Design

Best Commercial Building Signs of 2014

Of bears, goats and caffeine

Published

10 years ago

April 3, 2014

Steve Aust Signs of the Times April 2014 Issue

FIRST PLACE

Fabricators
Roger Cox
Bonnie Norling-Wakeman
Jill O’Conner
Mark Bocksch
Randy Ballheim
House of Signs
Frisco, CO
(970) 668-5232
www.houseofsignsco.com

Designers
Roger Cox
Bonnie Norling-Wakeman

Client
Bud Johnson

Cox and Norling-Wakeman designed this 8 x 8-ft. sign (which, from Swiss, translates to “House of the Dancing Bears”) with numerous hand sketches and Gerber Omega software. The shop routed and carved the sign by hand from 18-lb. Sign*Foam HDU to replicate a stone finish. The header sign was also carved from Sign*Foam 3, with an applied, red-smalt background that’s accented with 23k goldleaf. House of Signs crafted the mountain scene with layers of Magic Sculpt modeling epoxy and handpainted it with custom-mixed Sherwin-Williams acrylic paint. A welded-steel substructure supports the signs, and 12-in.-long, L-shaped braces were mounted to the wall to support the 400-lb. sign.

SECOND PLACE

Fabricator
Eyecandy Signs Inc.
Halifax, NS, Canada
(902) 429-8281
www.eyecandysigns.ca

Designer
The Stubborn Goat

Client
The Stubborn Goat

As long as people populate Earth, there will be pubs – and pub signage. Eyecandy Signs Inc. fabricated the client-furnished design – Vectric’s Aspire 3-D software enabled eyecandy to prep the graphic for production. Using 3-in.-thick layers of PrecisionBoard Plus HDU on its ShopBot CNC router, the shop formed the panel. According to eyecandy’s Jake Etheridge, “Numerous layers were required to depict the goat’s head.” After having crafted the panel’s fine details with chisels, they blended Matthews acrylic-polyurethane paint by hand to achieve an appropriately rustic tone.

“We took this opportunity to explore and build upon the brick building’s textures,” he said. “We wanted to create the brand while reflecting the architecture. The formula to sign-business success is the best materials, finishing products and equipment — and extensive knowledge of traditional signmaking techniques.”

THIRD PLACE

Fabricators
Roger Cox
Periandros Damoulis
Mark Bocksh
Randy Ballheim
House of Signs

Designers
Periandros Damoulis
Bruce Holisky

Client
Inxpot

House of Signs designed the 3 x 5-ft. sign using Gerber Omega, Vectric Aspire and Delcam ArtCAM software, built the panel with Corafoam HDU on its Gerber Sabre 408 CNC router, and decorated it with Modern Masters metallic paints. Using ¼-in.-thick aluminum, the shop built the logo panel with a hand grinder, protected it with Far From Normal’s Frog Juice® liquid clearcoat, and bonded it to the base panel with Lord Adhesives epoxy. Ballheim built the welded-steel frame, decorated it with Matthews acrylic-polyurethane paint, and created a front-end-loading apparatus to facilitate installation.

HONORABLE MENTION

Fabricator
Timber Signs
Ofterschwang, Germany
(49) 8321-675420
www.timbersigns.com

Designer
BZ Foods SE

Client
BZ Foods SE

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