Best Sign Systems of 2016

FIRST PLACE
Fabricator/Installer
Design Communications Ltd. (DCL)
Boston
(617) 542-9620
www.designcommunicationsltd.com
Designer
CallisonRTKL Inc.
Client
CallisonRTKL Inc.

RTKL (now CallisonRTKL) a leading architectural-design firm, recently renovated its Dallas office and enlisted to DCL to design, fabricate and install new environmental graphics. Inspired by the dynamic, creative and vibrant urban life in Dallas, RTKL envisioned creating an office environment that was visually impactful and relevant to the human experience. The project includes a sophisticated array of materials and graphics. Entry windows prominently display RTKL’s branding with a custom-fabricated aluminum sign that’s cut on a CNC router, hand assembled and welded, and outlined with LED stroke lighting. Behind the lobby desk, an undulating sculpture, made from simulated and actual scale rulers, is backlit with recessed lighting, which, according to DCL, builds a balance of texture and depth that skillfully plays with positive and negative space. Additional elements include measurement graphics spanning the two-story elevator enclosure, motivational quotes assembled from aluminum letters and frosted-glass office signage.

SECOND PLACE
Fabricator/Installer
House of Signs
Frisco, CO
(970) 668-5232
www.houseofsignsco.com
Designers
Roger Cox
Periandros Damoulis
Steve Huyler
Client
Breckenridge, CO, Tourism Office

House of Signs devotes much of its work to branding businesses that promote Colorado tourism, and Breckenridge has provided fertile ground for its creative talents. The Breckenridge Tourism Office hired the shop to rebrand an aging, multi-use facility with what Cox called “very poor signage that wasn’t the visual icon the town wanted for its welcome center.” Using a combination of Gerber Scientific Products’ Omega®, CorelDRAW® X7 and Vectric Aspire 3-D software, the designers developed the concept. To convey the miner figure, the design team reference six mineworker photos, then drafted a composite.
House of Signs fabricated the program’s 11 signs using Duna USA’s Corafoam® high-density urethane (HDU), which it shaped using a Gerber Sabre 408 CNC router, a Powermatic table saw and Makita power tools. Fabricators used a Millermatic 252 MIG welder to bond the hardware to the panels, and decorated the panels with TJ Ronan and Modern Masters acrylic paints, as well as acrylic, faux-finish glazes. TimberLOK hardware and Makita tools facilitated installation.

THIRD PLACE
Fabricator/Installer
Henry Inc.
Decatur, GA
(770) 593-1234
www.henryinc.com
Designer
Airspace
NYC
(917) 593-5200
www.airspace.nyc
Client
Jamestown LP

Atlanta is well known as a city that loves to reinvent; fortunately, this project also preserves an Atlanta icon’s heritage. Jamestown and its architectural team enlisted Airspace and Henry Inc. to repurpose a 1920’s-built Sears, Roebuck and Co. into an upscale, mixed-use property. Prominent elements include a neon blade sign whose cabinet stands 71 ft. 8 in. tall and was fabricated from MultiCam CNC-routed aluminum, and features more than 500 linear ft. of neon; a 123-ft.-wide rooftop channel letter sign, with 2,810 linear ft. of neon powered by 48 transformers; and a sleek, metal-fin sign on the façade of an annex, with blades that each contain a perspective-distorted slice of a letter that aligns into a readable message only from the proper viewing angle.
 

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