They’re so ubiquitous we often forget they are there. But if you take the time to stop and look around you, you’ll see them filling every nook and cranny. What am I talking about? Signs. They’ve been hanging around for literally thousands of years. In fact, examples of signs carved in stone and brick, dating from about 3000 BC onward, have been found in Greek, Roman and Egyptian cities.
THE BIRTH OF NEON
Even those fancy neon signs were first conceived nearly 350 years ago when the French astronomer Jean Picard observed a faint glow in a mercury barometer tube. The guy shook the tube and, hey presto, a glow called barometric light occurred. Thankfully, he didn’t suss out the cause of the light (static electricity), otherwise you can bet the courts of Europe’s kings and queens would’ve been as garish as a seventies disco.
Old signs were once destined for the junk heap. Now, thanks to some bright thinking, they’re are stealing the limelight again.
Now, signs bombard our sense from every angle. There are literally millions and millions of them. But what happens to them once they’re no longer needed?
A BRIGHT IDEA
Until recently most were dumped. But then one Finnish designer had a very bright idea. Aleksi Hautamäki of Armas Design Oy founded Character in Helsinki about a year ago.
Character recycles old signs that have been dismantled and would otherwise be destroyed. The company rescues the letters and gives them a complete overhaul. They clean them up and add a new transformer, LED lights providing 30,000 hours of light, and a power cord. Then they are good to go.
LIGHT A LETTER
Most of the letters are rain proof and all have been tested to meet the European electricity standards. Whether displayed indoors or in the garden, these bright sculptures are bound to steal the limelight. To see for yourself check out some of his work.
Regardless of whether you like his designs or not, there’s no denying his ingenuity. And Hautamäki isn’t alone. There seems to be an ever growing list of creatives making use of the flotsam and jetsam of our rubbish rich way of life. Maybe it’s a sign of the times.
