Signing Up for the Future
-By Sean George
Back in early 2012, on Dunlop Street right near the Five Points at the heart of Barrie, in an open lot amidst several well groomed evergreen trees sat a sign that announced the upcoming beautification project of Downtown Barrie. Almost directly across the street in a store front sat another sign announcing the closure of a ‘beautiful’ stationery shop called The Paper Merchant. To be exact there were two signs – one stating for lease the other announcing store wide clearance sale.
I moved to Beautiful Barrie from Vancouver just over a three years ago; my family has had roots in this community for over 25 years. If I had a dollar for every time I have been asked why I moved here I would be a multimillionaire. More than the question itself sometimes the tone in which it is asked, can come across as if Barrie were not worth moving to. At first I was left feeling that this is a community with an image problem. I am an artist and you might say images are my business. In retrospect I realize that the question is more about what I had left behind rather than what I had come to – Vancouver has become a ‘world class city’.
When friends in Vancouver ask about my new home; I describe the beauty of Lake Simcoe, and the warmth and friendliness of everyone I have met. However I usually add, that it reminds me so much of Vancouver post Expo 86. This was a time when Vancouverites began to re-imagine their city. A time of regeneration and new directions. In spite of the recession a wide range of ethnic restaurants began to open, condo developments, and art galleries opened in many of the abandoned spaces.
While I have found so many ways of looking at Barrie, it is through signage that I have come to understand something of the socioeconomic climate of this place . What I have observed is that many of these signs advertise Mom and Pop businesses. It is these very businesses that take risks in a recession. This activity signals the same kind of regeneration and rethinking that I witnessed in Vancouver almost 30 years ago.
Sometimes I think of signs as connectors or messengers, bringing together all the disparate areas of life. Like blood running through our body, existing in that liminal space between pictures and word; incorporating both but never fully existing in one.
The iconic sign Oregon or Bust is just such a sign. It can call up mountain ranges, freedom, new beginnings, but today it also implies the Wild West – a bygone era. However to read a For Sale sign, on its own, detached from any object, it can create a blank visual slate, asking, what is for sale, and how much? Is it licorice or legwarmers, a mansion or a map? So perhaps one of the most important factors in the ‘science of signs’ is location, location, location! Where and to what context a sign is placed can speak volumes not only about the sign, but as well about its subject. This can be a harmonious relationship or one of tragic discord.
Signage can be the first opportunity that a consumer comes into contact with a business or idea. The sign must not only be creative but it should be memorable. The communication of products, ideas and services must be given top priority for any business and in particular it is through the sign/graphics company that this relationship is established.
On March 7, 2013 the once small family run local business Sign Central officially opened in Barrie as Fast Signs. Gary Salomon and Bob Schanbaum founded FASTSIGNS® in 1985, opening the first center in Dallas, Texas. In response to their successes, they began offering FASTSIGNS® franchises, selling the first center in 1986. Three years and 16 centers into the development of the business, Schanbaum passed away from terminal cancer. In honor of Schanbaum’s legacy, Salomon pushed forward and, within the first five years, the system grew to more than 150 locations. In 2003, FASTSIGNS® was acquired by Roark Capital Group, an Atlanta-based private equity firm. Today, FASTSIGNS® is a leading visual communications company in growth and innovation, with 535 franchised centers located in eight countries.
The Cestaric family continue to run FASTSIGNS® along with their staff; their unique understanding of the local can now be better served with the global resources of the FASTSIGNS® network. The family once ran a successful farm, their willingness to participate in the new economy is precisely the kind of vision that our economy needs. While many artists, urban planners, entrepreneurs, citizens and politicians embraced a changing Vancouver there were several who resisted. Cities are ultimately however places of change – socially, economically , technologically and culturally. This large open field with the HAY FOR SALE Sign was located in a part of Barrie(Mapleview and Essa) that is fast becoming part of the urban make-up of this community.
FASTSIGNS® ability as a signage, graphics and visual communications partner providing comprehensive solutions to help customers of all sizes – across all industries – meet their business objectives and increase their business visibility. This happens through the use of all types of visual communications solutions including vehicle and floor graphics, point of purchase and digital signs, labels and decals, architectural and interior décor signs, printing, promotional products and wearables, mobile marketing and other related marketing services.
Imagine the Five Points in Downtown Barrie, as a kind of mini Times Square, where brand new digital signs flash boldly with advertising, art and entertainment. Imagine the old juxtaposed with the new, working in such a sharp contrast to one another that it provokes discussion, creating the same kind of vibrancy that so many recessionary cities and towns lack in their downtown core. It is this idea of Times Square that speaks to the all-encompassing; a destination location, aesthetically rich an unforgettable zone of experience. Arguably this happens because of the way all the signage placed there work together, rather than compete with one another – creating a vibrant tableau, incorporating the physical(a particular place), the commercial(advertising), the aesthetic/creative(the various bold neon colours, the interesting shapes), and the intellectual/emotional(their varying messages). This model has enabled many cities to transform their urban cores into a pulsating and energetic atmosphere. A place that feels like New Year’s Eve every night of the year!
FASTSIGNS® Barrie 