Even then, we rarely look at the critical mass each year’s success has brought. Each year amplifies the previous year’s work, extending its reach as ISA works to solve your business’s challenges and give you opportunities to seize potential.
Take the ISA Elite program. Now in its 10th year, we’ve had more than 300 young professionals participate. But as they’ve told friends and colleagues about their experiences, how many now see the personal and professional growth our industry offers?
The same is true for virtually every program at ISA. If one person gains a new tip in an education course, how many community members share that insight? If one student hears about careers in the industry through Sign Manufacturing Day, how many tell of their experiences?
It’s easy to miss this as we get caught up in the day-to-day. But let’s all take a slightly bigger view of the work and imagine the impact.
ISA's work in 2024 reflects an ongoing commitment to creating a thriving sign and graphics industry. ISA initiatives resonate beyond a single calendar year to show significant impact in the areas that matter most.
Building Connections
The Link: Install
Helped wide format companies, fabricators, franchisors, and wholesalers make vital connections. These meetings brought together 293 installers and 58 national companies in in-person and virtual events.
Wrap Industry Summit
Supported the growing wrap industry with a new business-focused event that brought C-suite leaders together to share ideas and improve business processes.
Women Leading the Industry (WLI)
Saw 8 percent growth for its in-person event at ISA Sign Expo. Virtual events were also popular as we seek to create an industry where everyone thrives.
ISA International Sign Expo
Enjoyed attendance that was at pre-pandemic levels, with
CREATING Community: Numbers to Know
new The Link: Install events to build connections
1:1 networking meetings via Install events in 2024.
installers have met with national sign companies through Install events since 2020.
Finding and Training Employees
Workers are the lifeblood of any sign company. Projects aren’t sold, designed, fabricated, or installed without them. ISA offers in-person education at ISA International Sign Expo, on-demand online learning, and hot-topic webinars to help companies invest in developing their employees. ISA also hosts innovative programs designed to draw new workers to the sign and graphics industry.
- In 2024, ISA completed two new and 12 updated online courses to help train employees in job-specific skills like permitting and advanced sign techniques. In all, 123 courses are available.
- ISA and Sign Research Foundation webinars brought together leading experts to discuss industry hot topics, attracting more than 660 attendees in 2024.
- Sign Manufacturing Day introduces students to sign and graphics industry careers, leading to internships, job shadowing, and even post-education hiring. In 2024, 105 companies worldwide participated, and 19 schools asked ISA to help them coordinate a tour.
Personal and Professional Growth: Numbers to Know:
- 330 companies and more than 22,000 students have participated in Sign MFG Day since 2015.
Securing Better Sign Codes
Improved sign codes mean better signs and improved business for sign company customers. ISA partners with local affiliates, national organizations, and individual sign companies to secure local, state, and federal regulations that support the sign and graphics industry. This includes training planners and local officials who determine whether signs are installed. In 2024, we:
Changed state law in Florida, removing a requirement that sign companies hire a licensed general contractor to pull permits for non-electrical sign work.
Helped drive change in the ANSI 117.1 standards, which changed the color contrast ratio and simplified measurement, an ongoing pursuit for 30 years.
Worked with a coalition to revise IES RP-39, which impacts illuminated signs. The end goal is to develop sign lighting standards that determine the effective brightness of signs.
bUILDING bRIDGES: Numbers to Know
planners educated on sign code issues through two in-person educational sessions for the American Planning Association.
trained planners and local officials since 2011,
dRIVING iNDUSTRY FORWARD
ISA president and CEO Lori Anderson is named Trade Show Executive of the Year by Association Trends
Alicia Auerswald, ISA COO, is named a Trailblazer by Association Trends
ISA International Sign Expo lands on both the Top 100 and Fastest 50 Tradeshows for 2023
ISA's marketing earns awards from Associations Now's Trendy Awards, highlighting its exhibitor guide and convention promotion program
lEADING THE wAY
The International Sign Association is led by a diverse board of directors who help create programs that better the sign, graphics and visual communications industry.
2024 Executive Committee
- Mandy Wisner, Chair, Southern Signs, Inc.
- Betsy Swan, Vice Chair, Allen Industries, Inc.
- Carlos Salinas, Secretary/Treasurer, CS Signs
- Deborah Hutcheson, Past Chair, Agfa Corporation
2024 Board of Directors
- Matthew Baker, Bakers’ Signs & Manufacturing
- Nicole Bergstrom, SmithCraft Custom Architectural Signs
- Jason Buxton, Midwest Light & Sign, Inc.
- Stephen Harroun, Harroun Designs, Inc.
- Mike Lev, Harbinger Sign Company
- Corey Perez, Ad Art, Inc.
- Ryan Schurle, Schurle Signs, Inc.
- Matt Smith, Graphic Solutions Group, Inc.
- Stuart Stein, ESCO Manufacturing
- John Stevens, HP
- Vince Williamson, Identiti
