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.

W&Co's LED light sheets gives Irish Whiskey Museum a warm glow.

In the heart of Dublin’s beautiful city a brand new historical and interactive museum has opened its doors. Based on the traditional and vivid history of Dublin’s industrial past, specifically of alcoholic beverages and a long association with the drinks industry, Ireland’s first whiskey museum opened in autumn 2014.

The museum features a series of exhibitions detailing the history of whiskey distilling in Ireland through the use of interactive technology and actors. Visitors also have the opportunity to sample the Irish whiskies in a special tasting room.

In the summer of 2014 W&Co was approached by two Irish companies, MJ Architecture & The Irish Pub Company, to supply an LED feature lighting display for the museum’s tasting room. Our knowledge and expertise were utilised to produce a 14 metre wide LED feature wall.

The designer’s brief was to supply LED light panels that would be easy to install, could be recessed behind shelving and produced in a warm amber colour that would complement the backlit whiskey bottles on the shelves. The wall where the LED light panels were to be mounted had a convex curve, therefore, the panels were manufactured in twelve 1.2 metre wide sections to fit the shape. Television screens and whiskey bottles were placed on the shelves and backlit by the diffused LED light panels.

After two months of manufacturing trials and preparing translucent vinyl swatches, the client decided to use a warm orange filter film to be applied to the LED panels to increase the warmth of the lighting. The light panels were supplied with LEDs mounted to both long edges, along with a dimmable transformer to power all the LED light panels simultaneously. 

The store officially opened around autumn 2014 and has been a huge success and is expected to generate around 80,000 visitors in its first year. The project was an overall success the comments were very positive from the client.  Sean Ryan, interior design at MJ Architecture wrote, “I am very happy with the finished result of the whiskey wall, it conveys exactly what I intended with the design concept. Many people have commented on how great the effect is so thanks for your assistance on the project.”

Tiger Takeover The High Street

When Tiger, the international Danish variety retailer, wanted to update their advertising by replacing non-illuminated poster displays for ultra slim LED displays, W&Co’s Razor LED light boxes were specified as the all round best product to be used within new stores.

 

W&Co’s single sided wall mounted and double-sided cable hanging Razor LED light boxes have been supplied to shop fitters of Tiger, for use within stores all throughout the UK including London, Scotland, Norwich and most recently Peterborough.

Ceiling suspended window displays are the ideal solution for stores, like Tiger, that have a fully glazed shop front design and the ultra slim design of this light box means it can sit a comfortable distance from the window without taking up too much space.

By swapping their non-illuminated posters for W&Co’s sleek Razor LED Light boxes to display their graphics, Tiger has been able to make use of valuable window space while producing effective eye-catching advertising during all hours of the day.

Illuminated with a specially developed LED light panel, the Razor light box offers superior brightness and even illumination, while the anti-glare front sheet prevents natural light from glaring off of the graphics and filters the sun’s UV rays, which is one of the main contributing factors to fading prints.

W&Co is set to continue supplying slimline LED light box displays to Tiger stores as they continue to expand and develop new stores throughout the UK.