The Foundation for the Advancement of the Sign Industry (FASI), Cincinnati, Ohio, has now posted its Web site, www.fasi.org. FASI Executive Director Wade Swormstedt explains that the Web site is unique in that it’s not designed just for the sign industry, per se, but for the sign industry to also share with its customers and city planners.
“The Web sites of most companies and organizations, naturally, primarily are about them,” Swormstedt explained. “They have a product or service to sell, or they want to get members, in order to grow and/or become more profitable. FASI has no product or service and doesn’t seek donations or members. It only seeks to provide information for and about the sign industry. Consequently the Web site is overwhelmingly about signage and its place in society, with only cursory information about FASI.”
The Web site strives to be a clearinghouse of news about the overall benefits of signage. It also functions like a Reader’s Digest type of site in that it will write a short synopsis of a study or topic and then, if an in-depth article appears elsewhere on the Internet, it will provide a hot link to that URL page. Currently, links are provided to the United States Sign Council, the Signage Foundation, the International Sign Association, the Academic Advisory Council for Signage Research and Education, and industry trade magazines. FASI welcomes documentation about the value of on-premise signage and will gladly provide links to such information.
The Web site includes pages devoted to news from sign associations, universities, and from the general sign industry. Another section provides answers to such basic sign questions as: “How large should a sign’s letters be?” “How does content neutrality impact signage?” “What does the Supreme Court say about signage?” and “How does the Lanham Act affect signage?” More than fifteen questions are currently answered, and more will be added.
FASI may be contacted at (513) 701-2197 or [email protected].
