Here’s your quick afternoon update on news in the sign industry:

1. Ontario transport agency Metrolinx has commissioned artist Alex McLeod to create the world’s largest digitally printed mural, which will decorate the noise barriers for its Davenport Diamond Gateway, a new commuter rail overpass structure planned for Toronto’s west end.

2. The International Sign Association’s (ISA’s) 2018 International Sign Expo closed last month with attendance topping 20,387, making it the largest such event to be held in Orlando, Fla. It also featured the industry association’s largest-ever trade show floor.

3. Branded Cities recently ran a digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising campaign for Just For Men beard care products at Toronto’s Union Station, integrating facial-hair-recognition camera technology from Big Digital into an interactive display.

4. As part of its ‘signs of support’ program, a FastSigns International franchise in Newmarket, Ont., recently helped the local Margaret Bahen Hospice by donating signs and graphics for a fundraising event.

5. Marketers of successful brands allocate an average of only 13 per cent of their budgets to out-of-home (OOH) advertising, according to a new report from the World Advertising Research Centre (WARC), despite the lower cost compared to other paid media.