Presenters Announced for the 4^th Annual National Signage Research &Education Conference (NSREC)

Everyone associated with the signage industry is encouraged to participate in the 4th Annual National Signage Research &Education Conference (NSREC) at the University of Cincinnati (UC), October 10-11, sponsored by the Signage Foundation, Inc. (SFI) in collaboration with the UC Colleges of Business and Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP). The two-day event takes place at the Kingsgate Marriott adjacent to the UC campus.

Who should attend? Sign makers and their suppliers, businesses that need signage, elected officials and planning board members, planners, urban designers, marketing/branding specialists, architects, engineers, designers, appraisers and those students and faculty who study signage and its impact on the business, social and visual environments.

What NSREC is. The conference provides an important venue for all interested constituencies to discuss on-premise signage issues and concerns in positive, non-confrontational and research-driven dialogue.  UC is uniquely qualified to participate in these discussions due to the establishment of the James S. Womack/Gemini Chair of Signage and Visual Communications and the Terence M. Fruth/Gemini Chair of Signage Design and Community Planning.  Both chairs, established through donations from Jim and Sharon Weinel, Gemini, Inc., are part of the nation’s first center for signage.

Peer-reviewed research will be presented at the conference with numerous opportunities to interact with researchers on specific topics and their implications.

What NSREC is not. It is not an industry tradeshow or expo.  The conference is sponsored by SFI, which was established in 2002 as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to fulfilling the educational, research and philanthropic purposes of on-premise signage. 

What are NSREC’s deliverables? The focus of the 2012 NSREC will be “The Technology of Signage” and will address topical research on the second of four key areas that impact signage:  Science, Technology, Art/Advertising and Regulation (S.T.A.R. initiative).  Each of these four topical areas will annually serve as the focus for NSREC.

• The Economic Value of Signs Research Study by Jeff Rexhausen, Associate Director of Research-UC Economics Center and George Vredeveld, Director of the UC Economics Center
• Evidence Based Regulation: The UDA Model Sign Code by Dr. Dawn Jourdan, Associate Professor and Division Director of City and Regional Planning, University of Oklahoma
• Glossary of Signage Terms and Classification of Signs by Steve Kieffer, retired CEO of Kieffer & Co.
• The Technology of Signage: A Historical Perspective by Bert Guinee,
• The Culture Value of Signage Using Social, Economic and Technology Factors to Drive Pragmatic Innovation and Effectively Find Our Way Through Time and Space by Dr. Craig Vogel, Associate Dean for Design Research and Innovation, UC College of DAAP and Interim Terry Fruth/Gemini Chair of Signage Design/Community Planning
• Longitudinal Analysis of Signage Communication Evidence from the BrandSpark/Better Homes and Gardens American Shoppers Study by Dr. James J. Kellaris, James S. Womack/Gemini Chair of Signage and Visual Marketing, University of Cincinnati, College of Business
• Electronic Sign/Traffic Safety Statistical Analysis Research by Dr. H. Gene Hawkins, Associate Professor and Williams Brothers Construction Company Development Professor/Zachry Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University
• Signage Foundation’s Internship Program: A Case Study at United Maier by Sally Land of United Maier, Cincinnati, Ohio and Graham Gilmer, Planning Student, University of Cincinnati