On-Premise Signage and Placemaking: Aiding Lively Streetscapes to Maintain Signage Visibility

Abstract

Placemaking is an initiative with roots in the 1960s and 70s to enhance public life in the urban setting. This complex notion requires multiple disciplines, flexibility, and a human-centric approach toward development. While developing new streets and enhancing the existing, built environment, professionals, community residents, and business owners must consider multiple elements to bring people to the street: furniture, vegetation, walkability, art, and culture. With this sidewalk interaction comes the opportunity for economic development. When the people are drawn in, signage can inform the pedestrian. This study builds a collection of 200 photos, representing four levels of placemaking intensities. Each photo is coded into 600 cells to count the quantity of placemaking elements. Visual attentive software (VAS) is then used to measure the sign effectiveness to visually stand out. Placemaking initially impacts preattentive visibility, while the building façade, road surface, tree canopy, landscaping, and the sky each play a role. Planners, designers, and business owners can use these findings to better inform the impact and interaction of streetscape and business.