Best of the Rest: The Sign Factory

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.”

On this sign, I can certainly identify with the feeling of winged feet after downing a couple of cups of joe (although, after the caffeine crash, the wings transmute to anvils). The Sign Factory (Kirkland, WA) built the sign as a single-sided logo that comprises 0.050- and 0.080-in. aluminum that was hand-formed using a finger brake. Open-pan channel letters lit with double-tube EGL 9m 6500K white neon brightly identify the name, and EGL’s 15mm red, neon border tubing accents the signage.