Signage Ideas

At the culinary event at New York's Pranna on April 2, large marquee letters spelling out "Food & Wine" surrounded a lounge area.

Last January, Stella McCartney turned New York's 632 on Hudson into a cozy home-like space to showcase her pre-fall collection. In keeping with that motif, large topiaries spelling out the designer's name stood out front.

An enormous billboard made it hard to miss Target's Toronto pop-up store, the Minneapolis retailer's first event in Canada. The bright red sign combined Target's logo and colors with that of the Canadian flag, and marked the site of the temporary store for the Jason Wu collection on King Street West.

Signage from event sponsor Browns Shoes decorated the dance floor at Fashion Magazine's 35th anniversary event.

In 2008, when Showtime hosted the premiere party for the second season of The Tudors at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers, the network made a big impression by covering the property's enormous rotunda in mesh vinyl. With a stone pattern and carefully placed windows that aligned with the building's, the fabric draping made the exterior look like a castle, while brightly colored polyfabric banners publicized the event and the show's cast.

For its first New York pop-up shop—a retail promotion aimed at driving buzz for this year's draft—the N.F.L. took over a 10,000-square-foot space in Midtown. To advertise the effort in the heavily trafficked area, organizers placed large decals and a countdown clock in the windows.

In July, a bright gobo of Thrillist's logo was splashed on the side of Chicago's Mid nightclub, one of the venues the lifestyle Web site used for its weekend-long experiential venture known as Hotel Thrillist.

The 2011 NBC upfront used bright colors to grab the attention of passersby. Not only was the Sixth Avenue front of the Hilton New York dressed up for the occasion, NBC also parked double-decker buses custom-wrapped with its logo outside the venue.

When Lanvin opened its New York flagship store on Madison Avenue in 2010, the fashion house threw a colorful bash that drew decor ideas from artistic director Alber Elbaz's whimsical sketches. Outside, producers covered the facade with an oversize drawing and framed it with hundreds of colorful balloons.

Matching the color scheme in the cocktail space, large letter-shaped structures bookended by blue and white flowers marked the arrivals area of the 2012 BET Awards preshow dinner in Los Angeles.

To kick-start holiday shopping in November 2011, Barneys New York turned its flagship store on Madison Avenue into Lady Gaga’s Workshop. The custom 40- by18-foot truss that marked the entrance was completed overnight in preparation for the midnight opening.

This August, almost 100,000 people flocked to the city of Chicago for Lollapalooza in Grant Park. Oversize signage marked the entrance to the festival, and as the sun set, the letters on top were illuminated.

For the 2009 launch of its Stephen Sprouse collection, Louis Vuitton paid homage to the late designer with an event at the Bowery Ballroom. Outside the downtown New York concert venue, the French fashion house installed neon signs and approximately 66 thrift-store televisions playing original footage from the Sprouse estate.

To emulate the “insiders-only” feel of New York Fashion Week in 2006, Victoria’s Secret Pink created Phi Beta Pink Sorority House as a preview party for fashion editors. On the awning of the Fifth Avenue storefront, the girly clothing brand placed three-dimensional Greek letters, a move that required a 24-hour permit.

For the 2010 Boardwalk Empire premiere, HBO spared no expense, hosting three parties to promote its new series. The event in New York turned Rockefeller Center’s Rink Bar, Sea Grill, and Rock Center Café into a Prohibition-style speakeasy, and an illuminated sign for the show at the entrance referenced the bright signs on the Atlantic City boardwalk from that era.

The season-two premiere of The X Factor, which took place at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles earlier this month, used promotional banners to cover the barricades and most of the venue’s surface.

Zagat's "30 Under 30" series honors young talent in the culinary industry, and an event to celebrate Chicago's winners took place at Nellcote on March 25. Shiraz Events produced the sleek affair, which had a marquee-style "Z" to honor the host brand.

The 2004 premiere of De-Lovely aimed to transport guests to the 1930s setting portrayed in the film, and the marquee of New York's Supper Club was revamped to reflect the movie's musical theme.

Signage encouraged guests to share details from the event on social media sites.

Much like the drink straws, pink neon signs directed guests to the different rooms of the party.

To encourage social media activity, signage surrounded by festive streamer paper indicated the special "Kate Young Target" Wi-Fi account and Twitter and Instagram hashtag.

Larger-than-life letters spelled out the host group's name at the Orange County financial conference, which took place in late March and had a party with a performance by Macklemore.

Signposts high above the crowds detailed each station's chef and menu.

Part of the goal of AMC's Immortal Love pop-up was to build buzz leading up to the February 14 premiere of new shows Immortalized and Freakshow. To drive traffic into the experiential space in New York, the organizers covered the façade with bright colors and signage.

At the Taste of Tennis event, staffers with racket-shaped signs guided guests to the correct check-in areas.

Launch My Line's prominent lighting display

Colorful arrows (and some smiley faces, for added pep) led guests to the festive event.

Adhesive signage placed on the walls helped direct guests around the space.

Working with Fox's Bob Stillo, Russell Harris Event Group produced the Fox Emmy party at Soleto Trattoria and Pizzaria in Los Angeles last September. The Russell Harris team described the event as having a "Restoration Hardware-esque" look, with design by Thomas Ford. A Ford-designed sculpture used old-fashioned sign letters, metal numbers, and plexiglass signage to represent the three hosting networks: Fox Broadcasting, 20th Century Fox, and the FX channel.

The Fifth Avenue entrance to Rockefeller Plaza was marked with branded signage, and surrounding buildings were awash with red and blue lighting.

The main entrance to the store was marked with signage that read "Hello Harlem" and Bill Brown's cheeky illustrations for the advertising campaign. The large-format installation comprised 30 to 40 panels placed over the glass facade on a customized grid.

Logo signage covered the venue's 120-year-old chandelier.

Signs led the way to the hidden Ontario Bread Co., in a lane way off of Ossington Avenue.

Signs were inspired by the classic TV show.

The centerpiece of the cocktail section was an enormous sign depicting the event's arrowhead symbol and tagline. Oversize illuminated arrows pointed outward from this point, guiding guests to sections themed around the issues the foundation works on.

Ten street signs, each 10 feet tall and made of PVC pipe with a weighted wooden base, were placed throughout the 136,000-square-foot store to emphasize the neighborhood's iconic streets. Illustrator Bill Brown's art for Target's campaign was painstakingly hand-drawn, sketched, and scanned in for each sign.

Time Out New York's signage included capsule reviews.

Designed to look like the signs found at a typical American campground, the entrance to the after-party was marked by pillars decorated to look like distressed wood.

Wooden signs hanging from one of three 12-foot juniper trees pointed guests in the right direction.

Organizers scattered circus-style signs depicting food-related phrases and pictures throughout the park to create an amusement-park-like setting.

Directional signs helped guest navigate the more than 30,000-square-foot space.

Maxim's sprawling Hot 100 projection

The activation inside Advertising Week's main venue was simple, with clean lines, white tables, and pops of color to highlight key statistics from AOL properties. The colorful signs stood atop small booths, which offered free pens, candy, and electronic device chargers.

Google and The Hollywood Reporter welcomed guests to Friday night party at the W hotel's Great Room with an alphabet-board sign.

The large balloons marked with the names of Fox shows also led the way to the upfront's after-party at the Trump Wollman Skating Rink in Central Park.

In the subterranean carnival, signs for sponsors hung above games; games then offered prizes from the designated sponsor.

Designed by Shiraz Events, the event took place on December 13 at New York's Angel Orensanz and had a sinister, superhero-inspired look. Deriving inspiration from comic books, the dessert table had candies with phrases such as "pow!" and "blow!" written on bright signs.

As a nod to the green color scheme and grass in Patch's logo, the producers constructed what they dubbed the back porch bar, from which baristas served Nespresso.

Guests at the Block could make friends with BlackBerry Messenger or scan the bar code displayed on signs throughout event venues to get set times for performances and information about the after-party venue.

Rather than a simple step-and-repeat, Cartoon Network created a three-dimensional sign at the Roseland Ballroom, beside which upfront attendees posed.