Current Perspective on Sign Technology, Part 2

IN OUR MODERN era of fast-paced marketing and ever-changing product lines there’s a push for adaptability in everything we produce. To keep up in the contemporary market, industries must offer products that adapt to users’ interests and needs. One proven way to accomplish this is to ensure their products are interchangeable with each other and can be customized based on their customers’ changing desires.

These concepts apply to the sign industry in various ways. Giving customers the ability to seamlessly change their signs and displays is an effective selling point. If sign companies can provide on-the-fly adaptivity with lighting and display solutions, their likelihood of attracting new and innovative customers will increase. This may seem like a concept unique to our modern age, but interchangeable lighting solutions have been a part of the sign industry for over 100 years.

Looking Back

In the May 1916 issue of Signs of the Times I found an interesting short article detailing an interchangeable window-lighting system developed by Chase Electric Co. (Chicago): ‘Chaseco’ lighting strips and contact hooks. This system was advertised as a new and innovative way to adapt lighting on the fly for different store window displays. Installers who used this system would be able to add and remove lighting from displays when necessary to properly highlight different products.

Another focus of the article was the ease of use the system offered as well as ease of maintenance. This system was designed to give customers the confidence to change their displays themselves. If the importance of interchangeability and adaptability was clear in 1916, it is even more apparent in our current market.

Where else but Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, would one expect a huge AR Gillette razor at midfield?

Modern Examples

Our industry is overflowing with lighting options that seek to provide an easy and adaptable experience for manufacturers, installers and customers alike. The continued development of LED retrofit light bars and “snap into place” construction is apparent in products such as Principal Sloan’s NRG Stik LED sign cabinet stick and Agilight’s RetroRayz PRO LED light bars. These options not only serve to assist installers in retrofit jobs but also allow manufacturers to produce new signs that are easily serviceable.

The ability to effectively use a wide range of colors is another modern development that gives customers a varying degree of adaptivity. With the continuing improvement of LED neon replacements such as France Lighting Solution’s Flexx Curv or GE’s Tetra Contour Flex, sign companies have varied color options to their customers in a flexible and easy-to-install package. Color can also be quickly changed with an advanced RGB system such as Principal Sloan’s RGBW Dial LED Controller, which allows installers and customers to dial in their specific brand-recognized hue.

The EMC market has also been capitalizing on adaptability by offering their customers software that allows them to make quick changes to their messaging. An example of this can be seen in ThinkSIGN’s Studio Cloud software. This program allows customers to adjust the imaging shown on their EMCs with the touch of a button. Studio Cloud also gives them a library of images, backgrounds and animations, while allowing them to upload their own unique creations as well.

Looking Forward

Looking back to the sign industry’s roots requires us to look forward as well. Where could adaptive and interchangeable signage go from here? Mixed reality advertising has become a new craze and has already been used by the NFL’s Carolina Panthers in 2021 and the New England Patriots for Gillette razors in 2022. At some point this could be a viable option for the masses.