Wallcoverings aren’t reserved for only retail or upscale, corporate environments. Any facility can benefit from environmental graphics that underscore an organization’s mission and purpose. The District of Columbia’s (D.C.) Office of Children and Family Services (CFS) wanted a wallcovering that conveyed its values to its workers and clients.
CFS officials hired Jack Stone Signs, a Landover, MD-based, full-service shop, to print and install wallcoverings in lunchrooms, hallways and other high-traffic areas. In business since 1932, Jack Stone Signs is best known for its exterior, electric signs (several of which have won International Sign Contest awards over the years), but JP Stone, the company’s business-development VP and the third generation to assume the family business, said wall graphics represent a growing segment of its business. As customers look for new, compelling ways to brand their spaces, wall graphics represent a previously untapped branding opportunity.
After having met with CFS’ leadership, and having gained a more firm understanding of the department’s purpose and goals, Jack Stone Signs’ design team compiled a list of positive words – Trust, Help, Respect, among many others – and scattered them in a pattern that incorporated the words at different sizes, with some moving horizontally and others vertically. The shop integrated the design using Adobe Illustrator.
Prepping the wall entailed a simple wipedown – standard with any wallpaper installation. Jack Stone Signs printed the graphics using KoroGraphics 54-in.-wide, digital wallcovering media that meets Type II requirements (medium-duty, 13-oz.-per-sq.-yd. density or greater), and is UL-listed and compliant with federal fire-resistance standards.
The shop printed the graphics with Onyx’s ProductionHouse RIP helping navigate the process. The job spanned approximately 950 sq. ft.; installers decorated eight walls throughout the facility. The adhesive was applied to the prints’ undersides.
“Timing is often a challenge with these types of jobs,” Stone said. “You have to work when there’s no staff in the office, and turnarounds are short.”