Best of the Rest: Nordquist Signs/Sky Design

Coordinating ST’s International Sign Contest annually provides one of my most enjoyable job duties. The opportunity to review hundreds of top-flight projects that arrive through the transom –mostly on our FTP server and via email – always delivers an exhilarating experience.

Given the quality of entries we receive, it’s always unfortunate that some very worthwhile signage doesn’t make the winners’ circle. But, just because an entry doesn’t earn recognition in the contest gallery, it may still appear on our pages. This month, we’ve culled through several submissions left in the field and compiled this gallery.
As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe you’ll like some of the signage presented here more than those that earned glory in last month’s issue. In any event, ST proudly offers the “best of the rest.”

In 2009, the Ft. Wayne TinCaps, the San Diego Padres’ Class-A affiliate, moved into Parkview Field, its gleaming, state-of-the-art ballpark. Sky Design (Atlanta) collaborated with Hardball Capital, the TinCap’s owners, to develop an extensive branding project for the stadium. Nordquist Signs (Minneapolis) fabricated the facility’s entire sign package.
One of Parkview Field’s key features, an 84-ft.-wide graphic that spans the dugout façade’s width, incorporates 3M’s IJ8624 rough-surface, inkjet-printable media. For the main entrance, Nordquist built 39-in.-tall channel letters, and 2-ft.-tall, reverse-lit channel letters mounted on the stadium’s west gate reinforce the identity.

The ballpark’s 94 x 50-ft. scoreboard, reportedly one of the largest in minor-league baseball, incorporates a behemoth display; four, digitally printed sponsorship ads; and halo-lit channel letters. Todd Vaught, sky design’s principal, said, “Custom-designed caps, imagery, typography and the color palette all reflect baseball’s nostalgic pull while creating modern branding.”