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Have you ever visited an arena, stadium or convention center for the first time and found that the signs were too small, hard to read or obstructed from view? What most people do in that situation is either experience a high degree of frustration or give up looking for their destination.

Clear, informative signs are essential for conveying directional, instructional or general information to the public. This is especially true in public assembly facilities that house a wide range of events and that attract large crowds.

If you manage a public assembly facility, you know what can happen when your building’s signs are unclear—chaos. Safety and warning signs, parking and traffic signs, facility directories, exit and entrance signs, restroom and restaurant signs, and signs that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are just some examples of how managers of public facilities use signs to communicate with the public.

If your signs are not providing the information the visiting public needs, or if they are not helping control the crowds, you should consider getting an objective evaluation of your facility’s signs and graphics. Your best source for this is an experienced sign and graphics professional. There are a lot of choices to be made in selecting even a simple sign, and it helps to include someone knowledgeable in the process from the start.

In thinking through signs for your venue, you should consider:

What will the sign be used for?
How long will it be used?
What image is the sign to project?
What is the target audience for the sign?
What is the viewing distance for the sign and the length of time it will take for viewers to read it?
Where will the sign be placed and how will it be installed?
What is the budget for the sign project?
Are there permits required or restrictions imposed on the sign?
What other signs does the facility need?
When is the sign needed?.

To illustrate how a facility might use a variety of signs, consider an arena that is home to sports events, concerts and other large gatherings. The manager of this arena would want large, full-color graphic signs to attract roadside attention—signs that would be visible to passing motorists.

In addition, a weather-resistant, freestanding aluminum site sign would be needed to welcome visitors as they enter the arena’s grounds. Visitors also would need clearly visible, large directional signs to know where to park and where to enter the building. These signs might be mounted on the building itself or on poles in the parking lot. On the entrances to the facility, other large signs identifying gates and seats would be required as well.

Inside the arena, signs would be needed to direct visitors to the restrooms, gift shops, telephones, snack areas, restaurants, elevators, stairs and seats. Similar signs would be required near rows of seats to direct visitors back out to facilities.

For each event, promotional banners would be hung inside and outside the arena promoting the game, concert or other event.

In addition, a public facility is required by federal law to comply with the ADA. This legislation requires the following elements, all of which involve special signs that may need occasional replacement or repair:

Accessible parking spaces and wider walkways
Accessible passenger loading areas
Accessible entrances
Directions to the nearest accessible entrances
Accessible restroom facilities
Areas of rescue assistance
Volume-control telephones (including telephone devices for the deaf)
Tactile signs for all permanent rooms and spaces
Directions and information regarding functional areas
Elevator and hoist way signs

With an effective sign program, managers of public assembly facilities can communicate clearly with the public and convey essential information.

Drue Townsend is the senior vice president of marketing for FASTSIGNS International, Inc. in Carrollton, Texas. She may be reached at drue.townsend@fastsigns.com.

In our business, we often refer to small markets and small buildings but we forget to address the differences inherent in living in those small towns. Living and running buildings in small towns is much different than in larger markets; the phrase “living in a fishbowl” often comes to mind when I’m asked to explain the most prominent difference.

A year ago I moved from San Francisco to take a position in Slidell, LA. The greatest difference I discovered is that small towns run on “people power.” Much of what is conceived, developed and brought to fruition is the brainchild of a civic group or organization. Chambers, Rotaries, Lions and Kiwanis clubs are the drivers for creative town signage, flowers along the freeways, festivals in the parks and most of the community’s charity work. The conception of the venue I am building today actually derived from a Chamber Board Retreat weekend.

Operating a building in these communities comes with a tacit agreement that you will become a prominent and active citizen of the area. Of course we say all buildings come with these expectations, but the participation level is much higher in the fishbowl. Like any other business the building is expected to have an economic impact. But, in a small market, the building must create a value to the community. “Quality of life” is paramount to those who reside around the venue.

To survive successfully in daily small town life, these are some of the lessons I have learned over the past year:

• The person sitting next to you at the Chamber lunch could very well be the sister of the person who applied for a job last week, and the daughter of the gentleman who is the sheriff assigned to monitor your venue.

• Your mother was right. Never say anything you do not want repeated, and if you can’t say something nice, don’t say it at all.

• Always be willing to go the extra mile to support a community event, to volunteer your time and offer advice politely.

• Be willing to assist in every facet of an event from how to order linens for rental to how to acquire rental cars for the group. Nothing is a given as these clients are not professional events people. More often than not they are also volunteering their efforts to create a better community.

• The reporter can be your friend, unlike in a big city where the media thrives on controversy. Here, they actually want to write positive stories and columns concerning your efforts. The result of that is that your personal life will be public. With less traditional (read: controversial scandal) news to print in a small community your family can become interesting fodder for stories in the local papers. I adopted a son this year and we have both been featured in more than three front page news articles. Everyone in town knows who this four-month-old baby is, and people walk up to me in the grocery store to say they read about us.

Come Sit A Bit And Have Some Lemonade

• Much of what is conceived, developed and brought to fruition is the brainchild of a civic group or organization.

• Operating a building in these communities comes with a tacit agreement that you will become a prominent and active citizen of the area.

• In a small market, the building must create a value to the community.

In San Francisco, days could go by without bumping into anyone I knew. For a city girl used to anonymity this new exposure can be unnerving! Again mom was right: Always behave in public as if your mother were watching and, if you’re in the South get dressed up to go to the grocery store because surely you will meet someone there you know.

Although this year has been a great learning experience and a very different way of life, the satisfaction of becoming an active citizen, working on volunteer boards to make a difference, being included in large family gatherings, concert picnics, holiday festivals and the traditional ways of the South really has made life more full and interesting. Conversations here are not always about work, but often about life and include questions like “How are you and your family? (Phrased: “How’s your mama and ‘em?” in Louisiana speak), “How was your weekend?” and, “Come sit a bit and have some lemonade while we visit.”

My advice to you is don’t shy away from the opportunity to make your mark in a small market if the opening should come your way. It’s challenging in its own right, but worth the effort. Many people think a small building in a small town will not offer new skill-building experiences, or build your resume. Instead I submit that this work will add a different element to your marketable skill set. It will show future employers that you can do more with fewer resources, you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and do what it takes, and you possess strong interpersonal skills to get along with everyone around you, making you an asset to employ.

Personally, I promise life will be fuller and have more meaning as your relationship with your community deepens every day. You will know you are making a significant contribution to the community in which you live, even if you know you won’t live there forever. How can you not feel proud about that?

Kerry Painter is general manager of the Northshore Harbor Center in Slidell, Louisiana. She can be reached at kpainter@harborcenter.org.