Are you starting a sign business, or considering starting one? If so, this new book will introduce you to many of the important facets involved in running a sign shop. Getting Started in the Sign Business ...
A gallery of this unique Tampa neighborhood's signage
By Steve Aust
As scheduling demands intensify amidst the Information Age, coupled with the budgetary constraints of economically uncertain times, the entertainment and recreation dollar has tightened for most family and corporate-travel budgets. Therefore, resorts, clubs and other entertainment-related entities fiercely compete for a limited pool of would-be customers’ discretionary money. And, economic-development organizations, and convention and visitors’ bureaus, must promote aggressively to uphold their region’s or city’s “brand recognition.”
Consequently, decisionmakers for these properties and organizations must appear progressive and trendy. In some cities, neighborhoods and designated areas tailor their economic growth toward attracting tourists and corporate travelers.
Naturally, signage plays an integral role. Additionally, sports arenas and other venues prominently feature advertising signage to attract thousands, if not millions, of viewers annually. Whether it’s a program for a new restaurant or store, an environmental-graphics program for a casino or updated stadia advertising, signage should loom as a primary consideration for branding new or renovated properties. In tandem, signmakers should recognize this importance and make prompt service a primary goal. After all, such large-scale properties usually entail repeat business for conscientious signshops.
This diverse gallery shows how well-executed signage can enhance the ambience – and, likely, the ultimate profitability – of establishments geared towards spare-time diversions.
Y Beautiful Ybor
Ybor City, also known as Florida’s Latin Quarter, credits its name to Vicente Martinez Ybor, a Cuban cigarmaker who helped found the town in the 1880s as a U.S. center for stogie production. Its early population principally comprised an influx of Spanish, Cuban and Italian immigrants who populated the factories. The city grew steadily until the Depression, when economic troubles severely impacted cigarmakers and the local economy. The exodus accelerated throughout World War II, as the few remaining cigarmakers automated their plants, which required still fewer workers. Soon, the city’s mass-production cigar industry virtually evaporated. Today, a handful of boutique cigarmakers have revived the local tradition.
