2007 International Sign Contest

FIRST PLACE

This single-sided monument sign, which features LaPorte brownstone, sits at the entrance of a stone supplier and quarry in Fort Collins, CO. Gerber sandblast stencil and silica sand created its Lothochrome™ stain-filled text. A 0.250 aluminum plate was waterjet pierced and attached to the stone with masonry anchors and spacers. Amber Sloan LEDs halo-illuminate the background. The 5 x 8-ft. rock sign has a direct burial in concrete foundation of 36 in., which happens to be northern Colorado’s frost depth. Electrical power supplies were mounted in waterproof-grade electrical boxes on the stone’s backside.

SECOND PLACE

Dan Sawatzky, owner of Sawatzky Imagination Corp., wanted to create an imaginative sign for his British Columbia-based signshop “that lets customers know the type of magic we can create.” Fabricator Phoenix Bermudez created a 3-D file of Spaz the dragon, the company’s mascot. Imported into SA Intl.’s EnRoute Pro 3 CAD/CAM software and sliced into 2-in.-thick files, this creation was routed using a Multicam 3000 series router on Coastal Enterprises’ 30-lb. Precision Board HDU and handpainted with General Paints’ acrylic paints. The copper disc at the back and lettering were also Multicam routed. The lettering, which is routed layers, was glued over rounded plywood, painted with General Paints acrylics and gilded with 1Shot 23k goldleaf. The sign base is constructed with a 2 ft. x 2 ft. x 1/8-in.-wall of square tubing. A ¼-in., round, pencil-rod frame was formed and welded in the base’s final shape. Expanded, galvanized-steel lath, which is tied to the frame, holds the handsculpted and handpainted fiberglass-reinforced concrete rockwork. Sign dimensions are 6 x 4 x 2 ft.

THIRD PLACE

Advertisement

This 5 x 10-ft., single-sided sign stands at the entrance of a West Virginia cottage community. Designed using SA Intl.’s. Flexi software and a Roland CAMM 1 Pro plotter, this handsculpted and handpainted Sign•Foam III 18-lb. HDU sign was finished with Benjamin Moore exterior-grade latex paint and gilded with 23k goldleaf.

HONORABLE MENTION