A great swedish poet once wrote the line “I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes.”

Going beyond the ideas of symbolism and metaphor, perhaps there is no greater communicator than a sign. Signs tell us solid human ideas in a staid way. A “Tavern” sign recovered from the Middle Ages will have the same meaning to us in 2014 America.

They can show us the way to the bathroom, announce a retirement party or help jet planes lift off the ground.

This is the power of signs.

How Signage Shaped America

Signs have shaped American history because people have shaped American history and signs are the most human way of permanently communicating a message to the world – both present and future.

Long live the sign!