Any kind of visual graphics created to display information to a particular audience is considered as signage, and for a Miami business, it is absolutely crucial to enhance your businesses visibility. This is typically manifested in the form of wayfinding information in places such as streets or inside/outside of buildings.

Types of signage in Miami: Oil Stock sign – massive signage for Oil Stockage, Street signage – signs stamped out of metal with lettering embossed or printed (or both), Neon signage – Electric lighting, Modular signage – A signage system that consists of pre designed elementary units, custom-made signage – Signs that are built from scratch to suit a specific requirement presented by a client or a specific project, MCFT (Modular Curved Frame Technology) — A contemporary fusion between custom-made signage and modular sign systems that features a curved profile, LED sign (light-emitting diodes technology) — LED lighting, Architectural Signage Wayfinding Systems – A unified system of signs for a single facility that aid in wayfinding and identification of specific destinations within the facility. Signs include building and room identification signs, directional and informational signs and regulatory signs. In the US, all such systems must comply with the ADA.

In signage a pictogram is the image used to convey the message of the sign. In statutory signage pictograms follow a very specific set of color, shape and sizing rules. In UK and EU signs the width of a sign’s pictogram is set at 80% the height of the area it is printed to. In the US, a pictogram that identifies a room or space (such as the gender pictogram on a restroom signs), must follow specific rules. Other pictograms that must comply with rules are the four “Symbols of Accessibility” specified in the ADA Accessibility Guidelines.

For a pictogram to work it must be instantly recognizable and understood by all. For this to work the image must be kept consistent. In its purest form a pictogram on a sign should be understood even if there is no text present. Following the standard color and shape rules increase the likelihood of a universally understood pictogram and therefore sign.

Signage in Miami falls into three groups: decorative, adding eye-pleasing color; informational; or directional, providing guidance.

Signs have very specific shapes. These shapes on signs send messages to the audience and form a set of rules that should be followed when developing signage. The particular shapes may vary among different parts of the world.

Rectangular signs are used to portray information to an audience. This is found in safe condition signs, public information signs, and fire equipment signs. These signs provide information to an audience. They tell where something is, what something is, and similar information.

In contrast, a circular sign is an instruction that must be followed. Both the mandatory and the prohibition signs provide instructions that cannot be ignored.

Finally, there is the triangle or the warning sign. This is used to convey danger. It can also provide information but its primary purpose it to quickly tell you to be aware and careful.

Signage systems in Miami are visually oriented information systems, consisting of signs, maps, arrows, color codings systems, pictograms and different typographic elements. Signage systems differ from other methods of information presentation because they are typically used to guide people’s passage through the physical world; road signs on a highway, station identification signs in a subway and overhead signs in an airport are all common examples of signage systems. The act of following a signage system is known as wayfinding, waysigning or signposting.