New Parking Signage

I worked my way through college in a sign shop. So excuse me for a moment while I geek out over the new signage for Lancaster’s parking garages. Have you seen these around town?

OK, I’m messing with you a little. These new name signs are actually vertical. Each garage bears one of these up by the third story. At street level, there is now a bold white “P” in a red circle. This should help those unfamiliar with the City identify the municipal garages from a distance. It’s another step in preparing the City for more tourists in advance of the Convention Center opening. One of the annoying things about finding your way around a new City is finding a public garage, and consistent signage is a big help.

This is a complete re-branding of the Parking Authority. The new E. King Street Garage was going to need signage, and, well… why not do it right, all the way? I like it. The graphics are bold and modern. They contrast with Lancaster’s historic brick architecture, but they should. After all, there is nothing historic about parking. You want them to stand out because they need to be picked out from a moving vehicle, preferable from a block away. Subtle and blending wouldn’t help their function. I think the contrast highlights, rather than detracts from, the character of the surrounding buildings. Take a look at it across the street from Gallery Row:

The font is neither Helvetica nor Microsoft’s perverted version of it, Arial, but it is close enough to perform the same function: clean, modern, efficient. It conveys the meaning without bringing in any external message. And if that paragraph means anything to you, you might enjoy the movie “Helvetica”.