Embracing Convergent Forces

By the time you read this newsletter, I’ll likely have already arrived in Atlanta to attend the Society for Experiential Graphic Design’s (SEGD) annual conference. This year’s conference title is Convergence, a fitting moniker for a meeting that takes place in a city that’s served as the economic and cultural hub of the Southeast for decades. Also known as Hotlanta, The City Too Busy to Hate, The Big Peach, or simply, The ATL, Atlanta boasts a metro population of approximately 5.5 million, which makes it the ninth-largest U.S. metropolitan area.

Of course, Convergence applies for more reasons than simply the venue. As the definition of signage continues to broaden, new disciplines increasingly intersect to create successful on-premise signage. Dynamic-digital signage (DS) plays an increasingly vital role, and the organization’s replacement of the “E” in its acronym from “Environmental” to “Experiential” reflects the important role new technologies play in placemaking for modern audiences.

In ST’s January issue, I wrote an editorial that conveyed my own reservations about SEGD’s name change – I bristle a bit at the notion of signage creating an engineered experience, rather than letting readers interpret visual communications organically, in their own ways — but I’m not going to let such a trivial difference diminish my appreciation for what this organization does. SEGD has made tremendous strides in bridging any knowledge and communication gaps between designers and fabricators. They’ve become solid partners with ISA, and both organizations have played a vital role in advocating for favorable signage regulation. Both played a vital role in fending off an ANSI proposal that would’ve required a 70% color-contrast threshold for ADA-compliant signage. Passage of the contrast proposal would have severely limited sign-design color choices. This past March in Cincinnati, SEGD addressed the growing importance of healthcare signage as the Baby Boomer population inches towards senior-citizen status. In addition to discussion of materials and technologies well suited to this market, we visited two prominent Queen City healthcare facilities to view multi-faceted sign treatments firsthand.

The SEGD-ISA partnership embodies convergence in the macro sense. On a more personal level, there’s the almost infinitely diverse repertoire of sign-design and fabrication sensibilities that will be assembled under one roof at the Loews Hotel in midtown Atlanta. Education – such as the Gemini Inc.-sponsored discussion, Business of Design: Managing Partnerships in Global Practice, or the Harbinger Sign-sponsored presentation, Technology and Media Integration: Designing and Specifying for Immersive Experiences – is combined with inspiration. The conference’s first day offers opportunities to visit such venerable Atlanta institutions as the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, and the Carter Center and Library to view firsthand their environmental graphics, or, my chosen journey, the Atlanta Typewalk, which will demonstrate historical and contemporary typography on various Atlanta structures and spur discussion on their legacy to Atlanta’s cityscape.

The conference always concludes with a dinner and presentation of SEGD Design Award winners. I always look forward to another demonstration of progressive applications of typography, materials, color and overarching, inspiring creativity. In our November issue, we’ll feature a few of these winners in great depth.’

But, as with most organizations, SEGD’s vitality stems from its unique members. Generally, they comprise the most forward-thinking faction of the sign industry which pushes the envelope of what may constitute a sign, and the role environmental graphics may play in visually enhancing public spaces.

Advertisement

Not being a designer by trade, I sometimes feel like Gomer Pyle at a MENSA gathering at SEGD events, but I inevitably come away from SEGD conference better informed about the sign industry and more connected to cutting-edge designers and fabricators.

If you live in or near Atlanta and can get make the time tomorrow, Friday or Saturday, try to get the Loews Hotel in Midtown Atlanta, and ascend to the 14th floor. I think you’d find even a one-day visit to Convergence to be informative and inspiring. And, if you’re already planning to attend, I look forward to seeing you there!