Design

Signs Still Stand Tall

The 2009 International Sign Contest shows that good signage transcends bad times.

Published

15 years ago

April 1, 2009

Steve Aust Signs of the Times April 2009 Issue

Despite the constant doomsaying about the credit market and job growth, and the fusillade of economic collapses, business owners adapt and refine their strategies – and will continually need signage to relay vital commercial messages. These superior sign programs, which won awards in the 2009 International Sign Contest, remind us that the fundamentals of effective signage and environmental graphics still help savvy entrepreneurs, owners and managers maintain today and thrive tomorrow.

For the seventh edition of ST’s unified International Sign Contest, we welcome a new category to the fold, Exhibit and Tradeshow Graphics. Our 13 categories attracted 430 entries – an increase of nearly 30% versus last year — from 85 companies in six countries. The judges admitted the keen competition made choosing victors difficult, but Art Display Co.’s (Capitol Heights, MD) fabrication of Cooper Carry’s (Atlanta) design for Wiregrass, a Wesley Chapel, FL-based lifestyle center, ultimately prevailed. Which signs do you prefer? Judge for yourself.

JUDGE BIOS

Roy Flahive

Roy Flahive serves as president and owner of Pacific Sign Construction Inc. (Poway, CA). He’s served on the board of several vital sign organizations. He’s served the California Sign Assn. for 22 years, the Western States Sign Council for 18 years and the International Sign Assn. for nine years. Flahive has proudly employed all four of his children in his shop.

Jack Custeau

Jack Custeau, owner of customautowrap.com and Custeau Signs & Graphics, Inc. (Lemon Grove, CA), has fabricated signage and vehicle graphics for 35 years.

Jack began his career as a teenager, handlettering racecars at the track. Although his career began with paint and a brush, his shop evolved with the industry’s ever-changing technologies. He’s a member of the Professional Decal Application Assn.

John Hurst

After his discharge from the Air Force, John Hurst began working for Horace Rost at Point Loma, CA’s Shelter Island Sign Shop in 1971. When Rost retired in 1985, Hurst assumed ownership. The shop fabricates boat and vehicle graphics, banners, sandblasted signs and other custom graphic projects for numerous local marina and business owners.

Harmon Nelson

Harmon Nelson is principal of an eponymous, San Diego-based environmental-graphic-design (EGD) firm, which he opened in 1988. His firm develops wayfinding and other environmental graphics for universities, healthcare facilities and corporate environments. The firm’s portfolio includes the Gemological Institute of America, El Cajon’s downtown wayfinding and EGD for the University of California-San Diego campus.

To see the category winners, click on the links below:

Banners/AwningsExhibit/Tradeshow GraphicsCommercial Sign SystemsElectric Sign SystemsCommercial Monument SignsElectric Monument SignsMuralsCommercial Pole/Pylon SignsElectric Pole/Pylon SignsCommercial Building SignsElectric Building SignsElectronic Message CentersUnique Signs

Introducing the Sign Industry Podcast

The Sign Industry Podcast is a platform for every sign person out there — from the old-timers who bent neon and hand-lettered boats to those venturing into new technologies — we want to get their stories out for everyone to hear. Come join us and listen to stories, learn tricks or techniques, and get insights of what’s to come. We are the world’s second oldest profession. The folks who started the world’s oldest profession needed a sign.