Good design requires two crucial things.
First there’s the creative pizzaz that captures the right mood and gets your message across.
And then there’s the practical, “make it work” design work.
It may not seem quite so glamorous, but when it comes to ensuring that your sign – which could reach 6m or more in height and weigh anything to up 500kg – stands up, it’s absolutely crucial to get the design engineering spot on.
We get involved in both aspects of design work, offering bespoke design services for sign concepts needing that extra little design touch. This month we’re sharing our insights into how the right design input can transform a sign concept into a workable and attractive 3D sign. Here are some of our favourite examples.
From Brand Logo to Full Visual Brand
We work on a huge range and scale of signage projects, from large scale hoardings and totems to intricate internal wayfinding signs. That means we collaborate with a whole host of specialists along the way too including graphic designers.
But what if you aren’t instructing a graphic designer?
Not to worry. We also help refine visual brands and convert concepts into signage schemes. Take our work with Easy Access Self Storage, as an example.
This project was mammoth in scale. The self-storage provider needed nearly 300 internal signs manufacturing and installing at its Ashton site, but before we could start on the fabrication, the signs needed designing.
We designed the full wayfinding package from start to finish, taking the company logo and brand colours as our starting point.
We worked with the client to devise a full internal signage family that incorporated all-important directory boards, CCTV signs, directional signs and individual numbered signs for each storage unit.
Accessibility and Safety First
In a fire emergency, it’s absolutely crucial that fire fighters can navigate a building to reach and help someone in need.
So, when two apartment blocks in north Manchester failed their fire safety checks we were brought in to provide new, clearer directional signage.
Our internal sign design concept incorporated a tactile brushed stainless steel backplate to be in keeping with other existing internal signage. All signs also include braille letters to ensure accessibility for tenants with visual impairments, many of whom are over the age of 55.
Historic Buildings Require Extra Attention
All historic buildings, but especially listed buildings, are sensitive to modern additions.
So, when we worked at Manchester’s Grade II listed Royal Exchange building, we knew we would need to devise a design that avoided disturbing the fabric of the building.
While the building is most known for its breathtaking market hall which incorporates an iconic free-standing theatre-in-the-round, the vast building is also home to around 400 offices on upper floors.
To accommodate the inevitable change in occupiers, the Royal Exchange needed a design solution where signs can be swapped out without harming the building fabric.
We devised solution which incorporated a J-section frame solution with name signs that slide into place. And, to avoid the risk of theft, these are carefully sized so that they can’t be slid out of place when the door is closed.
Design for a Long-Lasting Solution
No matter how creative your sign concept, or how attractive it is, you actually need your sign to do two things.
It must look good and get your message across. Of course.
But it must also work. Simple as that.
We look at design from both perspectives, ensuring that your signs not only look absolutely spot on, but also do the job.
If you’re looking for support for your next signage project, get in touch. We’ll ensure that your sign fits the bill, with a long-lasting and top quality design solution.
