Boise craft beer establishment too cute for the State Highway Department

Image: Paul Boehlke, KTVB-TV.

According to KTVB TV's story, "Brewery owner forced to take down highway directional sign,"  Woodland Empire Ale Craft in Boise, located on Front Street, a main entry point to I-184, created a clever sign to promote their business that looks like a traditional freeway directional sign, and hung it on their building in a manner that made it look as if it were connected to nearby highway signs.

From the article:

But, the Idaho Transportation Department wants the sign removed, because they believe it might confuse drivers and create a safety issue.

Woodland's owners called the city of Boise before putting the sign up and they had no regulations against it. But, it's near the Connector, which is a state highway, managed by the Idaho Transportation Department, and they do have regulations against it.

So, Dusty Schmidt, Woodland's owner, says they will take down the sign. "We wanted to speak to the 37,000 cars that go by here every day, all the commuters that go by here. And, we wanted to create some brand awareness.

It 's a great illustration of the power of signage and wayfinding.