Advertising and public information can be considered a communication between companies that offer services and products and the potential customers. Through out the years, the means to communicate have evolved from a shout or a sign to complicated technological means like the Internet. Like it or not, signs still have a lot of meaning and they are the basis of the very complex ways of communication. It is useful as it can reach a large mass of people and make itself understood by everyone. This is the reason why signs are everywhere around us in our everyday life.



A signage is a big illuminated object that gives out information about something. Usually a signage is used for advertising because it can be placed in obvious spots, it's flashy and it can capture the attention of people. However, the way a signage looks doesn't tell a lot about how it is made. This remains a mystery to most people who look at one. Even though one might be tempted to think the signage's making is complicated because of all the lights and the graphics, it is more of a problem of artistic talent in building a sign. A shape is cut into a piece of material which filters light and behind that piece of material a LED string is positioned. A LED is a light emitting diode that can light up in different colors. The technology isn't new as it first appeared in the 1970s and is very a very popular way of promotion. Usually the material is a shade of white so, no matter what kind of color light hits it, it won't change the color the LED reflects. The signage can be very vivid and flashy. Any sign that isn't colorful or interactive doesn't get the attention of a large number of people. All the LEDs are controlled by a micro processor so they can do all sorts of tricks: blink, they can light up in certain sequences, light up in different colors or with different intensities. To realize the impact a signage can have just think of any Las Vegas sign ...

The reasons why any company should have a LED sign are multiple and very well founded. First of all, one should consider its price. It's a lot easier and cheaper to build a LED sign than a neon sign. And of course it's cheaper to buy a neon sign than to buy a big plasma screen for this purpose. Another reason would be maintenance. LED signs are very resistant in time and they are not damage by water, heat or sunlight in comparison to a plasma screen. Of course a LED signage won't perform all the graphics of a plasma sign, but keeping it simple means attracting more people. A complicated animation can sometimes be boring, difficult to understand or distract from the message it's trying to send out. A LED sign sends all the right messages as simple as possible so more people can understand without having to waste too much time and effort. Another advantage of the LED signage is the long range of action: for example if your restaurant's name has a LED sign it will be visible from a very long range, maybe even from a hundred meters. Only neon signs have such a big action radius, but neon signs heat up a lot. A LED sign is the best option out there because it's cheap, it's easy to keep it in shape and has the best results.

The purposes of signage usage are very numerous and different. The most popular are for advertising and public information. Name signs are like labels, they can be used by restaurants, pharmacies and any other public institutions which want to label their territory. This is a way to promote their image and make their name a household one. Most name signs can be found in Las Vegas which can be considered the capital of signage promotion.

If used for public information, like in a train station, airport or even in a big fast food restaurant, a huge board can be placed in visible places to announce the upcoming flights, trains or orders. LED signs are better because they offer better visibility and clearer text. It's very expensive to get a plasma screen as big as a board and, even if you get one, it can break down very fast. On the other hand, LED signage is perfect for this purpose.

Advertising can be done in many different ways and the use of signage is just one of them. It's easy, simple and cheap and it gets the job done. Big signs made of LED strings can be placed on buildings or in public places increasing the popularity of a service or product. This is very effective because the cost is very low and the outcome is good. People have the tendency to respond better to simple things they can see everyday, like a LED sign and this type of signage shouldn't be considered out of fashion because its popularity is incontestable and the results are even better than they were when it first appeared.