Anyone who’s searched for a job during the last decade is probably well acquainted with www.monster.com, the behemoth employment website that offers countless thousands of job listings. Also, you’re probably familiar with Trump, the company’s signature, green monster known for his catchphrase in Monster commercials, “YOU the monster.”
When Monster officials wanted to bedeck the property with new signage – and to give a super-sized Trump sculpture roof space – for its newly built Florence, SC call center, the company’s architect, RTSPCPinnacle Architecture & Design, brought in Gulla Design (Madison, CT), one of its strategic partners, to develop environmental graphics. Steven Gulla, the firm’s principal, said, “Both the client and architect envisioned the building as a colorful, dramatic icon that’s easily visible from heavily travelled I-95, which runs near the facility. Kevin Farrell [Monster’s real-estate VP] challenged the team to create a dynamic, yet cost-effective, solution.”
Initially, Gulla specified the Trump environmental graphics be fabricated as a two-dimensional, aluminum piece. However, Gulla, Farrell and Bob Sutter, an architect and founder of RTSPCPinnacle, decided that didn’t provide enough visual “pop.” So, Gulla rendered the project as a 3-D icon – he said Trump hadn’t been rendered this way before — and contacted Atlanta-based Chisel 3D. Gary Bystrom, Chisel 3-D’s owner, said his company fabricates more themed environments than traditional signage, but that carved signage represents a significant portion of its business.
The 20 x 10-ft. Monster building icon comprises expanded-polystyrene (EPS) foam with a supporting steel armature and protective, polyurethane hardcoat. Gulla submitted 2-D artwork, and Bystrom’s team employed a digital, 3-D scanner to scan the model, and then manipulated the scans on the shop’s PC. To convey the concept to the client, Bystrom developed a 6-in.-tall maquette, or model, as the first step in creating 3-D artwork. Then, Chisel 3-D used Autodesk’s Maya 3-D animation software to perfect the model before processing the sculpture on its four-axis, CNC milling machine.
“Large pieces like this require a combination of art and engineering,” Bystrom said. “Working out the artistic component requires working with the client to understand expectations. This means not only the appearance, but the reaction they want. We built [Trump] so we could load it onto a truck with a forklift, but unload and install with a crane.”
CMC Cary Engineering designed the structural tie-downs, which provided essential strength because Florence is both prone to hurricanes and situated within a seismic zone. Cork Howard Construction provided a 30-ft.-reach crane – such lengthy reach was necessary to avoid disturbing the campus’s recently installed landscaping – and installed the tie-downs before Chisel 3D completed installation.
Commercial Signs Inc. (Smyrna, GA), which Cork Howard subcontracted, built the site’s monument sign and channel letters. The building sign comprises 30-in.-tall, LED-lit channel letters, which were set-mounted to two, custom, aluminum brackets that fit the fascia contour. The 4.5 x 10-ft., internally illuminated, monument sign entails aluminum with push-through, acrylic letters and a digitally printed depiction of Trump. Precision Signs (Amityville, NY) built and installed the interior-identity graphics, which include routed aluminum and acrylic letters.
The entire project was completed and installed within a four-week timeframe and was greeted with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Gov. Mark Sanford and State Sen. Hugh Leatherman, as well as Florence County officials and local business leaders.
As impressively as the Trump sculpture encapsulates Monster’s branding, the project plays just one part in Monster’s global sign standards that RTSPC Pinnacle and Gulla are developing in concert with Monster’s global-marketing group. Presently, Gulla’s current package encompasses a 60-page book – and, it’s still growing.