Design

Best Electronic Message Centers of 2012

Dynamic-digital displays make their mark.

Published

12 years ago

March 5, 2012

Steve Aust Signs of the Times March 2012 Issue

First Place
Fabricator
Arrow Sign Co.
Oakland
(510) 533-7693
www.arrowsigns.com

Designer
Charlie Stroud
Arrow Sign Co.

Client
Hunter Properties

Located at the junction of First St. and Hwy. 237 in San Jose, CA, the @First Shopping Center gains substantial curb appeal from this display. The electronic message center (EMC) comprises an ArrowVision (the company enlists a manufacturing partner that produces spec displays) LED screen with 25mm actual pixel pitch – however, software creates an effective pitch of 12.5mm. The pole was formed from Sabic Polymershapes Lexan-polycarbonate with a second-surface coating that matches the adjacent glass buildings. Arrow fabricated the Target sign with 3M™ Panaflex™ flexible-face material and 3M cardinal-red vinyl; formed, polycarbonate panels below await secondary tenants. Extruded-aluminum fins, which protrude from the panel sides, accent the display.

Second Place
Fabricator
World Wide Sign Systems
Bonduel, WI
(800) 874-3334
www.wwsign.com

Designer
Klusty Sign Assoc.
Cincinnati
(513) 722-4500
www.klustysignassociates.com

Client
Tri-County Towne Center LLC

Klusty Sign Assoc. delivered quite an entry statement with this 46-ft.-display, the first EMC allowed in Springfield, OH (see ST, January 2012, page 71). Klusty specified a Watchfire by Time-O-Matic XVS color EMC display that measures 7 x 13 ft. with a 16mm pixel pitch. According to Watchfire, it’s the second-largest 16mm-pitch on-premise EMC display in Ohio – second only to one at Cleveland’s Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame.
The sign was built with 0.125-in.-thick aluminum over angle-iron framing. The “Towne Center” letters were fabricated with aluminum faces, returns and backs, and installed with PVC standoffs. Internal, fluorescent tubing provides uplighting.

Third Place
Fabricator
National Signs
Houston
(713) 863-0600
www.nationalsigns.com

Designer
OUN
National Signs

Client
Texas Auto

Everything is bigger in Texas, including EMCs. The 26-ft.-tall display, built from a formed-aluminum cabinet, features a 96 x 192-matrix, 19mm-pixel-pitch display that measures 6 ft. 5 in. x 12 ft. 3 in. MultiCam CNC-router-cut panels comprise the signface. Clear channel letters were covered with 3/16-in.-thick Plexiglas® acrylic and illuminated with 15mm, bromo-blue neon; and, bromo-blue and ruby-red tubing swirling around the surface accent the sign. The neon is powered by 30mA transformers.

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