2008 International Sign Contest

FIRST PLACE

Attention, Mall of America shoppers: Moose are running wild on the premises! Dan Sawatzky, known for his imaginative, miniature-golf-course designs, worked his trademark mojo to create Moose Mountain Adventure Golf. The signage comprises Coastal Enterprises’ 30-lb., PrecisionBoard® HDU (the shop only uses 30- and 40-lb. HDU), welded steel and myriad epoxies. According to Sawatzky, the graphics fulfill a dual role of directing patrons and telling “Moose Mountain’s whimsical story.”

Sawatzky designed most elements using SA Intl.’s EnRoute® Pro 3-D software and fabricated them with the shop’s MultiCam 3000 Series CNC router. Then, he laminated them over welded-steel frames and sculpted many features using Magic Sculpt epoxy. To withstand the wear and tear of cavorting children, he built the signage over custom-welded armatures. The plane overhead comprises birch plywood and hardcoated EPS foam assembled over a steel frame. He coated all elements with waterbased, acrylic paints.

SECOND PLACE

Danthonia designer Geordie McKernan, melded a seafaring theme and Celtic iconography for an upscale marina on Queensland’s Calypso Bay. The panels and handcrafted captain’s wheels comprise Sign Arts Products’ Sign•Foam® 3 HDU. McKernan’s team developed the graphics using SA Intl.’s FlexiExpert® software and created the patterns using a Roland DGA Corporation Camm-1 Pro cutting plotter and Avery Graphics carving masks. To fortify the signs, Danthonia laminated the HDU to PVC backing with 3M adhesives. Dulux Weathershield paints, Liquitex artists’ acrylics and 23k goldleaf decorate the panels and 3-D elements.

THIRD PLACE

Francis Lestingi certainly didn’t garner any demerits for fabricating this multi-sign package. He primed the mahogany panels (most of which measure 65 x 30 in.) with Jay Cooke’s Sign Primer and topcoated with T.J. Ronan bulletin colors. After having handcarved the panels, Lestingi sized them with LeFranc Charbonnel slow size and gilded them with Sepp Leaf’s (NYC) 23½k goldleaf. He handcarved the school seal and fashioned the gilded letters using Gemini 3-D letters.

Electric Sign Systems