Best Electric Building Signs of 2013

FIRST PLACE/BEST OF SHOW

Fabricator
National Signs
Houston
(713) 863-0060
www.nationalsigns.com
Designers
(concept design)
Osborn & Vane Architects Inc.
Houston
(713) 781-5262
www.ovarc.com
(lighting)
Brooksy Smith
Jerry Built Burgers
Hussain Ali
National Signs
(sign)
OUN
Robert Whitaker
National Signs
Client
Jerry Built Burgers
This sign provides a good case in point that’s sometimes it’s good to be full of bull. This illuminated spectacular measures 22 ft. 9 in. x 24 ft. 6 in.; the architectural firm developed the concept using  SketchUp®, and integrated it into building elevations with AutoCAD®. OUN and Whitaker developed fabrication details using CorelDRAW X6 software. Prior to building the entire sign, National Signs built an actual-size section to serve as a prototype. After the testing of potential materials and lightsources, production began.
The face comprises 0.063-in. aluminum that’s backed with 0.125-in.-thick Makrolon™ polycarbonate with 3M 70% diffuser film applied to enhance illumination. Fabricators inset the faces slightly from the channel’s front edge and installed a custom, hidden retaining system. National shaped the sign components on its MultiCam 3000 CNC router, and MIG-welded the metal parts with a Cobramatic system. EcoLight LED’s Super Nova 2 RGB LED system gives the steer his luminous look; a Stick 2 DMX-compatible controller dictates the system’s animation. They decorated the exterior-metal surfaces with metallic-finish Matthews acrylic-polyurethane paint. Other unique facets of Jerry Built’s environmental graphics include an interior spatula display, spatula-shaped door handles, and a retro-style Coke sign.

 

SECOND PLACE

Fabricator
Trademark Sign Co.
Boise, ID
(208) 949-1160
www.tmsignco.com
Designers
Jason Keeble
John Yarnell
Client
Barbacoa

Boise has transformed from a modest, medium-sized burg into a trend-setting city with a vibrant cultural scene. Like a cowboy dressing in his finest duds for the box social, Barbacoa celebrates traditional frontier fare – steaks, locally caught trout and pork dishes – with an upscale, slightly Latin twist. In 2010, Barbacoa, one of the most popular restaurants in the City of Trees, was engulfed by fire and ravaged. Its owners vowed to rebuild into an even bigger, better space, and this sign helps deliver on that promise.
Yarnell and Keeble designed the program with Google’s SketchUp and CorelDRAW X5 software. Trademark built the front panels from Sign•Foam HDU, which were cut to shape on its MultiCam 3000 CNC router and painted with Benjamin Moore exterior-grade latex paint. They built the second surface with ½-in.-thick Acrylite® acrylic that’s layered with 3M translucent vinyl. To give the sign its warm glow, they subcontracted Rocket Neon (Boise) to install 15mm Voltarc luminous tubing, which is powered by six Allanson transformers. Jack’s Metal Works (Garden City, ID) built and installed the sign’s custom mounting brackets.

Advertisement

THIRD PLACE

Fabricator
GableSigns & Graphics Inc.
Baltimore
(410) 255-6400
www.gablesigns.com
Designer
Selbert Perkins Design
Boston
(781) 574-6602
www.selbertperkins.com
Client
Luckie’s Liquors

Good luck finding another package store with this caliber of stylish signage (I admit, I’m a sucker for any sign that pays tribute to the Googie style). The 14 x 3.5-ft. sign comprises CNC-routed and rolled aluminum sheet installed over aluminum-angle frame and steel support tubes and mounting plates, and it’s bolted to the building’s steel-bridge façade. The neon, exposed channel letters are encased with halo, LED cove lighting; the round cabinets are covered with formed-acrylic faces. “Liquors” was assembled as push-through, white-acrylic copy, and the cabinets were decorated with an automotive-grade coating.

Honorable Mention
Fabricator
Berry Sign Systems
Everett, WA
(425) 776-8835
www.berrysignsystems.com
Designers
(logo design)
Robert Williamson
Williamson Studio Inc.
Seattle
(206) 706-7114
www.williamson.ws
(sign)
Cory Snider
Berry Sign Systems
Client
Neighborhood Grills