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
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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
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.
Visitors to SDUK 2026 will be able to experience a variety of imformative and hands-on show features. From the Hexis Wrap Battle to the Sign Makers’ Workshop, learn from those in the know and enhance your sign making skills.
The Sign Industry Awards, presented by Sign Update and Sign & Digital UK, celebrate excellence in the visual communications sector by honouring past achievements, present innovations, and future advancements. These awards recognise outstanding suppliers, sign makers, and individual traders in sign making, digital printing, and visual communications. With over 35 years of industry service, SDUK and Sign Update ensure that everyone in the industry has a voice, highlighting and rewarding the best in the field.
Until the mid-fifteenth century books were normally written by hand. Then Johann Gutenberg developed a process for printing books using moveable type. The revolutionary new technique spread quickly from Germany to the rest of continental Europe. In 1476 William Caxton brought it to England. With printing came a transformation in how people read and communicated. See the first book in which Caxton was ever involved, one of the books he printed in England, and examples of later genres, typefaces and illustrations for which he paved the way.
Cognitive scientist Héctor Mangas will discuss a lab-based experiment developed to empirically improve and test the distance-reading legibility of new typefaces, tested on visually impaired readers, while type designer Peter Biľak will discuss the overall approach to designing fonts for inclusivity and accessibility. The resulting typeface was just published and Typotheque now works with marginalized linguistic communities and native designers to address their needs and support digitally disadvantaged languages of the world.