Use design to set your work apart from the crowd
There are so many businesses on every street of every town. Thousands of vehicles zip down the streets and highways. There’s signage in… Read More
Author Archives: Bob Behounek
Use contrast to guide the viewer’s eye
Monotony can kill our sign layouts, choking off any possibility of communicating our client’s message. As sign designers we must constantly find ways… Read More
Retro panel shapes help organize a layout
Whenever I’m on the subject of bold, clean, readable sign design, it’s a great opportunity to dig into the design tools from the… Read More
Layout principles set your signs apart
Way too many signs produced today fall into a category best described as monotonous. If we look up the word in the dictionary,… Read More
Legibility is the cornerstone of sign layout
Sometimes, as I drive home at the end of the day, I’m not interested in seeing anything related to signs. I don’t care… Read More
Don’t let creases and seams control your layouts
I have always been a believer in using imaginary borders when it comes to sign layout. Readability will always prevail when enough unused… Read More
Before & After: Traditional principles inspire new layouts
I really got charged up when those color sign sketches from Beverly Sign Company resurfaced last spring [see Sketches from the Golden Age… Read More
The fine art of sensible sign design
Wherever life takes me, I find limitations, rules and just about every regulation under the sun. I’ve always hated living in the box… Read More
The fun stuff keeps the work interesting
Every year at this time, I take time to sit down and review all that’s taken place so far this year. It’s really… Read More
Race cars: Graphics at high speed
A good friend once alerted me to an online source devoted to Santa Fe Park, a stock-car racing track in nearby Hinsdale, Illinois…. Read More
Design with visual competition in mind
The miles on my trusty old pickup truck have piled up over the years, faster than foreclosures in today’s economy. My daily travels… Read More
It all started with a pencil sketch
I think it started back during my junior high school days—you know, those times when we have time to doodle and dream. It… Read More
Balancing your life and your sign work
While visiting with some good friends of mine the other day, we started reviewing our “work-to-fun ratios.” When this subject comes up in… Read More
Let’s focus on design
No matter how many signs we design, paint, vinylize or produce in some form or another, the number of design possibilities before us… Read More
Handling linear layouts
Back in the mid-1960s, my travels in and around the greater Chicago area were a source of inspiration and amazement. Right in the… Read More
Color contrast helps cure ailing layouts
I can’t believe how fast this year is going. It seems like weeks go by, then before you know it, the seasons have… Read More
The ampersand is your friend
A few weeks ago I heard someone on the radio say it was National Ampersand Day. Really—a special day just in honor of… Read More
Start with a survey of the site
Most of those passing by a sign today are so distracted by things both moving and still that it leaves little time for… Read More
Put those classic panel shapes to work
Creating clean readable signage is more than a matter of merely typing out the text and hoping the general public finds time to… Read More
Delivering the message day and night
With all the advances in technology, which weren’t available years back, signage today is so much more diverse. These same advances can be… Read More
