First Place
Fabricator
GableSigns
Baltimore
(410) 255-6400
www.gablesigns.com
Designer
Curtis Arbaugh
GableSigns
Client
Thorn Properties
This sign won praise from the judges as a flawless execution of a wraparound sign. The site of a former iron foundry, Baltimore’s Clipper Mill development gained new life as a commercial and residential development with a heavy concentration of artisans, designers and nonprofit organizations. GableSigns fabricated the 26 x 3 ft. 9-in., double-sided sign from ¼-in.-thick aluminum on its CNC router. The vertical sign is pinned and bolted approximately 4½ in. off the wall, and white LEDs, nestled vertically in the corners, provide a wall-washing effect that creates brilliant nighttime silhouettes.
“The client had unusual sightlines that weren’t conducive to a traditional building sign,” Arbaugh said. “The cogs reflect onsite sculptures, and Thorn’s representatives loved the solution.”
Second Place
Fabricator
DaNite Sign Co.
Columbus, OH
(614) 444-3333
www.danitesign.com
Designer
Keith Sarna
DaNite Sign Co.
Client
The Big Bar & Grill
With his business located near the Ohio State Univ. campus, the customer wanted a distinctive sign to separate this establishment from competing watering holes. The 12-ft.-tall, projecting sign features 13mm Voltarc exposed neon around the face, chaser bulbs and channel letters halo-lit with SloanLED modules. The aluminum cabinet was shaped on a MultiCam MG CNC router. The scroll and curlicue graphics, which were applied to the Plexiglas® acrylic face, were printed on a HP DesignJet 9000s printer with 3M Controltac media that’s laminated with 3M’s 8519 luster-finish topcoat.
The job required approval from the University’s review board, which Sarna said was an arduous process, but well worth the client’s satisfaction.
Third Place
Fabricator/Designer
Pacific Neon Co.
Sacramento
(916) 927-0527
www.pacificneon.com
Client
Pizza Rock
Located in Sacramento’s down-town-redevelopment district, Pizza Rock’s 21-ft.-wide canopy sign reflects the establishment’s edgy character. The flames and cloud-shaped, decorative piece behind the letters were fabricated from 0.125-in.-thick aluminum, shaped with a MultiCam 3000 CNC router, formed with a Miller Weldmaster, and coated with Matthews acrylic-polyurethane paint. Pacific Neon formed the channel-letter returns with a Computerized Cutters Accu-Bend machine, and installed EGL 15mm, pumped-red neon tubing within the letters, which Pacific Neon decorated with silver 3M translucent film. To create a wash of red backlighting, the shop installed red Sloan LED V Series modules.
Honorable Mention
Fabricators
(façade sign)
CorpoGraf
Guatemala City
(247) 74950
(pylon sign)
Distec
Guatemala City
www.distec.com.gt
Designer
DDG
Baltimore
(410) 361-0505
Client
Immobliaria Spectrum