Commercial signs as historiographical heritage of the city

Abstract

In the last few decades, commercial signage has gained significant social and cultural interest as part of our cities’ urban and architectural landscape. What once served a utilitarian purpose, to help identify a business or a product, provide information, and even advertise, has now transcended the cultural and aesthetic barrier to become part of the historical heritage of our cities.

This recognition has its roots in the fascination of a few designers who believe that these tangible objects are worth preserving. The goal of this research has an ethnographic approach: it aims to showcase current projects (focusing mostly on Spain) that consider commercial signs to be essential to maintain the identity and richness of local communities by preventing their disappearance or avoiding being forgotten. They make this happen through various actions, ranging from their rescue and restoration to photographic documentation and even digitalization.