To learn more about signs and how they're made, we reached out to Bryant Gillespie, designer, and founder of Better Sign Shop, a growth platform for sign and print shops.

He told us that what inspired him to pursue a career in sign-making was a combination of love for design, solving challenges, and tinkering. "I’ve always been fascinated by how signs can influence behavior and convey important information quickly and effectively.

I also just kind of fell into it after moving to a different part of the country. Being able to apply many different disciplines—design, printing, construction/fabrication, electrical – along with the creativity involved appeals to a lot of us sign geeks."

"The sign-making process typically starts with understanding the client's needs and the message they want to convey," he explains. "This is followed by brainstorming and sketching design ideas. Once a concept is chosen, we move on to digital design, selecting materials, and finally, production.

To attract attention, signs should have a clear message, bold colors, and readable fonts. To educate, they should be informative yet concise. To amuse, incorporating humor or clever visuals can be very effective."

Gillespie believes that signs absolutely play a crucial role in our society. "They guide us, inform us, and sometimes even entertain us. From road signs that ensure our safety to informational signs that help us navigate spaces, their impact is significant. They also serve as powerful tools for branding and marketing, helping businesses attract customers and communicate their values."

The earliest signs created by humans, as far as historians can tell, date back to the Stone Age, 18,000 BC. Our ancestors drew symbols on cave walls to visually express that they had products for trade or barter.

Some experts call this symbolic advertising to other tribes, with visualizations of hunted wild animals, pots, and arrows dating back 40,000 to 45,000 years. 

In early civilization, about 800–500 BC, craftspeople in Ancient Egypt painted and carved symbols on terracotta, stone, brick, and wood to advertise their services and stand out from others. Typically, they would be found in marketplaces, temples, and other public spaces. Later, they were discovered in the ruins of Pompeii and other cities.

Meanwhile, the Ancient Greeks used signs to communicate with citizens who couldn’t read. Many of them remain to this day, like the staff of Hermes, which often hangs on the corners of pharmacies, or the goddess Demeter, who symbolizes grain, bread, and harvest. In the Roman Empire, widely used signs were made from wood, brick, stone, and marble.

Things gained momentum in medieval Europe about 1000 AD–1700. This was influenced by the economic and cultural revival that opened new trade opportunities. Craftsmen began using unique, identifiable signs to differentiate themselves to customers. Business owners would hang the emblems on poles. They were more popular than letters, as the majority of the population was illiterate.

Interestingly, in 1389, England’s King Richard III ordered all taverns and ale houses in the country to display outdoor signs so the monarch would be able to easily locate them for quality testing. That’s why so many pubs nowadays still use signs from the 15th century.

The barber pole that many men's hair salons use also originated from medieval times, when barbers were not only cutting hair but also extracting teeth and performing surgeries. Such services were provided for poorer people who couldn’t afford to go to a physician.

The red color represents drawing blood to cure diseases or infections. White symbolizes a stick that a person would hold to make the veins more prominent during the procedure so they would be easier to find. As for the blue stripe, some attribute it to the colors of the American flag, while in Europe it may have differentiated barbers from doctors.

With the growth of cities and populations, outdoor signage significantly increased in number, and English law required every establishment to have one. Signs illuminated with candles were also just appearing before electricity was invented. By the 18th century, the placards had become larger and heavier than ever, marking the start of the painted storefront emblems outside businesses.

Finally, we reach modern history, when companies grew bigger, as did the need to grab the attention of consumers. With newly discovered commercial printing and the revolution of sign design, it became a new art form. The invention of gas and electric power was also a game-changer, as signs could be visible at night too.

Advertisers were constantly trying to find new and advanced ways to produce better, more efficient, and larger quantities of signs. This brings us to today, where large-format printing and digital technology make mass production even faster, and the industry is worth over $37.4 billion.