Designer Colour paint the town with illuminated shop signage

London based home decor company Designer Colours were looking to rebrand and update the signage at their large premises in Mill Hill to attract more business and boost visibility in the area.

The project involved removing dated signage which was in need of a freshen up. The old signs were replaced with 3 x Flex Face signs, a large canopy sign which spanned 21m and a smaller stencil cut sign tray at 5.4m in length.

The 3 x flex face signs cover an entire wall on the left hand side of the main building and have been painted to match the slate grey exterior. The largest of the 3 is installed directly above the shop window and features a very colourful graphic depicting the services and products available in store. The 2 smaller signs which are installed on either side of the large sign include brands available in store and opening hours.

The impressive main canopy sign tray which is a total of 21m in length covers 3 sides of a canopy which overhangs the customer car park in the centre of the premises. The main section of the sign which is over 17m long is wrapped in printed vinyl and has panel mounted built up halo illuminated letters reading “design colours”. Situated above these letters are 9 x brightly coloured 3D cubes formed from different coloured acrylic and illuminated on all sides. This design has also been mirrored on the right hand side of the sign tray which is 3.5m long so that passersby can see the business name from all angles.

On the right hand side of the premises is another entrance to the shop which needed a replacement sign. Designer Colours chose to have another vinyl wrapped sign tray to match the main canopy sign but instead of built up letters they selected stencil cut detail backed in illuminated acrylic for a simpler, elegant finish.

Designer Colours also commissioned the installation of two freestanding poster case boards that were lockable and could be easily updated. These boards were installed close to the road side and strategically angled so that traffic coming from both directions could easily see the advertisements.

To minimise disruption to business the main part of the installation took place during the last working week before Christmas which was a quieter time for Designer Colours.

W&Co signs put Ordnance Survey on the Map

Bespoke signs and shapes were required by Ordnance Survey to be used as props for an upcoming PR event to help launch Greenspace; a new free layer in Ordnance Survey Maps which enables the public to easily discover green spaces for leisure and recreation across England, Scotland and Wales.

The concept was to produce a giant map pin that was capable of freestanding and various handheld arrow-shaped signs that were fun and interactive. All signage and props had to be lightweight yet robust as they would be handled frequently by school children during the course of the campaign and be travelling all across Britain.

Display-grade polystyrene containing a flame retarding additive was selected as the ideal material to make the signage from due to its lightweight properties, while the additional painted finish added to its strength.

The arrow-shaped signs, which were 30cm tall and up to 2 metres in length, were machine cut from blocks of polystyrene and shaped to have radius corners making them safer for members of the public to handle. The arrows had a matt emulsion paint finish and white, self-adhesive vinyl lettering applied to one side.

The giant pin was an impressive 7ft tall and 1ft thick and had a hollow centre with mini arrow signs inside which were held in place by a pole that ran through to centre of the pin. The pole was fixed to an MDF base and was stabilised by white wedges which helped the pin to free-stand. The MDF base and side of the pin were both covered in a realistic faux grass for added effect. Similarly to the hand-held arrows, the pin was finished in matt emulsion paint and had white vinyl logos and letters applied to the face. The customer chose to have applied vinyl rather than flat cut acrylic letters so that they could easily update logos and wording in future.

Due to the General Election the official launch of Greenspace was pushed back by about a month but all props and signs were delivered by the original agreed date and the customer commented that “they look amazing” and they were “proper chuffed”.

Since the official launch of Greenspace at the beginning of July the props and signage have travelled England, Scotland and Wales visiting schools and local councils and have even been photographed with high profile MPs and celebrities such as Ben Fogle to help raise awareness of Greenspace.

Suzuki Accelerates Sales With Illuminated Signs

Suzuki has been on a recent drive to increase customer sales globally through innovative marketing solutions and encouraging customers to go in to more welcoming dealerships. Suzuki reviewed the vast portfolio of work W&Co had undertaken with high end automotive clients such as BMW, MINI, Land Rover and Ford to name a few and was confident W&Co was the right company to work with to realise their ambitions.

W&Co was approached directly by Suzuki Caribbean, based in Guadeloupe and Martinique, and asked us to develop and manufacture illuminated signage and displays for several dealerships across the Caribbean islands. Using W&Co’s wealth of knowledge and expertise in displays, signage and commercial automotive project experience we were able to supply everything Suzuki needed.

In the Guadeloupe car showroom W&Co manufactured individual illuminated built up letters which were mounted to a curved canopy over the dealership entrance making an overall sign width of 8 metres wide. Combined with internal freestanding displays and wall mounted LED light boxes it all helps the car brand standout and encourages more customers to enter the showroom increasing potential sales.

W&Co looks forward to designing, developing and manufacturing illuminated displays and signs for more Suzuki Caribbean car showrooms in the future.

Digital signage or printed signage? We explore the merits of both.

W&Co believes that digital signage is better for captive audiences and static printed signage for the passersby and a combination of both is likely the most effective form of advertising overall.

While each has their own benefits, there is a case for using digital signage and static printed signage as proven to W&Co Displays and Signs by many of their own customers, including: Volkswagen, Infiniti and Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust.

In support of the case for static printed signage for quick passing trade, Volkswagen Canterbury made the decision to swap their freestanding digital signage for a static illuminated graphic display after their moving digital roadside promotions were not being noticed by members of the public in quick moving traffic. Whereas Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust upgraded their waiting rooms from printed static signage by installing digital signage screens which allowed the hospital to maximise limited advertising space and update their information in real time to captive audience of waiting patients.

Most recently, Infiniti demonstrated just how effective digital signage and static signage can be when used together at concession stands in shopping malls around the UK which acted as pop-up car showrooms. Freestanding digital signage screens were supplied to Infiniti to enable them to display attention-grabbing digital advertising videos alongside a static sign displaying the company’s logo and name which was great for constant brand presence.

So essentially the printed signage with a brand name and single promotional message helped draw people onto the stands and the digital signage screens filled in the finer details of the car’s features.

Therefore, while digital signage and printed signage have their own individual benefits a clever usage of both in a coordinated advertising strategy offers the best results.

Purplebone's Chelsea Flagship Stores is a Howling Success

Purplebone is one of the newest chic beauty parlours for dogs to hit the high streets of London. Based in Notting Hill, Westfield and Chelsea, the shops provide dog owners a unique opportunity to buy quirky and practical gifts and gadgets to help pamper and look after their pet.

W&Co was contacted by Purplebone as they were looking for new signage to update and enhance their brand image of their prestigious 155, King’s Road, Chelsea store. The client’s brief was to have two illuminated signs that utilised their brand colours and was impactful on the high street.

W&Co proposed a halo illuminated internal sign that was built up and mounted to the back wall of the shop. The fascia sign of the shop is in a prominent position and needed to be bold, and bright whilst in keeping with the other shop fronts in a very affluent area of London. The fascia signage was face illuminated with built up ‘rim and return’ letters spelling ‘Purplebone’.

The bold purple colour was carefully matched to their existing corporate branding colours from sample store fixtures supplied by the customer.  All of the signage was fitted with high bright and eco-friendly LEDs for a crisp and even illumination that will last for years.

The signage was very well received by the client who commented “The signage is perfect! We couldn’t be happier!! It looks great at night!”

Impressive Signage for PressOn

Renowned for its creativity and high quality products, PressOn is one of the UK’s leading large format digital printers who specialise in manufacturing a variety of graphics and media for both indoor and outdoor advertising purposes.

W&Co was approached by PressOn to manufacture and install signage at their new larger premises in Chatham, Kent. Using W&Co’s 3D visualisation drawing service, a custom sign was designed with built up rim and return letters with bright LED face illumination. The design was conceptualised following the clients brief and branding, using bright impactful blue and yellow colours for the logo.

Once the design was agreed, swatches of coloured acrylic were supplied to the client for approval and a site survey was conducted to confirm dimensions, final location and electrical outputs.

Installation was arranged for Spring 2015 and once complete the client was very impressed with the final product.