Any company or organization should take pride in its promotional signage; it’s an extension of their confidence and competence. For arts-related schools and organizations, environmental graphics face heightened scrutiny. What confidence could an aspiring artist have in an institution with visually errant self-promotion?
The Art Academy of Cincinnati (AAC), a 145-year-old institution founded by philanthropist Joseph Longworth, has helped developed an array of highly qualified, multimedia artists (most notably, ST senior art director Jeff Russ!).
School officials wished to extol the school’s venerable legacy with a vertical banner on the front of its building. Jimmy Baker, an artist who’s also on the AAC faculty, designed the banner to include the school’s logo with an edgy, static-laden backdrop.
The school enlisted Cincinnati’s Worldwide Graphics & Sign to produce the banner. Proprietor Christian Beebe has operated the shop for eight years, and he estimated that banners represent 30% of Worldwide’s business.
Worldwide used a 30%-perforated, Ultraflex mesh material. Beebe said, although wind load wasn’t a big concern, because the banner was flush to a wall, they wanted some light to penetrate because it’s hung in front of windows. The shop decorated it on an HP Scitex LX 850 latex-ink printer, which he prefers because of consistent output quality and the VOC-free inks.
To install the wrap, Worldwide applied Louis A. Green Corp. weldable webbing to join the material layers, which were heat-welded with a Miller Weldmaster machine. To create surface tension, installers used a Lind Spring System around its perimeter, which Beebe said would keep the surface taut but allow easy banner replacement.