Sign makers: pretty straightforward business I'd imagine:
"I'd like this made into a sign please"
"OK"
Alright, alright, it's simplistic. But I've just found the value add.
Because it's not about signs anymore, the real money is in "wayfinding"
There's a company in the US called Carter & Burgess which specialises in just this. Whether it be a lack of signs, inconsistency, or just someone having a creative blow out and deciding to call car parks fantastical names like Betelgeuse, Alpha Centauri, and that Welsh village with the long name, it's all wrong, wrong, wrong.
It's wrong in the sense that poor signage might cost you time, which might make you late, which might cost you money or lose you business. Now, I don't think anyone has yet been sued, even in the US, for clumsy disregard for signage, but let's stick to the point for signmakers: money.
According to an article in WSJ, "A new $2 billion [airport] terminal can require a sign budget of about $12
million, including $1.5 million in consulting fees. Miami
International, still implementing its overhaul, expects to spend up to
$30 million."
Wow.
A lot of this "wayfinding" looks like common sense to me, so I reckon I could make Miami International a pretty good offer. Come in just under the $30m mark. Any better qualified signmakers out there want to undercut me?