

PA)

Finding the Hidden Logic of a Place

Metropolis Magazine interviews David Gibson about his new book, The Wayfinding Handbook: Information Design for Public Places.

19 May 2009 - 2:00pm

Metropolis Magazine

Eric Damian Kelly

Bright Lights, Big City?

Mon, 05/04/2009 - 08:43

I missed the APA national conference for the first time in 15 years -- but I quickly heard reports that one of the hot topics focused on banning electronic message boards. I dissent.

What would Times Square be without the colorful, multi-message, oft-changing signs? Would Las Vegas have become the tourist definition that it has without the colorful signs? I am not a huge fan of Las Vegas, but I certainly think it has the right to define itself as it wishes.

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older posts

Relaxing Sign Rules

The city of San Angelo, Texas bucks a regional trend towards stricter regulations for signs used as advertising.

4 December 2008 - 10:00am

San Angelo Standard Times

Giant Signs Could Be Fire Hazards

Giant 'supergraphics' drape over the sides of buildings in Los Angeles, usually advertising the latest blockbuster. Almost all of the signs are in violation of sign laws, and building inspectors think they may be fire hazards.

12 November 2008 - 9:00am

The Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight

Roadside Memorials Taken Down in Wyoming

The State Department of Transportation fears that makeshift memorials for killed motorists will distract drivers, and has offered families public signs as alternatives.

29 October 2008 - 6:00am

The International Herald Tribune

Neon Signs Fading in Chicago

Chicago preservationists are urging owners of the last of the city's neon signs to keep them intact.

8 October 2008 - 5:00am

USA Today

Electronic Signs May Need Different Rules

Officials in Abilene, Texas, are trying to pass an electronic sign ordinance "proactively" but are facing great resistance, as has been the case for other cities.

18 August 2008 - 11:00am

Abilene Reporter-News

Corner Store Signs- Are They Blight?

Dallas's city council passed an ordinance restricting the percentage of window space a storefront can use for advertisements. Council members say the signs are creating or adding to blight.

7 July 2008 - 12:00pm

Dallas Morning News