2008 International Sign Contest

FIRST PLACE

For the Miracle Mile Shops in the heart of Las Vegas, YESCO’s Outdoor Electronics Div. built its own EMCs, a 40-ft.-high x 235-ft.-long LED display at the north entrance and a 52-ft.-high x 144-ft.-long LED display for the south entrance. A DMX control system and a full-motion, video-capture device control the content that Eddy T. Arroyo created using several software packages: CorelDRAW® for hard lines and 3D Studio Max with Adobe After Effects™ for the animation. The EMCs feature a 5-ft.-deep, sheetmetal cabinet that utilizes 6-in., steel, square-tube framing for rear service. The EMCs complement back- and front-lit, pan channel letters that grace the tower and main entrances.

SECOND PLACE

The ABC Super Sign, which provides a high-definition, TV experience for viewers, comprises a 4,048 x 1,080-pixel 10mm outdoor display of nine, 935-ft.-long, horizontal, 3-D, curving ribbons that are each 40.5 in. tall. Content is controlled by 22 computers, custom-developed software and various signal processors. D3 retrofitted the ribbons on an existing steel structure. The EMCs use Nichia LEDs.

THIRD PLACE (TIE)

The S10 XP LED board is surrounded by painted aluminum cladding. Accent lighting includes Color Kinetics in the bottom panels and halo-lit, white Allanson LEDs in the stainless-steel letters. The tempered-glass canopy includes Color Kinetics’ white, accent downlights.

THIRD PLACE (TIE)

This 44-ft.-tall structure, whose design was “heavily scrutinized” by Stockton city planners, features architectural-grade aluminum cladding that was powdercoated with a soft, gray, metallic finish. The Trans-Lux EMC, which measures 8 ft. x 19 ft. 6 in., is housed in an aluminum sign cabinet with routed, illuminated copy areas. After this sign was installed, the automall commissioned Pacific to add a low-profile, 7 ft. x 9 ft. 6-in., monument sign for the mall entrance that uses the same materials. Instead of an EMC, this second sign features a conventional acrylic sign face, with internal and external illumination.

Electronic Message Centers