The Controversy Over Building Signage

Seattle doesn't allow signs or names on their skyscrapers, a unique requirement that you don't really notice until you head to another city and remember...

Fun fact about barber signs in South Korea. The traditional spinning blue and red barber signs are often used in Korea to denote that the business isn’t a real barbershop, but actually a brothel-like situation. Some foreigners, not knowing this, have had some interesting experiences just trying to get a haircut.

Please do more full-length interviews with subject-matter experts in the architecture space. You're uniquely positioned and skilled to get a lot out of such people.

On a somewhat related note, Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, and Vermont have statewide bans on billboards which I really appreciate. I get surprised every time I go somewhere that allows them

I live in Chicago, I have an unobstructed view of the skyline from about 3 miles away to the west/northwest and I will make this objective statement about the Trump building: This building reflects the sunlight in the evening hours so beautifully, changing its appearance literally by the second, as no other building in Chicago does—not even the Vista. It is spectacular.

This video made me think of the cyberpunk genre. Was wondering if you could do an analysis on futuristic architecture in fiction and how you see architecture evolving in the future.

Very interesting conversation. I love Chicago's elegant, low-signage appearance. The buildings are the focal point. By contrast I strongly recoil at spaces like Times Square, but respond to a shopping walk as I do to extreme Christmas light displays.

It's also interesting to see when signage becomes part of a location's aesthetic identity. Up until recently San Francisco had a wonderful illuminated Coca-Cola sign that seemed to be a fixture on the skyline, now that it is gone and we only have boring billboards advertising how to get great ROI on your next tech project there definitely is a feeling of artistic loss. There is also a museum of signs in the Praga district of Warsaw, Poland that preserves and explores the aesthetic history of neon that developed in that city during the communist era. BTW - as a native Chicagoan I can only hope that those abominable 20 foot high letters on the riverfront come down someday.

This is stupid... its his building so as long is not obscene or a hazard he should be able to put anything in there

It's not just 1 Times Square that is empty, but at least half the building space around that square is empty. The ground floor and like 2-3 floors up are occupied, but above that is empty.

The Oxo Tower on London’s south bank - built in the late 1920s - has windows in the shape of the letters O X O in order to get round the ban on building signs.

Oh "The Sign". This was an unusual chapter in Chicago's architecture saga. Everyone hated the sign and I don't remember a single resident ever coming out to defend the sign either. In fact, they seemed to hate the sign due to all the drama it was causing, like huge protests outside their home. Despite all of that, the reasons for why the sign was allowed to remain made total sense. Several years later, the value of the tower's homes have dropped considerably and there were conspiracy theories that there was somewhat of a quiet-mass exodus. Either way, to this day, "The Sign" remains.

Another recent example you might find interesting is the Truist tower in Charlotte NC. It’s a beautiful Art Deco inspired building that they just slapped on the sign at the top when the bank bought the building. They also added additional lighting that cheapens the look of the building.

I think I can offer some expertise on this subject. I owned a sign company for many years that fabricated neon for signs. We actually did several restorations as well. While I think sign ordinances are necessary and you should have to get a permit if for no other reason to prove your sign is safe and you know what you are doing, but my problem with them is that it severely constrains creativity. Almost any iconic sign you can think of (at least in Atlanta) would not be able to be permitted with today's rules. That just leads to a one size fits all cookie cutter channel letter suburban type sign. We subcontracted on a couple of signs on the top of skyscrapers that were also pretty generic. There were so many times I could envision an iconic sign that the client would have loved that would have been beautiful, only to know that they would never be allowed to be permitted.

Nitpick: please use “1/5th the size” when something is supposed to be smaller, not “5x smaller”. 2:24 for reference.

I really enjoyed this video. As someone trained in media production and who’s worked in marketing and digital signage, I have an appreciation for their utility, and even aesthetics when applied thoughtfully. One quick tip, if you read this—try staggering your audio tracks so that they lead the video in transitions that move between different scenes. It frequently helps make cuts smoother, and can prime viewers expectations so that cuts from one location to another feel more seamless. Keep up the great work, I love your channel!

Bright neon signs are my favorite kind. I love that glow.

Oh man, please don't ever stop making these videos. I started watching before I started studying architecture, I'm now in my fourth semester and these videos are what keep me going when I haven't slept and want to give up.

I think of signs along interstate. Recently driving north on I-25 from Denver up to Wyoming, it is a much nicer drive in CO than WY based on all the billboards out there.

Wasn't the tower completed in 2009? I can distinctly remember taking a picture of the tower without the letters when I first moved to Chicago in 2011.