While the article was focused on why LEDs are bad, it did briefly touch on the history of signage but missed an important point: The masses were until relative

While the article was focused on why LEDs are bad, it did briefly touch on the history of signage but missed an important point: The masses were until relatively recently illiterate, and a sign had much power. "Where shall we meet?" "The White Swan." Which could be identified by a picture of a while swan hanging outside. I can't help but feel signage still achieves these purposes of association (which the author also touched on, but didn't elaborate on): A tacky neon sign can be recognized instantly from 100 meters or more: size, colours, rough silhouette, instant recognition of what it means, an assurance of the level of quality (i.e. average, run-of-the-mill, but probably good enough).