(Preface) ‘The importance of signing as an essential, integrated design element in total environmental planning has been recognized only since the 1960s, even though it has been a practical necessity ever since traders and artisans first opened urban shops. Large architectural complexes require effective systems of visual communication. Signing systems were developed to help people find their way around airports, shopping centers, civic buildings, hospitals, parks, and cultural centers to identify, inform, and direct them in the use of both interior and exterior space.

An effective signing and graphics system functions not as a separate entity but as an integral part of its environment. This highly illustrated handbook, written by one of the first designers to specialize in this emerging design discipline, John Follis, and his associate Dave Hammer, provides the detailed, practical information needed to create a total signing and graphics system for any environment. It investigates ways to integrate signing into architecture and establishes guidelines for solving esthetic and functional problems.’