Talking Signs
Talking Signs
Friday October 05, 07 09:41
LANDSCAPING INNOVATION
By Brian Burton
Two Canadian companies recently combined their creative and technical resources to introduce an award-winning innovative new product to the North American marketplace.
Folia Industries, of Huntingdon, Quebec and Voxsys Audioguides of Quebec City launched their new product late last year at the annual convention of the Society of Environmental Graphic Design *, (SEGD) in Miami Beach, Florida. www.segd.org
(*Practitioners in the specialized field of environmental or urban graphics as it is sometimes called include professionals involved in designing and installing "wayfinding" systems, architectural graphics, audio devices and outdoor interpretive or educational signage.)
The signage product, which generated considerable interest at the convention, combines an extremely durable outdoor signage system fabricated from phenolic resin panels (manufactured by Folia Industries of Huntingdon, Quebec, www.folia.ca, with automated audio components. The
" talking sign" created has considerable potential in the architectural, municipal, parks and recreation, and tourism markets.
The product has quickly proven to be ideally suited for use in interpretation centers, aquariums, zoos, museums, parks, memorials, and observation towers. The system is also being utilized for city and building tours, factories, shopping malls and many other applications.
The system is now installed few sites including the Cosmodôme Space Center in Laval and the Laurentides Touristic and educational center near Tremblant, both in Quebec.
According to Alain Blanchette of Voxsys, (www.voxsys.net ) the firm was the first to develop an "audioguide" system that operates without batteries for outdoor sites that can withstand extreme weather conditions and among the first to offer a system that integrates visual information. The visitor carries either a small headset connected to an Audiokey or a card, called Audiotag, used to touch contacts on the panels that activates the soundtracks.
"The basic module for our various products is a miniature electronic case sealed in the Folia panel, which stores, amplifies and distributes audio information." reports Blanchette. "This case is compact and lightweight designed to contain a variety of messages that can be modified at will.
AudioSign is a product that combines solid graphic outdoor signage panels by Folia Industies, with the Voxsys "Audiotour" system. AudioSign is the result of a cooperative effort and shared expertise between the two companies.Folia Industries specializes in manufacturing custom high-pressure laminate signage for multiple outdoor and indoor applications.The signage laminate manufactuered from phenolic resin panels that are impervious to moisture, UV, bacteria, graffiti, scratching, cigarette burns, vandalism,etc.)
This new system is designed to enhance site tours in any tourist setting using special technology to transmit sound through solid material. The system also incorporates features that enable users to individually adjust the volume and loudspeakers that can be connected to entertain a group of people. The product has been extremely well received by exhibition designers and managers of zoos, aquariums, historical sites, museums and parks everywhere in North America. AudioSign received the BEST NEW PRODUCT award at the 2001 annual show of the Society for Environmental Graphic Design.
Wayfinding, Signage and Infrastructure
We do not often think of signage as a component of the infrastructure. However, they are a vital and important part of the urban environment and their design and placement has evolved into specialized field. The term semiotics refers to a discipline originally defined by the linguist Ferdinand de Saussure and the philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce in the early 1970’s. The term actually refers to this study of man's quest for meaning. It is often used however, to describe the formal study of signage.
Research at the beginning of this century by behavioral psychologists helped to define such issues as memory, spatial recognition, and information processing, and began to shed light on how we use our senses to interpret the physical world and execute a plan to "navigate" to a desired destination.
In the 1970’s, researchers began to study how we navigate complex spaces by staging tests of orientation and memory in large building complexes, building interiors and malls. These studies revealed that there were many different levels of ability in "wayfinding" and that the process was influenced by many environmental factors, such as building symmetry, user expectations, language, information from signs, other people, and memory.
Objectives of Signage
Although the materials, construction and design of signs have changed dramatically over the years, the purpose of signs remains the same; to communicate quickly and effectively. Well-designed signage and wayfinding strategies assist in facilitating the design, construction, and management of sites. Well-conceived signage should reflect and enhance the nature and essence of a site and achieve convenience and safety.
Signs can also provide a means to reinforce the site values and long-range goals. At a primary level, indoor and outdoor signage should;
- Be attractive, durable and functional.
- Provide a sense of place in an ever-changing environment.
- Create a welcoming environment in which people move in an orderly, logical, and safe manner throughout a site.
- Assist in circulation patterns that improve the visitor’s ability to navigate and move comfortably within interior and exterior spaces.
- Create an appropriate graphic image and identity that is adaptable.
Provide a means of integration with the design standards for site and landscape elements. - Achieve convenience and safety.
- Create a new dimension of experience for the visitor.
- Complement other elements in the landscape.
- Customized Landscape Signage
According to Shannon Wells, Marketing Manager for Folia Industries, customized landscape signage is a functional way to convey and reinforce a theme and message that is consistent with your overall site and building design. "It’s a good idea to establish the scope of your signage and signage graphics during the early stages of the design process" advises Wells. "This enables you to incorporate key signage elements effectively and allows you to provide greater consideration to aesthetics and functionality."
Many projects often involve working with professionals in the field of environmental graphic design, (EGD), a relatively new field compared with architecture, landscape architecture and interior design. Most EGD professionals come from an architectural, industrial design or two-dimensional graphic design background. EGD designers typically combine the skills of an industrial designer (three-dimensional thinking, with knowledge and experience of materials, processes and fabrication techniques) with the skills of a graphic artist (two-dimensional type and graphics layout).
Folia Signs and Environmental Graphics
Folia signs have a 10-year guarantee against fading or deterioration, and the signage panels (fabricated from phenolic resin*), can be shaped, formed and contoured in many different configurations. Folia supplies customized landscape signage for;
- Directional, interpretive and wayfinding
- Signs for zoos, parks, heritage sites, nature preserves.
- Public transportation systems and highway directional signs
- Thermoset Plastics and Phenolic Resins
The field of thermoset plastics has evolved considerably from the early 1900s when Dr. Leo Baekeland discovered that a hard, infusible polymer made from phenol-formaldehyde could lend itself to hundreds of applications. (Bakelite is named after the well-known inventor.)
With it’s excellent properties, products made with phenolic resins* are increasingly being developed, manufactured, and distributed throughout North America and the world. As a result of continual modification and improvement, new applications for phenolic resins are continually being found.
Phenol and formaldehyde are among the most basic building blocks in polymer chemistry. The condensation reaction may be initiated by a number of alkali or acidic catalysts, resulting in a polymer. This polymer, in conjunction with various organic and inorganic reinforcing systems, offers a variety of unique properties and characteristics. The polymer acts as a matrix for binding together a number of substrates such as wood; paper; fibers (e.g., fiberglass); or particles (e.g., wood flour, foundry sand) to form a highly crossed-linked composite.
PHENOLIC-BASED PRODUCTS
- Dimensional stability at elevated temperatures
- Creep resistant
- Excellent fire performance
- Cost effective
- Outstanding durability
- Excellent strength-to-weight ratio
- Excellent thermal insulation properties
- Excellent sound-damping properties
- Corrosion resistant
About the Author: Brian Burton is a Member is Standing Committee for Technical Evaluations for the Canadian Construction Materials Commission and is a regular contributor to many leading landscape design and engineering publications. To contact Brian, email him at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it