Define by design

One of the most lucrative and competitive sectors of the sign industry is without doubt architectural signage. That said, a lot of the competition is split between well-established ‘giants’ of the sector that do battle on one end, and smaller bespoke firms on the other side of the spectrum that cater for bespoke projects that require intense levels of detail and creativity.
 
What defines this sector has also changed a lot in recent years, and whereas once it was simply signage that was part of an internal wayfinding scheme or perhaps brand lettering on the face of a building, it has come a long way. Today you might not even recognise a sign for what it is, as instead you will see wild geometric shapes machined from high-density plastic and illuminated with LEDs. It may not even give you textual or numerical information about how to find your way around or literally inform you of a brand’s ethos. Rather it will be designed to evoke an emotional response in you—hopefully a positive one—that you then associate with a brand or company and what it stands for.
 
That is right at the top end of the market however, the reality today though is that generally architectural signage is by definition mounted on to, or is part of the building’s structure. This could include branding, company names, or permanent modular directories.

What unites both the top and bottom of the market however is that architectural signs now, more often than not, require all the signs in both old and new buildings to reflect its external architecture and ‘design ethic’. This is in stark contrast to the ‘high-impact’ nature of signs used for retail branding and high-street shops, which are designed for maximum one-off impact to try and entice in footfall. The result is that the manufacturers of architectural signage systems are increasingly becoming something more akin to ‘installation artists’.


This is certainly true of Cobal Signs, the sales director of which, Richard Drew, sets out one of the key barriers to entry into this sector: “We offer a complete sign solution. With architectural signage projects it is often quite a challenge to get everyone singing off of the same hymn sheet. You have the end-client, the architect and specifier, contractors, and then us as the sign-maker.  Having something bespoke designed, built, and fitted within these competing forces is always a challenge, but it is a good one, and being able to do it well is ultimately what sets us apart as specialists in this field.”

Trade on up

This is a viewpoint shared by Matthew Driver, managing director of Trade-signs Fabrications: “Architectural signs have evolved to such a point that they often cannot really be called signs any more. They are now fabricated structural elements of a building that often include signage elements—but are part of its overall design ethos to help demarcate certain areas, create atmosphere through clever lighting and artistic structures, and even work as safety features.”

Driver continues: “I look at the Exchange Quay project we have just won a British Sign Award with, they may work as signage to some degree, but really they are giant pieces of architecture.”



In days gone by it was an added bonus if the directory systems you specified right at the last minute were a vague reflection of the buildings design. If you walk into corporate offices today, then all the spot brand colours will be pin perfect throughout, and every element of signage has to work seamlessly as part of the whole architectural approach.

 “Arriving on site and touring a project, a brief often will be that everything that is designed for its interior needs to be mirrored outside,” says Driver, who adds: “Architecturally, the structures and signs we are building are all linked together with the physical building itself.
 
“It is changing due to budgets and technologies, it is more affordable to do more elaborate and exotic signage. As a trade supplier though it is a little difficult to quantify what is driving this trend though, as we do not deal with the end-user.


“We are dealing with architects, as well as sign-makers who cannot manufacture to such complex and high standards in-house. I suppose it is because technology has allowed for the creation of very complex systems, and as there has been more choice, designers have realised they can specify signage elements as part of the core structure. We are also seeing a lot more non-standard plastics and metals being specified to achieve specific visual effects.”

Trade Signs is a case in point, as it started out with the capabilities to carry out routing and basic fabrication. At that time it had a stock of basic systems for use in architectural projects, and that was fine, as the rest of the industry was under the same constraints.

Since then it has grown a long way from supplying anodised or painted aluminium slat systems.
 
Today it can cater for virtually any demand, as its production department boasts laser cutters, industrial routers, CNC metal presses, advanced software systems, powder coating facilities, digital printers, and full metal fabrication capabilities.
 




“A few years back you were stuck with a choice of two or three systems from one of the big suppliers. The difference now is that companies such as ours can manufacture out of such a wide variety of materials,” says Driver, who adds: “Obviously bespoke is never cheap, but architects pick up books of metals and plastic finishes with these wonderfully exotic finishes and specify them to tie together everything from internal directory systems right through to external lettering.”

He continues: “With our experience and range of materials there is very little we have not seen or cannot work with material wise. The first benefit is we can thus provide a service to work with most materials. Secondly our projects team here can see a job through concept, to prototype, to finished product.” 

A key piece of advice from Driver on the trends sweeping architectural signage is to “love change”. This is because fashion trends around materials all go through their day and a lot of sign-makers are often guilty of getting stuck in their ways with a specific material or system when it is in fashion—but then do not adapt when demand for it starts to wane.

Driver concludes: “When sign-makers get nervous with a customer specifying difficult materials that is why we are here, they can lean on our experience and economies of scale to say yes and retain that business.”

Market challenges

Speaking to Cobal’s Drew, he outlines that another key issue in this sector is that—unless you are dealing with a forward thinking architect or interior designer who are on the same page—signage is often left to the very last minute in the cycle of a building.

“I wish they weren’t, because in actual fact it is the one thing that people see the most when they enter a building and walk through it. And yet often it is given the least priority,” astutely comments Drew.

He continues, taking up the story of how even the very best architectural signage specialists cannot always work miracles: “It is a difficult square to circle. The contractor is busy trying to build, the client is running their company, and the architect is normally stretched thin among an array of competing projects. Our job is to focus minds and help them visualise just how important architectural elements such as branding and wayfinding signage are as part of the overall design ethic of a building.



“When a designer is faced with the fact that they can do nearly anything, realise any concept in reality, then ultimately a project’s end-result will be shaped by what they can afford on the client’s budget.

“The other constraining factor is time. Although we can construct even the wildest ideas and make them work with the technology we have at our disposal, it takes time. If a project is specified at the last minute then a lot of compromises have to be made and an idea simplified to cope with delivery times.”



A final point by Drew is well worth considering, and is perhaps one to communicate to sign buyers when they come knocking with a pressurised schedule: “It can takes years to construct a building, why leave it to the last three weeks to specify the signs. And when it is such a small part of the overall cost, with such a high visual impact, why try and constrain quality and creativity by putting pressure to get the job done at the cheapest possible rate?”

Bespoke by nature

Another key factor at play in the architectural sign sector, and one that ties into Drew’s final point, is that there is a perception that quality can be achieved in no time and at little cost. That is a perception that is fundamentally wrong, as Mark Bartlett, managing director of Signbox, explains: “Quite often we have seen ridiculously low priced tenders going in by companies that simply do not have the experience required to understand what goes into a highly complex architectural signage scheme. We will then often sit down with a contactor and explain he is not comparing apples with apples and why the order should not just be placed on price.



“A lot of our customers are now coming round to understand that the saying, ‘once bitten, twice shy’, is there for a reason. Going for the lowest quote on a crazy turnaround time will often see a reduction in quality and the health and safety that is on site.”



This something that Viviane and Paul Goodwin, founders of Goodwin and Goodwin, understand all too well. Their focus is on creating beautiful pieces of structural and fabricated design that fulfil the exact brief of a select clientele that include the likes of Coca Cola, GQ, BBC, Spotify, and Channel 4. Quite often they just happen to be signs. Indeed, it recently won Architectural Sign of the Year at the British Sign Awards for the Art Deco style floating canopy and sign over the main entrance to the new Picturehouse Cinema in Piccadilly Circus.

“The location for the project was Piccadilly Circus, so as you can imagine it was quite a challenge working around tourists, buses, and taxi drivers,” says Viviane, who adds: “The team had to start at about 5am in the morning to get all the most difficult work done before the streets really started to fill up. The other key challenge was getting the canopy to float without any visible supports.

“Apart from that, the client really wanted curved corners, and of course that adds to the technical difficulty and expense. The other issue was the drainage of the sign so that all the water is funnelled away from the front and down a channel at the rear.

“There was also a tight time frame and design brief from the architect for the project, as it needed to be ready for the opening of the Picturehouse Cinema.”

A key strength for Goodwin and Goodwin is its ability to be sympathetic to the history of an old building, keeping that in the forefront of all its designs. As of course, it is not just new structures that need new architectural signage.



Currently working on its third architectural signage project for Picture House, which is an 11.7m light box, the other key architectural signage project it is working on is for Clapham Cinema. Another challenging commission, the company wants a retro-style projector readograph—think the typo-graphic billboard that says what films are on—that can be lowered to the ground without ladders.

Viviane concludes: “What is quite important for us as a business is that we are trying to create something that is not out there at the moment. This means all of our designs are quite original, and we are constantly innovating to offer our customers something unique that ties together the whole architectural ethos and feeling of a building.”

Top of the game

From the boutique nature of Goodwin and Goodwin to the top end of the scale, Signbox is one of the UK’s most renowned architectural sign-makers.



Its founders Mark Bartlett and Matthew Wilkins both started out at 3M, exploring the commercial use of vinyl for smaller sign-makers before it really took off. They left together and set-up Signbox as a small sign shop producing Cad-cut vinyl and core sign products and services. Witnessing an ever-saturating lower-end of the market as the franchise models rose up in the 1990s, they diversified into what were their core skills backgrounds, namely architecture and engineering.



“We deal with a dozen of the top fit out companies in the UK and they have very strict accreditation processes. What has changed in the last ten years in terms of architectural signage is the degree of complexity, health and safety, and a huge emphasis for everything been done to exacting engineering standards. If it is exterior illuminated signage then we spend a lot of time making sure that every bolt, rivet and electrode is perfect,” explains Bartlett, who is managing director of the firm.



As such the firm often gets called in to deal with projects that have gone astray, as smaller sign-makers get out of their depth. This is a common problem in the sector, as start-ups and firms that are struggling burn the candles at both ends and grossly underspecify projects to try and win work on price alone. 

Bartlett weighs in on this issue: “We will quite often collaborate with the designers and architects on an initial phase and these criteria will be written into the programme before it goes out to tender. It may then go to one of the big fit out companies we deal with, but it may also go to a smaller firm who we do not have a relationship with. There are many instances where we have not been given an initial tender, only to be called back in at a later date to try and solve problems that have arisen.”

Referring back to the start of this feature, Bartlett explains that a key trend in this sector is large blue chips and commercial organisations wanting ‘art installations’ rather than straight-forward branding.

“We are getting asked for a lot more bespoke feature walls using LEDs,” advises Bartlett, who adds: “These unusual features are often in reception areas. You can argue they are a pieces of illuminated reception art rather than a sign. They still use all the same processes in their manufacture, but the end result is something more intangible and atmospheric. What is key is that these type of feature pieces tie directly into the rest of the interior design and any more straight forward directory or wayfinding signage that is needed.”


The idea behind these type of installations is to bring the culture of the organisation to the fore, and it is something that can be updated and changed as the organisation evolves. And as was the case with Goodwin and Goodwin, many of Bartlett’s clients have very old buildings that need a modern, yet sympathetic, twist.

He continues: “We have got a very traditional estate of buildings in the UK that go back hundreds of years in some cases. So when we are talking to clients such as University College London the majority of their buildings are Grade 1 listed. They still need signage, and we have supplied them with modular sign systems that use particular paint references to ensure that it is consistent with the architecture of the building. So there always things you can do, even to more simplistic sign systems, that will make them more fitting for their environment.”

O Factoid: Goodwin and Goodwin was founded in 2009 when husband and wife team Paul and Viviane Goodwin setup a graphic design agency, the firm has won a number of awards for its work and has quickly become one of the ‘go-to’ businesses for creating bespoke and
highly-detailed signage installations O

What is clear from the research I have done on this sector is that most bigger sign-buyers are very much focussed on making sure that architectural signage is ‘on brand’. As a result, those such as Trade Signs, Cobal Signs, Goodwin and Goodwin, and Signbox are all having to work much more closely with designers and architects than ever before to get it ‘just right’.
 
As Bartlett concludes: “It is having a real understanding of architecture and interior design, we retain our customers because we understand the brand cultures they are looking to communicate to their staff and customers.”



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