Following Light

 

 This is the Simpson Tower building overlooking the 10 freeway at Cal State L.A. You know that it's the school because of the giant letters that say Cal State L.A. In the day time one can see them as simple white letters with a yellow/gold outline. At night the white part are lit up very brightly, that it illuminates on to the freeway. It's function is to make people aware that this school exists. Everyone who drives on the 10 freeway either west in the direction of Down Town L.A. or east in the direction of San Bernardino will see this sign and be able to read it. Everyone will know that there is a school that is in this area. This is a way that the school can get more people to attended here. While everyone passes by they will keep getting reminded of Cal State L.A., especially if they commuters. Once they get Cal State L.A. in their minds they will mention it to their friends, family, co-workers. And from there the word will spread, and bring in perspective students. This sign is intended to be used exactly where it is, it's right in front of the freeway where hundreds of thousands of people pass by everyday. The materials chosen where some sort of LED system where the brightness can extend onto the freeway. Since it has first been installed the letters have remained the same and illuminated. Although, lights do tend to go out either through power failure or because the lights burn out. Once this happens it will change the original purpose of the sign. It will still be able to be seen in the daytime however at night if there is at least one letter that is turned off, it will not be effective. It will look tacky and cheap, whenever someone drives by a store with a lit up sign and one of the letters is burned out it is seen as a joke. Since this is a marketing technique for the school, they do not want to look like a joke; or that they have cheaply made signs. This can be improved or prevented if they monitor the power monthly. Usually some sort of power gauge would be connected to this sign to view the power levels. Also knowing how long those specific bulbs or lights last is one way to prevent that. 

The idea is to put Cal State L.A. on the map, meaning making everyone aware that this school exists. There was a sign there before it was illuminated, however it did not light up at night. There were however spot lights that would cast light on the letters. This method was not as successful as the current installation. The current sign that they have installed is a much better idea then the previous one. The sign stands out from the black background. It does what they intended on doing with the sign, people can read it from the freeway and it gets their attention. If this sign was duplicated on the other side of the building to display on the north side of the 10 freeway, people would see it as a landmark. Therefore spark more interest about applying to the university.