Welcome to the Sign Design Society
The Sign Design Society (SDS) is for anyone interested in information and graphic communication within buildings and public spaces, including:
- Wayfinding
- Interpretative graphics
- Brand and experiential/environmental graphics
- Statutory and health & safety signs
As well as raising the profile of our disciplines, we offer members a programme of events, resources and initiatives to help them:
- Keep up to date and improve their practice
- Find potential consultants, collaborators & employees
- Promote their work and capabilities
To join choose a membership plan that suits you and sign up!
Our events
Thursday, 26 February 2026 (1pm GMT / 2pm CET) We all know typography is essential in visual communication. But what makes successful typographic design go further than just relay a message, and ground the content in a voice, plant its feet in a specific place? City identities are too often outward-facing only, meaning they are […]
Interested in a membership?
News
2nd edition Sign design guide now available to buy!
The new edition of the guide continues to provide practical guidance to experts and non-specialists alike, based on both best practice in inclusive design and the latest research.
Third party events
Every place is full of stories. When bringing a heritage building back to life, or when shaping any building, public space or whole neighbourhood, there is an opportunity to bring those stories to life. Whether through a collaborative design journey or through the physical changes made, there is something powerful about connecting our built world with local people and communities, past and present, through stories. Cristina Carrasco, Participation Manager for the Sunday School Stories Project at Union Chapel in Islington joins us to explore different ways to both tap into and celebrate the stories connected with the places we inhabit, and how these can both contribute to and influence our sense of cultural belonging within our shared heritage across architecture, music and social justice.
In the early 1920s, several artist-designers like El Lissitzky and Kurt Schwitters began developing theories of graphic design and letterforms that would shape the coming revolution in print. New technologies were transforming photographic reproduction and lithographic printing, but perhaps the most radical proposals were for the wholesale adoption of sans serif typefaces as a universal medium for both reading and display. However, there were very few suitable faces in the type case to meet these demands prompting a campaign to develop new and more adaptable sans serif faces. This lecture by Paul Stirton will explore the theoretical debates that led to the creation of Futura, Erbar, Kabel, and Gill Sans.
This webinar will launch a new Framework for a nature-positive built environment. Building on existing guidance and aligning to the global goal to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030 ( using a 2020 baseline), and to achieve full recovery by 2050, this Framework sets out the steps and actions for built environment stakeholders to implement across assets,infrastructure, and within organisations.
Join LMNl Studio’s Jamie Shaw, Partner, Narrative; and Paulina McFarland, Head of Brand Studio. Omnispatial thinking is the practice of pairing architects and designers with technologists and storytellers to build spaces that treat technology as a material layer. By using tools like VR in the design process, we can prototype feeling, exploring light, materiality, spatial […]
This year’s conference theme, Reimagining Urban Futures, will focus on balancing both aspirational and attainable visions for cities amid a convergence of challenges in recent years, including housing affordability, climate change, and shifts in federal and local funding. We aim to create space for ambitious, even “pie-in-the-sky” thinking – visions of urban futures with sustainability, equity, joy, and resilience as core principles. At the same time, we’ll explore the tactical, grounded steps required to translate these visions into reality, such as how cities and municipalities can create the futures they boldly envision for their residents.