Best Sign Systems of 2015

SIGN SYSTEMS

First Place (Tie)
Fabricator/Installer
Design Communications Ltd. (DCL)
Boston
(617) 542-9620
www.designcommunicationsltd.com
Designer
RSM Design
San Clemente, CA
(949) 492-9479
www.rsmdesign.com
Client
Trinity Works

Set on 10,000 acres of land in Mount Hope, WV, Summit Bechtel Reserve is the home of the Boy Scouts of America Jamboree, where approximately 40,000 Scouts and 50,000 visitors congregate every four years to test their physical and mental toughness through such activities as kayaking, mountain biking and a zip-line obstacle course.
“The design team created a balance between the natural sense of place the site brings, and contemporary attitudes of the activities,” DCL’s Harvey Whiteway of DCL said.
RSM’s team developed the concept. DCL’s engineers created detailed shop drawings and proofs using AutoCAD®, Adobe® Illustrator® and CorelDRAW® software, then prepped the files for CNC-router production with SA Intl.’s EnRoute® 4 software. The shop produced the signs using an array of natural and rugged materials: locally sourced hemlock and cedar, precast concrete, faux-finished aluminum and Cor-Ten® patina-finish steel. DCL processed the panels via a combination of its MultiCam 7000 CNC router, a Powermatic 68 table saw, a Miller Electric Mfg. Co. Millermatic 200 MIG welder, and a Portland 67255 chainsaw.

First Place (Tie)
Fabricator/Designer/Installer
Dan Sawatzky
Imagination Corp.
Chilliwack, BC, Canada
(604) 823-2216
www.imaginationcorporation.com
Client
Cultus Lake Adventure Park

British Columbia-based theme parks, miniature-golf courses and other regional attractions are fortunate such a gifted artisan as Sawatzky is available to build their signs. His combination of whimsy and craftsmanship is a rare treasure. Sawatzky worked with Chris Steunenberg, Cultus Lake’s owner, to build the infrastructure and substructures required for the signs. To build the signs’ foundation, they constructed ¼-in.-thick, steel pencil rod that’s welded into armatures, which were installed over structural-steel subframes. Installers tied galvanized-steel lath over the armatures, and then troweled on Sawatzky’s proprietary mix of fiberglass-reinforced concrete. Dan sculpted smaller elements using Abracadabra sculpting epoxy.
After the concrete cured, the team brushed on three coats of General Paint’s acrylic house paint, and, later, three coats of custom-mixed, acrylic glazes. Sawatzky designed the sign panels using SA Intl.’s EnRoute software, and cut the panels with his MultiCam 3000 CNC router.

Third Place
Fabricator/Installer
Ion Art
Austin, TX
(512) 326-9333
www.ionart.com

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Designer

HEB
Client
H-E-B Grocery

These retro-cool signs might suggest you’ve traveled back in time to a mid-20th Century outdoor market. H-E-B, a prominent grocery chain in the West, South and northern Mexico, wanted to give its flagship San Antonio store character. Ion Art delivered flawlessly. H-E-B’s design team developed the sign-package concept using Illustrator and CorelDRAW software, and Ion Art fashioned the program using a combination
of Southern Aluminum Finishing aluminum sheet, Voltarc neon tubing, MDF, chipboard, Matthews acrylic-polyurethane paint, 3A Composites Sintra® PVC, corrugated metal and CenCore high-density polyethylene. The equipment entailed a MultiCAM CNC router and plasma cutter, a Miller Electric Mfg. Co. MIGwelder, Tech 22 transformers, and a Computerized Cutters Accu-Bend letter former.
For more information, about the program, see the corresponding Strictly Commercial column.

Honorable Mention
Fabricator/Designer/Installer
Pinnacle Sign Group
Springfield, MO
(417) 869-6468
www.pinnaclesigngroup.com
Client
Missouri State Univ.