Recent research has discussed Linguistic Landscapes (Japanese: gengo keikan/言語景観 or 'language scenery'), which consists of the signage of an area or a country. As an exercise, take a 5 minute walk down a busy street in your town. How many signs do you see? What languages are on them? Who are they for?
This collection of signs is what we refer to as a Sightscape. Thinking about the sightscape around where you might put up a sign is any important first step in making any sign. Will it be in a prominent place? Will it have 1, 2, 3 or more languages on it? All of these considerations are important ones
We also mention 'Soundscape'. Your business may need to make announcements that can be read over a public address system or told to guests. While our focus is on signs, the Higosign website can be used for 'soundscapes' and we will discuss this in our last chapter.