Anyone who reads this column on a regular basis knows that I frequently return to themes revolving around changes that affect our industry—changes in technology, changes in business climates, changes in market trends, and changes in the ways sign and graphics industry professionals must operate in order to thrive in a struggling economy. 

 

And when I consider the changes that have helped our industry to evolve and grow and become more relevant over time, I often point to the development of digital technology and how it has become inexorably integrated into the tools we use every day—everything from shop equipment to the computers we rely on, and of course email and our smartphones.

 

But it’s the visionaries and innovators who are the true impetus for all this change. It’s the ones who see how things could be, the ones who understand the implications and the possibilities—those are the people who take the risks and show the rest of us that something new isn’t just new, but that it can have practical value. 

 

Now I’m not a Mac guy and I don’t own an iPhone or iPad, but I recognize Steve Jobs (founder of Apple Computer), as an iconic visionary and risk-taker who played a major role in the evolution of digital technology in the U.S. and abroad, and that his entrepreneurship and innovation have had profound effects on our industry, whether we realize it or not. 

 

Think about it. Jobs helped develop and successfully market the world’s first personal computer, pushed digital animation to new heights, and developed the iMac, the iPod, iTunes, the iPhone and, most recently the iPad. He had a knack for creating and marketing cutting-edge devices and making them easy enough to use so that non-technical consumers could reap the benefits without requiring much technical knowhow.

 

These devices continue to touch all of our lives, no matter whether you are a Mac guy or not. Job’s legacy of vision—and his ability to zero in on what people want and make it easy for them to get—make him an icon of our age. 

 

But innovation and change will never cease, and success is not always measured on such a grand scale. Great ideas and great advances have always been the impetus for change within our industry. That’s one of the things that make it so exciting. 

 

The trick is to recognize when to adopt to a particular development and to understand how best to exploit it for your own business. I know old-school flame painters who have traded their pin striping brushes for computer design software tools, and who have translated their artistic talents into developing killer art sold to sign shops that eagerly integrate those designs into their wrap projects. 

 

I know guys who started out hand-carving signs from wood who have become experts with CNC routers and have brought their sign design experience to new levels with the help of this cutting technology. They bring hand-cut excellence into the realm of machine automation and have stayed ahead of the technology curve. 

 

And that’s where each of us becomes the impetus of change. Taking what’s known, embracing what’s new and forging ahead with something completely different, valuable—and profitable. 

 

Okay, back to work.