The news that COVID-19 vaccinations have started in earnest may not immediately trigger the question “What does that mean for display graphics?” but for those of us who have been following the emergence and fast evolution of signage and display graphics in the Age of COVID, it’s not an unreasonable question. Signage has almost always been one of the most essential means of communicating important messages. This certainly was why wide-format shops early on in the pandemic were considered “essential services.” Health and safety messaging was the killer app for display graphics in 2020, and that is going to remain the case for the foreseeable future. And to that end, the Centers for Disease Control has a “Vaccination Communication Toolkit” with downloadable templates for posters, stickers, and other materials.

As inoculations continue, businesses throughout the economy are going to mandate certain policies vis-à-visvaccination. As winter turns to spring and then to summer, we may see signs in public locations along the lines of “Proof of vaccination required to enter these premises.” We may see signs appear at airports reading, “Please have your ‘vaccine passport’ ready for inspection” as you approach the TSA security checkpoint. Sports venues, concert halls, arenas, convention centers, floating Petri dishes cruise ships—all the places that are now closed will need new signage and other display graphics that communicate whatever policies are in effect. The time is now to start working with these end use customers on determining what their needs are going to be. Even if attendees or visitors to these locations don’t pay any attention to these signs (think about the oft-ignored one-way aisle signage in supermarkets, for example), these locations may need these materials for legal and liability purposes, if nothing else.

It’s tempting, maybe even desirable, to see these signage applications—and by extension the public health policies underlying the need for them—as temporary, there are compelling reasons to think of them in a more permanent light. For one thing, the coronavirus is not going to disappear, even once we have everyone vaccinated. For one thing, not everyone is going to get vaccinated, either by choice or other reason. Then there are those for whom vaccinations are ineffective. This is a phenomenon that occurs with every vaccine, which is why historically, everyone who could be was urged to be vaccinated for measles, mumps, and rubella (amongst other things)—to confer the misunderstood but necessary “herd immunity” on those for whom vaccinations are ineffective. Consequently, the virus will still dwell in certain parts of the population.