Business Management

Best Commercial Building Signs of 2016

Charging through history like a bull in an olive shop. Read on and you’ll understand

Published

8 years ago

April 6, 2016

Steve Aust Signs of the Times April 2016 Issue

First Place
Fabricator/Designer/Installer
Creative Sign Resources
Ft. Wayne, IN
(260) 425-9618
www.creativesignresources.com
Client
Allen County-Ft. Wayne Historical Society

This breathtaking 1893 Richardson Romanesque structure, which now serves as The History Center, a Ft. Wayne museum, deserved a sign that would evoke the era of its construction, and Creative Sign Resources delivered. The sign’s intricate scrollwork was fashioned from aluminum and steel on a waterjet cutter, and the main panel and lettering were produced on a MultiCam 3000 CNC with Design Board® HDU and acrylic, respectively. Lord epoxy and ASI silicone bonded the various components together, and satin-finish basecoat, paint and topcoat provide its vibrant sheen and subtle, textured finish.

Second Place
Fabricator
Xpressive GraphiX
Zanesville, OH
(740) 452-6804
www.xpressivegraphix.com
Designers
David Mattingly
Tony Rose
Installers
Jennifer Larimer
Kelly Morrison
Daniel Shell
Client
The Angry Bull Saloon

A Zanesville bar’s owner decided on a new look and reached out to Xpressive. After a few revisions, Rose and Mattingly settled on a new logo developed with Adobe Illustrator and prepped for 3-D production on SA Intl.’s EnRoute Pro 5. To get the right effect, the shop carved the bull with an air grinder and hand tools. The double-sided sign’s main copy was routed on a MultiCam 1000 from PrecisionBoard HDU, and the support form was built from steel joined with a Tweco MIG welder.

Third Place
Fabricator
Boardwalk Designs
Lynn Haven, FL
(850) 265-0988
www.boardwalkdesigns.com
Designer
Joe Paffoon
Installers
Jeff Randall
Cory Steele

Foodies can debate the merits of olive-oil brands as vociferously as gearheads can debate Ford vs. Chevy. Whatever your brand, here’s your place on Florida’s Gulf Coast. After designing the sign with CorelDRAW X7, Gerber Omega and Artpath software, the shop constructed the main panel from Duna Corafoam HDU on a Gerber Sabre 408 CNC router, and built the branch from laminated, carved PVC bent with a propane torch; the olives were constructed from laminated, cut PVC that was turned on a lathe to create its shape, then dressed up with digital prints. The lettering comprises stacked HDU with an additional top layer that’s prismatic-cut.

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