Signage

The term, 'sign' comes from the old French signe (noun), signer (verb), meaning a gesture or a motion of the hand.

[9] Apart from the bush, certain identifiable trade signs that survive into modern times include the three balls of pawnbrokers and the red and white barber's pole.

[10] Recent research suggests that China exhibited a rich history of early retail signage systems.

[12][13] A copper printing plate used to print posters contained message, which roughly translates as: "Jinan Liu's Fine Needle Shop: We buy high quality steel rods and make fine quality needles, to be ready for use at home in no time.

"[14] The plate also includes a trademark in the form of a white rabbit which signified good luck and was particularly relevant to the primary purchasers, women with limited literacy.

[15] Eckhart and Bengtsson have argued that during the Song dynasty, Chinese society developed a consumerist culture, where a high level of consumption was attainable for a wide variety of ordinary consumers rather than just the elite.

Sometimes the trader used a rebus on his own name (e.g. two cocks for the name of Cox); sometimes he adopted a figure of an animal or other object, or portrait of a well-known person, which he considered likely to attract attention.

Around this time, some manufacturers began to adapt the coats of arms or badges of noble families as a type of endorsement.

Not only were the signs themselves large and sometimes of great artistic merit (especially in the 16th and 17th centuries, when they reached their greatest vogue) but the posts or metal supports protruding from the houses over the street, from which the signs were swung, were often elaborately worked, and many beautiful examples of wrought-iron supports survive both in England and continental Europe.

Large overhanging signs became a danger and a nuisance in the narrow ways as the city streets became more congested with vehicular traffic.

In Paris in 1761, and in London, about 1762–1773, laws were introduced which gradually compelled sign boards to be removed or fixed flat against the wall.

With the gradual abolition of sign boards, the numbering of houses began to be introduced in the early 18th century in London.

Another important factor was that during the Middle Ages a large percentage of the population was illiterate and so pictures were more useful as a means of identifying a public house.

The first, spectaculars, erected in Manhattan in 1892, became commonplace in the first decade of the 20th century and by 1913, "the skies were awash with a blaze of illuminated, animated signs.

Its flexibility and visibility led to widespread commercial adoption and by the 1930s, neon signs were a standard feature of modern building around the world.

For example, signage may provide information, but may also serve to assist customers navigate their way through a complex service or retail environment.

For example, In UK and EU signage, the width of a sign's pictogram must be 80% the height of the area it is printed to.

Following standard color and shape conventions increases the likelihood that the pictogram and sign will be universally understood.

Shape can be brand- or design-based, or can be part of a set of signage conventions used to standardize sign meaning.

Neon signs, introduced in 1910 at the Paris Motor Show, are produced by the craft of bending glass tubing into shapes.

Brightness of LED signs can vary, leading to some municipalities in the United States banning their use due to issues such as light pollution.