THE SIGNAGE FOUNDATION FOR COMMUNICATION EXCELLENCE, INC.

If it is properly designed and placed, the on-premise sign can effectively perform its communication/speech functions and simultaneously promote traffic safety. To maximize its full potential, the on-premise sign must meet two essential requirements: it must be capable of being seen, and once seen, it must be capable of being understood (or "read").

Messages received from signs are processed by the driver and depending upon the driver's needs or expectations, become the basis for decisions. The correctness of any given decision, and the degree of success the driver has in completing the driving task, depends upon the sign's ability to quickly and adequately communicate its intended message. For on-premise signage, information concerning the product, good or service available on site and confirmation of location are usually the most important messages. The following factors should be considered in optimizing a sign's ability to communicate these messages clearly:

1. Comprehension: The message should be unambiguous. A symbol can offer significantly greater legibility for a given sign area, but it may not always be immediately understood by all viewers. Lack of recognition is a strong reason for use of standardized signing protocols, e.g., standardized corporate signage. However, if a retailer is not part of a national corporate identification program, copy (or content) should receive careful attention and consideration.

2. Conspicuity: The sign must be distinguishable from its surroundings, i.e., it must be sufficiently conspicuous to attract the driver's attention. Conspicuousness (or "conspicuity") is a particular problem for private signage after daylight. Often, vehicular headlights do not reflect onto the sign, and if the sign is not illuminated at night or during inclement weather, it can simply fail to function as a communication device.

3. Legibility: The sign must be readable to the extent that its copy or symbols are enough discernable to permit near instant comprehension by the observer. Two of the most important variables in determining a sign's legibility are the size of the sign and the legend on it. On a two lane, 25 mph street (characteristic of business districts), the typical on-premise sign appears to require a legibility distance of 300 feet -- a distance allowing the sign to be read from the nearest intersection, approximately one block away. For signs in rural areas or on high speed roads, a greater distance is required...and larger legends are needed, e.g., the San Diego, California sign code allows signs to be 75 feet high and 300 feet square along the City's high speed interstates.

4. Expectancy: The sign's legend (message) and location or placement should reasonably conform to the driver's expectations. In many cases, travelers will plan to stop en route for food or gasoline or lodging, but will not know in advance where they can be found. It is illogical, and perhaps even irrational, to zone a commercial land use next to a primary or interstate highway system and not allow for adequate placement and size of signs to attract and direct motorists. (Even travelers who have preplanned will expect to find adequate signs at or near the intended destination -- to assure them they are on target.)

5. Emphasis: Information most important to the driver should be emphasized by size, location, letter type, color or other means. The information may be conveyed by "copy" or by "logo". A sign displaying a nationally recognized logo, such as McDonald's golden arches or "M", does not need much, if any, copy because the logo alone communicates more information than any amount of copy could.

6. Credibility: Credibility reflects whether drivers believe that a sign's message (a) is true, and/or (b) pertains to them. Proper maintenance is a critical factor in assuring consumer confidence in private signage. On-premise signs in poor condition, badly out-of-date or lacking a communication system consumers understand, exemplify less-than-credible signing that may be disregarded.

The information conveyed by an on-premise sign simultaneously may be specific to one driver's immediate needs and largely irrelevant to another's. However, most drivers can seek and process vast amounts of information...and filter out all but what is needed, in very rapid succession. Although highly distracting, irrelevant information on advertising signs can produce a statistically significant decrease in tracking or detection tasks, research on the "distraction" factor discloses that the decrease is so small, it has no practical impact on driving functions. More specifically, test results disclose that:

1. Drivers look directly at the messages displayed, and usually within milliseconds are able to collect the information sought or needed, provided the signs are easy to read and understand. This is so, even in the presence of competing messages nearby.

2. The more complex the driving situation, the more easily the sign should be seen and read. This is particularly true for freeway interchanges, where the driver is often required or needs to make split second decisions.

3. Proper sign lighting or illumination enhances driver readability and safe-reaction times. (A positive side effect of legible, well placed and illuminated signs is the decrease in time that the driver is looking away from the road.)^[8]