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Downtown Signage: Meeting Notes by Becky Hoover

1. Review of City of Akron's most recent signage study
2. Discussion
   1. Signage should clearly identify buildings and districts (there are several million visitors to the downtown area each year).
      1. Signage must be User-friendly
         1. Visible
         2. Understandable
         3. Logos, if used instead of text, must be well-known to visitors
         4. Effective is more important than clever
         5. Signage plan should be "expandable" over time (i.e. move signage outward from downtown as resources permit).
   2. Determining how to best describe and identify places of business or sections of downtown is a challenge.
      1. Are the formal names of buildings or organizations too long to be user-friendly?
         1. Akron Children's Hospital Medical Center is changing to Akron Children's Hospital because market research showed that few visitors used the longer name.
         2. Focus groups were important in making this decision.
      2. Are the formal names of downtown places of interest meaningful to visitors? (For example, "Cascade Plaza" or "Orangerie Mall")
      3. There may be questionable utility in using names for parking decks other than those identifying their location.
      4. If individual business names are included on signs, there are challenges
         1. There is a high cost for upkeep (businesses change names or logos)
         2. Businesses compete for visibility (hard to manage "fairness" issues)
         3. Cleveland has found it more feasible to include district names on signs, rather than the names of individual businesses. 
   3. Determining Visitor Preferences
      1. The University of Akron does an annual survey. There could be questions included in that survey that would identify visitor preferences.
      2. Survey questions can be included in the corporate communications of downtown businesses.
      3. Visitors can be asked about their preferences at time of visit.
   4. Types and Locations of signs
      1. Maps
         1. Especially important in parking decks
         2. Perspective sketches are preferable (shows the view that visitors are looking at when they leave the deck)
         3. Downtown.com is a good resource for visitors. It includes online maps.
      2. Link downtown signage to locations outside the central downtown area (e.g. the Zoo or Stan Hywet)
      3. Signs on each of downtown's main streets
         1. Long, wide Main Street is a legacy of the towpath and canal. It may require larger or more numerous signs so that drivers and pedestrians can see them from across and down the street.
         2. Hilly terrain may also require more signage because of the challenging sight lines from one elevation to another
      4. Bus stops
         1. Metro RTA is designing new signage
         2. These plans could be coordinated with other downtown signage
      5. Street corner signs
         1. Human scale is important (low and close to sidewalks)
         2. Corner signs could list districts and/or business names
      6. Parking decks
         1. Big green "P" is effective
         2. Should clearly direct visitors into parking decks
         3. It is also important for visitors to be able to easily find their way out of parking decks, back onto the highway system, and out of town.
   5. Design Elements
      1. Unifying logo for Downtown and the City of Akron may be valuable(e.g. the DoDowntown logo)
      2. Exciting visual elements
         1. Clutter is part of what makes urban environments exciting
         2. LED signs may be a good idea
         3. Neon and flashing lights can be exciting
         4. Gritty and seedy (in the right measure) can be fun (Rebecca Ryan)
      3. Examine current ordinances to determine whether it would be a good idea to make revisions that would allow LED, neon, etc., without special permission.
      4. Locating a local vendor may be important in order to produce and maintain signage that is interesting in design, but also practical and affordable.
      5. Color Coding should be reviewed carefully with consultants and constituency groups to answer the following kinds of questions: Should all signs have a unifying color? (e.g. Cleveland uses purple); Should certain key uses, such as parking and hospitals, have designated colors?; Should each "district" be assigned a different color?
      6. Color choice is challenging
         1. For example, Canal Way consultants like brown because it blends with rural settings
         2. Businesses in urban settings typically favor brighter colors
3. Next Steps
   1. Hire consultants to conduct market research and develop a plan.
      1. Types of questions to be answered
         1. What do visitors consider places of interest?
         2. What places are difficult for visitors to find?
         3. What design elements are viewed most favorably?
         4. What locations for signage would be most helpful?
      2. Consider the use of focus groups, surveys, and customer questionnaires
   2. Review the previous study conducted by the City of Akron
   3. Review national planning resources/materials
      1. American Planning Association
      2. International Downtown Association
      3. Project for Public Spaces
   4. Gather input from Downtown 2025 participants regarding cities that have effective signage. For example:Williamsburg, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Disney, New Orleans, Miami (esp. Coral Gables and Miami Beach)
   5. Consider coordination with The University of Akron and Canal Way consultants (as references/resources)
   6. Review examples of best practices regarding the "district concept" (e.g. Cleveland has marketed different urban "experiences" that are linked to districts, such as The Flats or The Warehouse District)
      1. Evaluate districts that visitors would recognize in downtown Akron. For example, would the locks be good reference points?
      2. Develop a plan for businesses to include district designations in their marketing plans
      3. Build on the user-driven naming of districts (e.g. The Strip" is a term that is gaining popularity among visitors to downtown night clubs. Canal Park and Northside might be other examples).
   7. Consider a seminar for business leaders on "Wayfinding 101." An expert from a comparable city could address the Press Club or Akron Roundtable and/or a meeting could take place with key stakeholders and architects.
   8. Meet with CEO's and downtown business owners about what they already know regarding customer preferences and work with them to collect further data from their customers.