The 2015 International Sign Contest — An Introduction

The contest process has essentially remained constant. There have been shifts, such as moving to a unified contest in 2003 (rather than separate, electric and non-electric entities), separating vehicle wraps in 2007, and the occasional addition or removal of a category. However, each competition assumes a life of its own.
When the gates finally closed, ST had received 350 entries, a 12% increase over last year. Last year’s 312-entry field represented a colossal 37% hike over the year before, so I rejoiced at repeating double-digit percentage growth. Many quality projects didn’t make it past the initial evaluation stage – a testament to a stacked field.
Ruggles Signs (Versailles, KY) hosted the competition at its expansive, new, 160,000-sq.-ft. facility, which features several pieces of new equipment, a cavernous factory floor and state-of-the-art office and meeting facilities. The shop also features several signs the shop has installed throughout Lexington during its 69-year history, and since reacquired.
Our extremely capable panel of judges included Josh Duddey, an architect for EOP, a Lexington firm; Greg Richardson, Ruggles Signs’ lead fabricator; Robert Stone, a Ruggles senior designer; and Carly Cambron, daughter of Ruggles owners Tim and Anna Cambron, who graduated from the Univ. of South Carolina with an art-education degree.
The entries’ diversity was evident. Typically, we don’t like to assign ties. However, we had two very formidable programs in the Sign Systems category. The masculine, rustic program that Design Communications Ltd. (Boston) produced for Mount Hope, WV’s Summit Bechtel Reserve vied with the colorful, whimsical program that Dan Sawatzky, proprietor of the Imagination Corp. (Chilliwack, BC, Canada), created for Cultus Lake (BC) Adventure Golf for the top spot. Every tiebreaking attempt proved futile, and both excellent projects share the category crown.
Also, ARTfx’s (Bloomfield, CT) first-place-winning entry in the Unique Sign category, a wall sign for Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen, a diner at 23rd St. and Madison Ave. in NYC, probably provides the most unique example of material usage in contest history: the sign features 965 plastic ketchup bottles and 265 plastic mustard-bottle caps, which were installed with self-tapping screws.
After other first-place winners had been culled from grand-champion contention, two Best of Show contenders remained: Gordon Sign’s (Denver) wall-mounted sign that identifies Lucky Pie, a trendy Denver eatery; and GableSigns’ (Baltimore) main-entry sign for Cabana Bay, a beachfront Orlando resort. The judges debated each submission’s merits for approximately 20 minutes – the longest Best of Show debate in my 12 years of running our competitions.
Ultimately, GableSigns’ entry prevailed. The typeface and graphics somewhat evoke Googie-style architecture – which features sharp curves and geometric shapes – and perhaps that tipped the scales in its favor. In any case, congratulations to GableSigns, and to all competition winners.
For the third year, we also present our Readers’ Choice Survey. I selected 10 highly scored electric and non-electric signs apiece. Six finalists were chosen from the Readers’ Choice candidates. After the survey tallied more than 17,000 votes over three rounds, which included 13,531 votes in the finals, the sign for Peacock Loop Diner, which was fabricated by St. Louis-based Piros Signs, emerged as the champion by eking out a 122-vote margin over the runner-up, Creative Sign Designs’ illuminated monument for Traditions Medical Center. I hope you find this year’s edition inspiring.