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Eric E. Larsen

The Future of Signs Is Not Far Away

Musings on what’s next and when it might arrive.

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PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO

BEING THE SECOND OLDEST profession on the planet we have witnessed many advancements in signs and sign fabrication. From chipping away on megalithic walls and towers to running pixels on high-resolution electronic message centers. It’s only taken us 40,000 years to get to where we are now. Hey, we are on a roll!

So, the question remains. What’s next in the sign industry?

I am fortunate to be able to choose which projects I want to do and which I pass on. This allows me to look into the unique projects where companies seek to be different in presenting their image. Designing these types of projects challenges me.

My favorite time period for the sign industry was from the 1920’s and the explosion of the theatre marquee through the early 1970’s when signs had style and form. The old hotels and department stores of that era still have my attention. As a kid I remember the Holiday Inn sign all lit up high above the interstate. I had no sense of direction or distance at that age, but I knew when the Holiday Inn sign was in sight we were close to the magical downtown department stores, and more cool shapes and colors.

In my life as a sign guy I got to experience the transition of old school sign building to the new school of today’s technology. Just in the past 20-some years we have gone from automated flip changeable copy to huge electronic message centers in various shapes and sizes. I’d say we have certainly sped up our advancement as a species of sign people.

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Today we watch Sci-Fi movies showing gigantic projected holograms on skyscrapers to make us feel we are in a future world. That’s probably not far off actually. Projected mapping technology can turn entire buildings into works of art. Computer-controlled drones high above a city can give us the impression of a giant blue lion scoring a touchdown on top of Ford Field in Detroit. And let’s not forget probably one of the coolest representations of new sign technology: The Sphere in Las Vegas.

Things are changing rapidly in our industry. A more technology savvy generation will be taking over soon as old schoolers take up residence on a beach somewhere. We have paved the way for the next advancement. We will look back as we sip our adult beverages while watching the waves crash on the shore. I will be enjoying a good cigar and watching the tip of a fishing pole as I look into the sky at night. There I expect to see words and pictures pointing down toward the planet, projected from swarms of satellites orbiting in sync high above the atmosphere.

Well, maybe not that soon into the future but eventually I believe it will happen. Not bad for a group of creative humans that started out banging rocks together.

Have an epic New Year!

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SPONSORED VIDEO

Mars Bravo: The Most Interesting Name in the Sign Industry

Mars Bravo is not the kind of name you hear very often in the sign industry — the kind of name more likely to follow, “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage…!” In this episode, Eric interviews Mars to find out about her start in the sign industry and her ideas for the future, first with how she got her name.

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