EDITOR’S COLUMN
AGENDA
BY JEFF WOOTEN
Note: Due to COVID-19 concerns, all events listed below are subject to change. Please check each show’s Web site for any cancellations or reschedules.
NOVEMBER 2020 NOVEMBER 12-13:
SEGD Branded Environments 2020 is the virtual event for the design of brand-centric customer experiences. According to SEGD, integrating meaningful brand experiences into places and spaces provides the highest branding return on investment to owners and their users. (segd.org)
An Optimal Outlook
MARCH 2021
Q3 offers encouraging signs...if they’re noticed.
4
Sign Builder Illustrated
ISA released its recent Sign Industry Quarterly Economic Report (which assesses printing and electrical/digital sign suppliers and electric/digital and architectural signage markets) sponsored by the National Association of Sign Supply Distributors and developed in partnership with IHS Markit. It found that the U.S. economy was expected to come “roaring back” with a 33 percent GDP gain in the third quarter (https://bit.ly/2TgiHBK). The report notes that IHS has improved its outlook for sign industry markets in 2020 with some sectors of the economy expecting a “stronger rebound.” However by the time you’re reading this, the growth was projected to fade to 3.7 percent. Reasons cited for this Q4 downturn are the waning of catch-up spending, the dissipation of fiscal support, and increasing COVID-19 infections. The stark reality is that, according to experts, we’re probably not going to experience a traditional recovery or true return of confidence until an effective treatment or vaccine arrives. It’s going to be like the “up one wave, down another” gag from the classic Tweety & green-faced Sylvester cartoon. So here’s hoping you experienced a successful Q3 and will continue to rebound in Q4…and that floor graphics will become a little more heeded.
JEFF WOOTEN Editor, jwooten@sbpub.com
November 2020
APRIL 2021 APRIL 7-9:
The International Sign Association’s ISA International Sign Expo will be returning to a to-be-announced venue in Las Vegas, Nevada. (signexpo.org)
MAY 2021 MAY 16-20:
The 2021 LightFair architectural and commercial lighting conference and tradeshow, which will be incorporating new safety protocols and specific mitigration measures, will be occurring at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York CIty during the citywide NYCxDesign Week. (lightfair.com) Photo: Shutterstock.com/ Bakhtiar Zein.
I
know our magazine has made it quite a point to sign makers and graphics providers over the past six-or-so months (which, from an emotional angle, feel more like six-or-so “years”) that social distancing floor graphics are items that can be offered and provided to their business clients for implementation. I’m not certain how the experience has been in your area, but here in my neck of the woods, I’m starting to feel maybe we should have provided this information to the general public as well, particularly if recent visits to a nearby grocery store are any type of small sample indication. There were times I seriously had to dodge traffic and look down to make sure the wayfinding graphics weren’t gaslighting me. However I did notice that some of these floor directionals either didn’t stand out enough or just weren’t as myriad in number. (Then again, maybe some people are just going to people, regardless of what’s being posted.) If you provide these types of products and you’re finding this a potential problem in your encounters, this could be an opportunity to get even more involved in the design process or to point out how quantity and quality should not be mutually exclusive. Speaking of signs someone may have missed, what sign maker would have ever thought that social distancing floor graphics were going be a thing back in the first quarter of the year, much less still going strong here in the fourth quarter? Another sign you may have missed:
MARCH 23-25:
LabelExpo/Brand Print Americas 2021 is rescheduled to commence at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois . (brandprint-americas.com)
OCTOBER 2021 OCTOBER 6-8:
PRINTING United Alliance, which brings together the largest and most diverse audience in the printing industry, will be taking place in Orlando, Florida. (printingunited.com)
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