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.

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.