You might not immediately associate the sign industry with the fashion industry, however, the two creative industries have more similarities than you would think.
Firstly, trends change fast. Each time a new season rolls around, you can expect a completely new range of clothes in high street shops, while a similar change occurs in signage, with materials, colours, and designs changing in line with the time of year.
Secondly, turnaround time needs to be quick. Fashion designers face considerable time pressures not too dissimilar to those of sign-makers, with products needing to be produced quickly to meet demand.
Another similarity is the impact of technology on the two industries. For fashion, the internet has meant customers can browse an almost unlimited amount of choices, and even purchase items online from their homes.
The same goes for the sign industry. Tools such as VB Media from Venture Banners, providing users with a customer-facing website to sell a range of print and signage on the same platform, means that items such as banners can now be bought from the comfort of your own home.
The reason for this discussion is because of our trend-led main feature for our August issue, ‘A Fashionable Solution’ (page 57), which looks at how design trends are affecting sign lettering systems. Brenda Hodgson has taken an in-depth look into this area, commenting on the resurgence of neon and popularity of LEDs, which is worth a read for anyone interested in the evolution of signage trends.