Hwaryong Jeomcheong (畵龍點睛) means putting a final finishing touch to give life to the dragon in the picture, enlivening it as if it were to fly into the sky. Flexible faced signs, which have been, now, criticized for their lack of dimension, are attempting to bring out the final touch of an eye's pupil.

Shifting from Flat faced to 3-D signs

Hwaryong Jeomcheong (畵龍點睛) means putting a final finishing touch to give life to the dragon in the picture, enlivening it as if it were to fly into the sky. Flexible faced signs, which have been, now, criticized for their lack of dimension, are attempting to bring out the final touch of an eye's pupil. Visual movement expands to connect 3-D channel letters with flexible faced signs. Using Three-Dimensional Signs When we walk on the street, we see signs shifting from flat-faced to 3-D types, especially in advertisements of large companies, major outlets, convenience stores, and upscale restaurants. With the Seoul Metropolitan Government's new regulation effective July 1, wherein a building can feature crossway panels or three-dimensional signs in front of its first floor, and feature 3-D signs on its first and second floors, Seoul will see a dramatic shift in the placement of signs. Still, Korea's sign market sees flexible faced signs as the mainstream among numerous kinds of signs, due to their large capacity, brightness, and low prices. Yet, to address this situation, retailers and sign makers are striving to feature larger and brighter signs and replace flexible faced signs with other kinds of signs to attract more attention. There is also an attempt to combine the advantages of flexible faced signs and 3-D signs. Drawing Attention and Maximizing Cost Effect Small and mid-size franchises use flexible faced signs incorporating into channel letters because these have reasonable prices and attract attention. The use of flexible faced signs with channel letters is on the rise, since shop owners have recognized that these attract more attention than flexible faced signs. They can be easily manufactured by adding the cost of cutting letters out of the material to the cost of manufacturing a flexible faced sign. Using Different Attachment Methods There are two ways of manufacturing 3-D channel letters that are attached to flexible faced signs. One way is trimming the letters and attaching these to the surface of the flexible faced sign. Another method is cutting the letters out of an acryl material, and then attaching these to the surface of the flexible faced sign. This cutout method is the same as the method that is generally used in cutting out and manufacturing letters. A trimmed material is used in manufacturing channel signs, and it is often used in the finishing of the top of channel letters into a cap. For flexible faced signs with attached channel letters that are made of trimmed material, only their top, which is used in covering the cap on the channel letters, is used. Kim Won-seok, general manager of Gemini C&C, said, "The trimmed material, which is used in manufacturing channel letters that will be attached to flexible faced signs, is made of metal, and it makes the space appear smaller. Thus, powerful adhesives are used." On the other hand, existing adhesives are fine when attaching rubber and acryl-made letters onto flexible faced signs. When channel letters that are made of trimmed materials are attached to the surface of a flexible faced sign, backlit can pass through the letters made out of trimmed materials and leave the center empty, thus simultaneously lighting both the flexible faced sign and the channel letters. Rubber or acryl-made letters can either allow light to pass through them or not, depending on the material used. When light cannot pass through, the color of the letters will look different in the daytime and at nighttime, thus making the sign appear very unique and fun to look at. The Continuing Evolution of flexible faced signs Using flexible faced signs with attached channel letters is a new, positive attempt of the sign industry to shift from using panel-type signs of similar sizes and types to draw people's attention and improve aesthetics. These efforts involve not only using channel letters, but also connecting flexible faced signs to the right channel letters by manufacturing channel letters from the inside, and attaching a flexible faced sign onto another flexible faced sign. Due to the sluggish economy, the contracted sign market will continue to feature premium signs, and especially so when the economy improves. Flexible faced signs are often used in the sign market because of their distinct advantages. They may decrease their share in the market due to changing external environments, but their mainstream position will stay for the time being. High expectation is placed on flexible faced signs, which are expected to continue evolving in the right direction.