The art of signcraft - making the perfect safety sign Since this blog started, we’ve talked a great deal about both the visual and functional effectiveness of signs. But what factors make a perfect sign? What attributes enable a sign to fulfill its purpose with the greatest possible level of efficiency?
Does size matter when it comes to safety signs? No business buys health & safety signs as decorative items: they’re there to be noticed. Some businesses may be tempted to buy the cheapest possible signs in order to save money while still complying with legislation…but this is one area where size matters. It’s no good buying the cheapest and smallest safety signs if they’re too small to even be read. Ultimately, you want your mandatory signs to be visible from a distance to ensure safety at all times. Some signs are perfectly adequate in small sizes: for example, a warning sign relating to a small piece of machinery really needs only to be visible as this machinery is approached. However, some need to be larger: if you’re putting a “no entry” sign up on a car park exit, for example, you’ll need it to be legible from a distance in order to avoid collisions.
Safety signs for homeowners We see signs everywhere. Some are providing warnings, some are giving directions and some are offering us instructions or presenting us with useful information. Your home might be the only ‘sign-free’ zone that you ever spend your time in, but have you ever stopped to think how breaking down the barrier and adding signs to your home could make your life safer and easier?
Safety on the farm: How signs can help agricultural workers Few areas are as dangerous as a farm. Agricultural operations often utilise vast amounts of land, dangerous chemicals and machinery. As such, safety is highly important and the right health & safety signs are crucial. Here are a few agricultural areas that always need to be well signalled.
Are traffic signs heading in the right direction? There are those (chiefly manufacturers of GPS and satnav systems!) who have postulated the idea that eventually road signage will become obsolete, believing that in the not too distant future we could become totally reliant on safety and warning signs being delivered totally electronically within our vehicles or on personal mobile devices.
Why are signs so important? Signs, we see them every day: whether it’s safety signs looming above the motorways as we commute to work, or the soft, green glow of an emergency exit sign in the dark of a cinema screen, or the direct message of a no smoking sign, signs play a major role in our everyday lives. In fact, your average person sees so many signs during the course of their day, be it hopping in the car and driving to the supermarket, or patrolling the high street, they are unlikely to notice just how widespread and numerous signage really is. However, signs are not just there to warn us of potential dangers or hazards, they can also be used to help point us in the right direction. For businesses, they can even entertain and intrigue passers-by...
More than words can say with a sign In language, something can often say two things; what it connotes and what it denotes. Denotations are often more literal, as they often become a mark or indicator for something, and this is what we often think of signs as. Emergency exit signs, for instance, are a symbol for alternative routes.
Where will my sign get noticed? When it comes to getting the most out of your signs, positioning is everything. There are various places and methods to post a sign, and many companies often lean to different strategies. More often than not, function will dictate form. Health and safety signs, as an example, should be clearly displayed near the respective health risk.
How signs can improve your office space Whether we’re aware of it or not, each and every one of us comes face to face with threatening hazards during our day-to-day working lives. Many of us take them for granted, but when it comes to helping us avoid common workplace injuries, health and safety signs save countless people from serious injury, sometimes even death, each and every year.
Get Your Message Noticed The first and arguably most important point of any sign is to be noticed. This is especially true for health & safety signs, where being visible is the difference between whether an accident occurs or not. In short, being visible is everything. Of course, we’ve already discussed where to place a sign to ensure it’s seen, yet these notices do a lot themselves.