Follow the Signs to the 2026 Big Survey

JOIN US AS WE travel through ST’s fifth-annual Big Survey. Our tour includes fascinating demographics of the respondents, their sign companies, earnings and much more. We think you’ll find their input interesting, insightful and fun.

In January, we emailed 13,698 individuals in our research list. From there, 222 started the Big Survey with 189 qualifying to continue as owners and top managers. Approximately 140 completed the 80 questions. In this issue we present the Big Survey’s first four sections, but an additional five — including the popular “how much you pay and charge” sections — are available starting at signsofthetimes.com/032607.

Wondering what sign companies are using AI for? How do sign pros rank the threats to the industry? Or more personal questions: How many different cities have they lived in as adults? Where in the world would they most like to travel? On the subject of world travel, we have our ultra-talented Group Design Editor Victor Cantal to thank — as always — for the creative and joyous ‘exploration’ layouts across these pages. Great job, Victor!

And if you like reading the Big Survey, you’ll love the monthly survey info and data from our Brain Squad in Buzz Session and throughout every issue. To participate in our “little” surveys, join the Brain Squad at signsofthetimes.com/brainsquad. Our journey through signs has no end!