Sign Expo 2009

Tomorrow, April 16th, the 63th International Sign Expo kicks off at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The first question on everyone's mind is how many attendees will make the trek to Vegas during this economic slowdown. ISA is expecting a great turnout have done a good job putting everything together.

I am interested to see how many companies are promoting green products. There has been an increase in the amount of green marketing overall the last several years but a slower increase in actual products. I have seen a few real interesting recycling programs for digital printing and a lot of talk concerning illuminated signs.

Over the next few days I hope to find a few interesting things that can be shared. I'm also very interested to see what new products are out there and if anyone is integrating other green materials into their sign systems.

LEED Certified Materials

I get asked all the time about whether or not a product/materials is LEED certified. The majority of people do not really understand LEED thus are confused about how LEED relates to products/materials.

According to the USGBC's website, "LEED is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality."

So, there is no such thing as a LEED Certified product/material. In each of the different certification programs, there are points awarded in the five key areas for things like incorporating materials with certain amounts of recycled content and using materials that emit no VOC's. These point are for the overall amount of materials that are in a building which is why signage truly does not factor into achieving LEED points.

The only area that signage has a direct impact on LEED is in the area of education. There is a potential 1 point available for developing an education system throughout a LEED certified facility. The education system is intended to inform the occupants and visitors of the reasons why the building is LEED certified. The idea is to celebrate the success of building green while informing people about environmental consciousness.

This however doesn't mean that signage can't follow many of the same principals of incorporating products with recycled content and low or no VOC coatings. There are many great resources that can be found, including this blog, that can help in choosing the right materials for a project that is trying to obtain LEED certification. The USGBC's website has a great deal of information that can also be of great help.

Radio Appearance

Last weekend I was a guest on Naomi Pearson's talk radio show Design Evolution. The show focused specifically on Environmental Graphic Design (EGD) and movement towards greener business practices and products in signage.

Wind Powered Signage

I was scanning through the March issue of Sign Builder Illustrated and came across the Quotes and Comments section where there was a short write up about Coca-Cola's new digital billboards in Times Square using wind power. This led me to do a search on wind powered signage.

In addition to Coca-Cola's launch of wind powered digital billboards in late 2008, very soon Ricoh will launch a sign in Times Square powered by wind turbines and solar panel. The wind-turbine technology has been developed by WePOWER (Torrance, CA) and will be powered by 16 wind turbines and 64 solar panels. This combination is estimated to save 18 tons of carbon per year and roughly $12,000 to $15,000 a month in electricity.

Although incorporating wind power into signage is not an everyday type of event for most of us, these stories illustrate how advances in environmentally conscious technologies can be applied to signage. With a little ingenuity and a bit of creativity we can all see how these technologies can be implemented.

To read more, ask our good friends at Google and you'll find some really interesting stuff.

NovAcryl-ECR Ithemba

The photo below is a picture of a sign plaque created by Nova Polymers using the NovAcryl-ECR-Ithemba photopolymer material. The base material is made from 3form's Varia Ithemba which is part of the 3form Full Circle line of materials.

The goal of creating this sign was to show different ways incorporate environmentally conscious elements and methodologies into a sign.

Key Green Elements:

- NovAcryl-ECR photopolymer for tactile lettering - low energy water etching process where the effluent is 100% bio-degradable
- 3form Varia Ithemba base substrate as part of the NovAcryl-ECR. Ithemba is 3form's most well-know Full Circle product where HIV-impacted women in Africa weave copper and traditional beeds while recieving business skills training, job skills training, marketing support and mentorship.

- Incorporates recyclable aluminum stand offs

- No adhesives

- ABS back plate with Brushed Aluminum Foil finish for easy fabrication, light weight material

3form Signage Portfolio

Below are a few pictures of sign project taken from 3form's website that show some different ways the Varia Ecoresin panels have been incorporated into signage.

PROJECT INFO: University of California, San Diego
Application: Signage
Industry: Education
Designer: Carrier Johnson
Location: San Diego, CaliforniaUSA

PROJECT INFO: Little Rock National Airport
Application: Signage
Industry: Public Space
Designer: Ryan Biles (designer Fred Moseley)
Location: Little Rock, ARUSA

PROJECT INFO: University of Utah Hospitals & Clinics
Application: Signage
Industry: Healthcare
Designer: RHO Designs
Location: South Jordan, UtahUSA

PROJECT INFO: St. Andrews Club and Conference Center
Application: Signage
Industry: Corporate
Designer: Patricia Rynkun, GIO TAN Design

PROJECT INFO: Cannon Wright Blount
Application: Signage
Industry: Corporate
Designer: Helen Balch/The Crump Firm
Location: Memphis, TNUSA

PROJECT INFO: Ogden Nature Center
Application: Signage
Industry: Public Space
Location: Ogden, UTUSA

PROJECT INFO: Chiao Tung Bank
Application: Signage
Industry: Corporate
Designer: RTKL, LIGHT ENGINEERING & DESIGN CO
Location:Taiwan

Solar Illumination

Solar Electronic Power Company (SEPCO) in Stuart, FL has developed a variety of solar illumination options that are ideal for illuminating exterior signage. Solar technology is being Incorporated in lighting exterior signage from billboards to street signs to architectural signage.

CLICK HERE to view SEPCO's gallery of unique projects and product offerings

Digital Wayfinding Signage

In the March issue of SEGD Design Jenny S.Reising wrote an article about digital wayfinding signage that is worth reading. The article talks about the Smithsonian's digital wayfinding system along with challenges and the future of digital wayfinding.

PPG Coraflon

The SEGD Green Paper discusses strategies related to Air and Environmental Quality and the techniques that can be used to reduce VOC's in projects. "New powder-coating techniques and paints achieve low-VOC standards with minimal paint use. Coraflon by PPG is an example of a no-VOC coating used in architectural and sign applications, such as those at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library."

Green Signage in Produce

Incorporating recycled materials along with materials that can serve another purpose at the of their life cycle is a growing phenomenon. The concept of re-purposing materials fits with building environmentally conscious systems and reducing the amount of overall waste in a project. Most of us only think of recycling in terms of recycled content or if the material can be sent to a recycling center. The concept of re-purposing materials has many unique advantages.

Acorn Sign Graphics in Richmond, VA has embraced the methodologies behind sustainable design and has worked on several green project. Below are a few pictures of signage Acorn developed for a natural food grocery store.

According to Acorn’s President Beth Gillispie, “Ellwood Thompson’s, a natural foods grocery store whose philosophy is to be as sustainable as possible throughout the business—their products and their built environment. The design challenge is to make a modern store feel like a farmer’s market. We have worked with the owner/architect to redesign all their interior and exterior signage. Notice the frame system holding the point of purchase produce signs running along the walls and in the center displays. The structure is fabricated from steel rebar reclaimed from a large construction site. We had the rebar powder coated (more green friendly than paint) clear to contain the rusting and prevent rust from contaminating the produce or the hanging signage—but still allow the natural rust coloration to show through as a design element. Almost all steel is made of recycled material; this steel rebar is reclaimed as well—in its third life if you will. The system uses mechanical fastenings: see screws in center console assembly as well as the clips for the sign holders. The hanging clips are anodized aluminum carabiners, making it possible for the market to easily add to or reduce the number of signs. The sign holders are custom fabricated from clear PETG (recyclable material), heat bent to form the sandwich to hold each sign insert. This gives the store complete flexibility to make their own changeable 8.5x11 (recycled) paper inserts. So, reclaimed material, recyclable material (all parts), mechanical fasteners, durable, modular and changeable. Also notice the larger signs: direct to substrate printed on board panels (all eco-friendly materials and processes)."

Re-Thinking Packaging

How we package signage is often an overlooked part of the process when it comes to sustainability. Packaging is an extremely important part of getting signs to their destination without being damaged. This however does not mean that sustainability cannot be incorporated into the process. Today there are many different types of packaging products available.

Sealed Air is one of the leading companies when it comes to sustainable packaging. Instapak Packaging Foam is a light density, high performance protective packaging material, which saves on shipping costs and packaging weight. Among the many advantages of using Instapak, Sealed Air has a Foam Return Program with 9 recycling locations in the United States (26 globally). This recycling program was established over 10 years ago as a way for packing to be disposed of in an environmentally responsible way.

Park Place Sign in Hannibal, MO has recently implemented the use of Instapak Packaging Foam. According to Bill Baker, President of Park Place Sign, “We have been very pleased with the protection that this method has provided when shipping our products. We will also be implementing a information sheet to be provided in every box regarding the return or recycling of the material.”

For more information of Instapak and Sealed Air’s recycling program CLICK HERE. There is a white paper that gives a good deal of insight into sustainable packaging that can be found by following the link to Sealed Air's website.

SEGD Green Paper

SEGD Green Committee

Gary Anzalone, Precision Signs
Dawn Craft, ASI-Modulex
Thomas Horton, Gensler
Maura Mathews, Two Twelve Associates
Naomi Pearson, Pentagram
Michael Santos, Nova Polymers
Harry Spetnagel, Gensler
Leslie Gallery Dilworth, SEGD
Craig Berger, SEGD

INTRODUCTION

The SEGD Green Paper is the result of a collaborative effort by the SEGD Green Committee, a group of active SEGD members including designers, fabricators, and materials manufacturers. The committee began as a group of individuals working on their own, in areas such as leadership in other green organizations, development of green products, and development of green design practices in their own firms. This group pooled their unique talents to create the educational program outlined in this document.

During initial SEGD Green Committee meetings, it became clear that developing a “green guide” to environmental graphic design would be a huge challenge. How should we address other green organizations such as the U.S. Green Building Council? What about materials, methods, and innovations that have not been tested effectively? How do we educate designers and fabricators without offering prescriptive solutions?

The group decided to address these challenges by creating The SEGD Green Paper, designed to provide a strategic framework, resources, and inspiration for promoting sustainability in EGD. The SEGD Green Paper is the counterpart to SEGD’s earlier publication, The ADA White Paper, and represents another benchmark in SEGD’s continuum of providing educational resources to the EGD community.

Visit the SEGD Website for the entire Green Paper