by Indigo Tschurtschenthaler -

Can smart design limit the glare of billboards?

a bright billboard on a street at night
Billboards cannot be shielded, as opposed to other fixtures, DarkSky

Electronic billboards, also called electronic message centers (EMC) can be up to ten times brighter than traditionally lit billboards, therefore harming the nighttime environment. Unlike light fixtures, they cannot be shielded and due to the horizontal disposition of LEDs, light is also emitted laterally and upward, into the sky. Light from EMCs can cause glare (a visual condition where intense light reduces vision and causes discomfort) and be a dangerous distraction to drivers. Other than that, it can affect breeding, foraging, and orientation in wildlife.

Due to the impossibility to shield EMCs, design can only slightly mitigate their glare. What is most important is careful operation, programming, and location of this technology.

The DarkSky Technical Committee developed EMC guidelines to provide planners, lighting designers, architects, biologists, government officials, and the general public with solutions for EMC related harm. The guidelines were published in January 2019 and include:

  1. Best practices for the amount of light emitted for urban, suburban, and rural areas
  2. A Curfew when EMCs should be switched off completely, from 11:00 p.m. or 30 minutes after the close of business (for on-premises signs) until one hour before sunrise 
  3. Best management practices to decrease or eliminate negative impacts on the environment and improve safety for drivers and pedestrians

The best management practices consist in 6 points:

  1. Monitoring — The EMC should continuously be monitored by its owner 
  2. Sensitive area setback — EMCs should not be placed within or close to natural areas, beaches, wetlands, state and national parks, wildlife refuges and residential areas
  3. Distraction limitation — Messages should minimise distraction to drivers and pedestrians by setting a minimum message duration, a maximum transition time between messages, and maintaining adequate spacing between EMCs
  4. Gradual brightness reduction — EMC luminance levels should gradually dim between daytime and nighttime modes 
  5. Size limits — Larger EMCs should be avoided
  6. Density limits — The number or combined size of signs permitted for a given road or area could be limited

Unlike other types of lighting, which are quantified by their illuminance (how much light falls upon a surface), EMCs are quantified by thor luminance (the luminous intensity leaving the sign). For this reason, a standard luminance meter should measure the white screen at the moment of installation.

This being said, design also plays a role in light pollution. Sustainability directory states that bright, saturated colours and high contrast also increase light pollution. To protect the night sky designers should opt for darker backgrounds and minimise the overall illuminated area.

by Indigo Tschurtschenthaler -

The world of billboards

During my previous research, I stumbled across Ankünder, the company that manages outdoor advertising in Graz. Allegedly this company is switching off their illuminated billboards at night, and I searched their website for further information relevant to interaction design and light pollution.

an Ankünder billboard in Graz
Billboard on Hauptplatz in Graz, Ankünder

I found information about their rolling advertising media “Poster Lights” and its advantages. It consists of backlit rolling (switching) posters. According to Ankünder, this method is effective due to its high visibility on the road. In addition, the rolling movement draws even more attention than the traditional billboard. They are intended to be used in combination with classic posters and are supposed to transmit high impact, recall and recognition values to the viewer.

“Poster Lights” rolling advertising media in action near Augarten in Graz

I then decided to find out more about the different types of billboards and how they are related to interaction design and light pollution.

According to the billboard service Blindspot, there are different types of billboards:

  • Static billboards, which are usually located on the side of highways and can be illuminated by another light source at night;
  • Digital billboards, which use LED or LCD screens to rotate multiple ads or display animated graphics;
  • Mobile billboards, placed on vehicles, which have the ability to reach strategic locations.
picture of static billboard
Static billboard, Pinpoint Media
picture of digital billboard
Digital billboards, Play Signage
picture of a mobile billboard
Mobile billboard on a truck, Lime Media

What changes between a digital and a static billboard is budget and flexibility. While LED or LCD billboards are more expensive, they allow content scheduling and catch more attention due to motion and bright colours. On the other hand, static billboards have higher installation costs, but they always occupy the same position, building brand familiarity. One example is the iconic Schweppes neon sign in Madrid’s Gran Vía, which is officially protected as a Monument of Cultural Interest.

picture of Schweppes billboard in Madrid
The huge Schweppes Billboard in Madrid is a mixture between static and digital, La Sexta

What caught my attention were interactive billboards. These use technology or analogue methods to create engagement with the viewer. Some methods are touchscreens, motion sensors, QR codes, and VR (in combination with one’s phone), but on another service called Media Venue I also read about scented billboards, a billboard that is a rock-climbing wall, or a company that gave its public the chance to vote on social media for the billboard to be displayed.

interactive billboard that can be climbed by Ikea Clermont-Ferrand
Billboard that can be climbed by Ikea Clermont-Ferrand, Archilovers

by Indigo Tschurtschenthaler -

Did you know the Schau auf Graz app?

This week I researched ways to report faults in public lighting in Graz. First I used Google’s AI overview and then checked the information on various websites. The AI overview already gives a complete answer to the question: you can either contact Energie Graz, which manages the public lights in the city, or use the app Schau auf Graz (“look after Graz”).

Schau auf Graz is an Internet service that allows citizens to report problems and suggest improvements about public property, and there is also a section about lighting.

have been living in Graz for almost 3 months, but I had never heard of it and I wanted to know if I am the only one. I asked my colleagues from the Communication, Media, Sound and Interaction Design course how familiar they were with it. Out of the almost 30 people who answered, only 4 people from Graz/Styria knew it, the rest had never heard of it, including 2 people from Graz and surroundings. None of the people who are new in Graz knew the app. I reckon that it is a great way to improve public areas and think that it is a pity that it is not very common. I have never seen an ad about it, but I found it quite well hidden on the Stadt Graz website, under “apps of the city of Graz”.

I downloaded the app to see how it works and pretended I wanted to report a defect light in public space. I found the service to be quite easy to use and efficient, but some improvements could be introduced.

First of all, it is not easily accessible for foreigners living in Graz, because it is only available in German. 

The navigation bar at the bottom creates 5 different sections, from left to right: my concerns, all concerns, new concern (the biggest and most important button), information and profile.

When creating a new concern, you can choose from various categories, one of which is “Beleuchtung” (lighting). I tapped on it and was then asked to choose what kind of lighting I wanted to report. I was confused about the difference between the two options, but a quick google search and a closer look at the icons made me realise that the option on the left regards lights that illuminate façades and the other one concerns lampposts, which illuminate the streets. After selecting one, I was asked to choose what I wanted to report, and “fault” was the only option to choose from. A status bar and some sort of breadcrumbs menu allows you to track the progress and go back if needed. The second step is choosing the location of the fault, then you are asked to submit a picture. After that the report is ready to be sent.

You can then check the progress of your query on the “my concerns” page. I also took a look at other queries and found it convenient that you can choose if you want to see their status, their position on the map or a list.

by Indigo Tschurtschenthaler -

How environmentally friendly is street lighting in Graz?

illuminated billboard with a clothing shop ad at night in Graz
An illuminated billboard, Ankünder

Last week I researched dark sky places, this week I have taken a look at how light pollution is tackled in urban areas, specifically in Graz.

First of all, I researched national laws. The Tyrol Competence Center on Light Pollution and Dark Skies lists Austrian regulations on light pollution. As opposed to other EU countries, Austria has no explicit legal requirement to operate street lighting, but these can be derived from various standards and legal norms, such as:

  • ÖNORM EN 13201, Part 2-5 Road Lighting (2004), which lists standards used for planning public lighting systems in all EU countries;
  • ÖNORM O 1055 Road lighting – Selection of lighting classes – Rules for the implementation of CEN/TR 13201-1 (2017), which includes provisions for dimming during off-peak periods;
  • ÖNORM O 1051 Road lighting – Lighting of Conflict Areas (2007), which contains recommendations for lighs illuminating zebra crossings, roundabouts, car parks, etc.;
  • RVS (Guidelines and Regulations for Highways) 05.06.11 and 05.06.12, which includes limit values and criteria to avoid undesired effects of artificial lighting on drivers.

According to Energie Graz, which operates the public lighting system of the city, a total of 28,802 lights illuminated the city as of 2021. Due to the population increase and in order to improve the feeling of safety, in previous years the light system has been expanded by 21%, which corresponds to 98 lights per 1,000 inhabitants. One might think that this would have led to an increase in energy consumption, but actually it fell by over 11% between 2004 and 2021, thanks to the conversion to modern LED street lighting. This has been the case of around 31% or almost 9,000 light points on streets, squares, parks, footpaths and cycle paths of Graz. Apart from having a significantly lower energy consumption, modern LED lights have lower maintenance costs, a long service life, reduced CO₂ emissions, and less light spill, contributing to less light pollution. 

LED street lighting also adapts to the needs of citizens in a smart way. For example, when footpaths and cycle paths are not used at night, the lights are dimmed to 10% of their usual brightness.

During the public meeting of the municipal council on 15 February 2024, it was mentioned that Ankünder GmbH, the leading provider of outdoor advertising media in Styria, had been switching off all illuminated advertising signs from midnight to 5 a.m., except at bus stops for a year.

During the course of the meeting, KPÖ municipal councillor Max Zirngast asked the city to collaborate with the Chamber of Commerce (WKO) to develop a concept to limit light pollution. It motivates Graz-based companies to minimise their light emissions from illuminated advertising and illuminated displays. Most parties voted in favour, but I have not been able to find follow-up information about the proposal’s realisation.

Energie Graz, being responsible for the public lighting in Graz, can be contacted to report faults and problems with street lights. This can be done via e-mail, call or by downloading the “Schau auf Graz” app.

In the next article, I would like to research more about this app and other ways to raise your voice about light pollution in Graz.

by Indigo Tschurtschenthaler -

International Dark Sky Places

picture of the night sky with Milky Way and mountain landscape
The Attersee-Traunsee Nature Park in Upper Austria, photo from their website

DarkSky is a worldwide organisation combating light pollution. It offers certifications for protected areas and facilities that preserve dark skies through responsible lighting policies and public education. The existence of dark areas allows us to stay connected with nature and protect ecologically sensitive zones.

It all started when Flagstaff, Arizona, was named the first International Dark Sky City in 2001. Now there are over 200 places in 22 countries of the world and a total of 160,000 square kilometers of protected land certified by the International Dark Sky Places (IDSP) program.

The certifications DarkSky confers are six: International Dark Sky Parks, International Dark Sky Sanctuaries, International Dark Sky Reserves, Urban Night Sky Places, International Dark Sky Communities and DarkSky Approved Lodging. Additionally, they also have a list of approved luminaires and retailers, together with outdoor sports lighting guidelines.

To request a certification, there is an application process consisting in an initial inquiry, a formal application finally a certification if all criteria are met.

I used DarkSky’s map to find International Dark Sky Places in my countries, Austria and Italy. I found Naturpark Attersee-Traunsee in Upper Austria, but was surprised to find out that there are none in Italy. 

An overview of International Dark Sky Places in Europe, from DarkSky

In fact, according to an article published in the magazine Science Advances in 2016, Italy and South Korea are some of the countries of G20 with the brightest night skies, with the Pianura Padana being the most polluted Italian area. Efforts have been made to certify dark areas such as South Tyrol, Maremma (Tuscany), and the Saint-Barthélemy valley (Aosta Valley), but without any results.

The Attersee-Traunsee Nature Park is the largest natural park in Upper Austria with some of the darkest night skies remaining in central Europe. With the size of 77 square kilometers, it lies between the lakes Attersee and Traunsee and spans across the eponymous Traun and Atterseer Flysch Mountains. It was certified as International Dark Sky Park in 2021. On its website the certification is not mentioned, but there is a separate one dedicated to the “star park“.

by Indigo Tschurtschenthaler -

Globe at Night project — Testing discoverability and usability

Last week I asked myself “How can interaction design combat light pollution?”. This week I researched one way to raise awareness for the cause, which is citizen science. It involves regular people, who can submit measurements of the night sky brightness. This way, they support scientific projects in an interactive and educational way. I found out that there are several campaigns that deal with this theme, but the majority of people are not aware of them and I wonder why.

To get to the root of the problem, I selected the Globe at Night project and tested its discoverability and usability. According to its website, Globe at Night is the most successful light pollution awareness campaign to date, thanks to over 200,000 measurements from people in 180 countries over the last 14 years.

The research method I used was usability testing. I started out by defining two tasks I would present to each participant:

  1. You want to report data about light pollution in the sky. Find a service on the Internet (app or website) that allows you to send data to scientists.
  2. Report the condition of the sky right now to the Globe at Night project.

I tried to include people of different ages, nationalities and levels of digital competency. Ideally, everyone who has a smartphone or a pc and access to the Internet is part of my target group, but I chose to narrow it down to people interested in science or nature lovers. I was able to find 5 people, who performed the tests on pc and on smartphone.

It is not easy to find a service that allows you to report data about light pollution to scientists. People tend to search in their own language for a service in their city and country. Many websites were found but no one was convinced of their result. The Globe at Night project claims to be the biggest of its kind, but it remains hidden by the search engine, even when searching for keywords like “report light pollution”. I think that this problem could be solved by improving the Search engine optimisation and taking into account the internationality of searches.

screenshots of different Google searches
Some Google searches of the participants. Only one found the Globe at Night website.

With respect to the Globe at Night website, I detected various technical issues. While the report form exists in many different languages, the homepage is only in English, making it difficult to find how to report data for non speakers, especially those belonging to older generations.

Globe at Night homepage
The homepage is only available in English.

On the desktop version, due to the disposition of the steps in space, some are overseen, while on mobile it was easier to follow them all. Some participants noticed that they forgot to fill out some areas after submitting the results. I believe that the process could be improved by separating the steps or showing them one under the other while scrolling down. A recap should be visible before submitting data, not after.

An aspect that created many issues was the location. Since all of the participants allowed location sharing, they expected the data to be correct, which was not the case.

report form with many questions on two columns
The report form
recap after submitting data
A recap is shown after submitting data. At this point it was too late to change the country.
sketch where the questions are separated and not all on the same screen
A suggestion to separate the questions, which could help the users to focus on every step.
sketch where a recap is shown before submitting, as a final step
A recap before submitting data could help prevent mistakes.

Finally, some participants felt overwhelmed when confronted with specific questions. One was whether they used a Sky Quality Meter to measure the brightness of the sky and the other concerned what constellation they were looking at. The project claims to be “citizen science” but these questions are not accessible to people lacking astronomical knowledge. I reckon they should be omitted, explained better or only shown after the user has demonstrated to posess the required knowledge in a previous answer.

There is a chance Globe at Night has never performed usability tests on their website, and this project could help them improve their service. I might consider contacting them, while I research other ways interaction design can help fight light pollution.