I spent some time last night and today scoping out the different types of signage here in Vegas…and there’s A LOT. It’s interesting to see all of the different installations – some of them are discreet and simply convey information, and there are others that are just over the top and span the entire side of a building.
So, what content is playing on these screens? Well, nearly all of them serve an advertising purpose – they’re all selling what Las Vegas has to offer. Most content is quick, flashy, bright, and colourful – maybe that’s to attract the attention of the intoxicated crowds but it’s definitely something that helps add to the “gimmicky” Vegas feel. I really don’t think the same type of content would work on the UBC campus.
One thing that I feel really adds to the signage is that on the really large, high visibility installations all of the content appears to be continuous, no apparent slide transitions whatsoever. Having a long and continuous piece of content allows you much more flexibility and creativity in the transitions between messages. One sign, outside of the Wynn hotel/casino actually has a physical bar that moves up and down across the LED panels, and the content plays such that when this bar moves across the screen it appears to move the content with it.
The other type of installation that I caught was the use of LED panels to make a path of digital rain drops that wrapped around a restaurant – this was more of an art feature, but it was still really interesting. I’ll be looking forward to the exhibit hall to see what the manufacturers have to provide.
It’s certain that the sheer amount and nature of signage here makes it very overwhelming – this is something that I really think can be avoided on campus with the right guidelines for content creation and best practices for signage management.
