Thursday, 27 Nov 2014 13:21 GMT

Cobal Signs

Brendan Perring speaks to Philip Ball of Cobal, an architectural and wayfinding specialist, about starting out in the Eighties and his wishes for the future of the signage industry

Fighting the good fight

Starting out in a loft above a recording studio and house, owned by a drummer in Jethro Tull, Philip Ball, managing director of Cobal Signs, is the ideal ‘self-made man’.

I didn’t have running water for the first four months, but we had some very special views down to the river Thames”


“I didn’t have running water for the first four months, but we had some very special views down to the river Thames” says Ball, adding: “I remember that they used to bring me up cups of tea and coffee in between sessions. It really was a blank sheet of paper, lots of ideas mixed up with lots of ignorance, offset by buckets of enthusiasm and optimism for what I was embarking upon.”

He emphasises this last point, explaining that throughout his time in business, it is enthusiasm that has far and away been the most important factor in his success. He admits though that it has been tested to the limit more than a few times.





“When I started out, my knowledge was around construction projects. And this legacy of working with the built environment rather than things like vehicle livery has stayed with the company,” says Ball, adding: “This means we are often dealing with project managers, designers, and architects. This has always presented a challenge because, construction especially, is driven by very low profit margins. So when you are trying to feed off that food chain, it becomes quite a tough environment.

“I would say a lot of very creative construction companies have tried to move away from that business model, but it still bedevils the industry to this day.”

Jumping the hurdles

Based in Newbury, Ball goes onto to recount the battles he fought to get Cobal off the ground in the early years as he dealt with rapidly growing telecoms companies buying up office space all over the area and driving rents up to super-high premiums. This was at the same time in the late 80s and early 90s that construction hit the buffers and he was forced to diversify the company and tighten his belt considerably to keep things running smoothly. That said, there were some very significant and interesting contract wins in those early years.


Cobals’ managing director, Philip Ball, says that passion and enthusiasm hove been key to sustaining the business over more than three decades



“One of our major projects was the MI5 building on Millbank. It was a £100,000 project and all we knew until the very end was that it was a government department,” laughs Ball, before adding: “Another big change for us was that part of any big signage tender in those days was for name-plates for doors and desks. But gradually, for reasons only know to architects and designers, this moved out of being bought as part of a sign package, and moved to being part of the office furniture package.”

Ball explains that this meant diversification again to avoid being stuck with less lucrative contracts, and sees Cobal still offer ‘office furniture’ to this day and partnering with some of the biggest players in this field. 

“We turned this trend from a big loss in profits to a brand new division of the company and solid revenue stream,” confides Ball.

He adds: “Perhaps the biggest challenge though over the last 30 years is that you need to develop an almost schizophrenic skillset. Signage is all about detail and reacting to the constantly changing demands and needs of a client on any particular project. But it is also about making sure you consider the dreaded ‘blue-sky thinking’ aspect of it, and make sure you are ensuring a long-term future for the business.

If you look at any successful small-businessman you will find a stubbornness and determination not to be beaten or cowed”


“As much as anything you are born with a desire to motivate yourself every day. And if you look at any successful small-businessman you will find a stubbornness and determination not to be beaten or cowed. You invest a lot of personal time and emotional investment, apart from finance, and you don’t want that to be waste.”

Bespoke solutions

Ball today has created a company that has made its niche by being able to design and manufacture bespoke signage solutions where almost each job is unique in terms of the combination and range of materials used. They key driver behind this is that today’s architects and designers are very much driven by providing really unique solutions to their clients to help them stand out in an ever-more digitally saturated and desensitised consumer society. That said, Cobal’s equipment arsenal is still what Ball describes as that of a ‘general sign-maker’.

Asked about how they company has managed to balance such high demands on creativity, with the sign-making technology available, and market conditions that rise and fall like the tide, he is emphatic: “I thought I knew the answer to that until Lehman Brothers and the banking crisis. All the ground rules seemed to change very dramatically. And that was a serious wake-up call.”

Cobal had significant exposure to the construction market at the time and this had a huge impact on the business.

“I can tell you with my hand on my heart, I have learnt more about running a business in the last six or seven years than I did in the previous two decades,” says Ball, continuing: “Firstly, coming from a sales background it goes against the grain, but you have to actually realise what your good at—rather than what you want to be good at.

“Focus is another thing. It sounds corny, but I was sleep-walking for the vast majority of the business’s history—compared to how hard I have had to keep my finger on the pulse since 2008. Another major thing is learning to say no to business that is poor value and doing everything with more awareness. For instance, being much stronger about standing up to contractors about getting paid and knowing exactly where you stand in the intricacies of their payment systems.”

With a huge number of bluechip clients on its books, Cobal is also striking out in new directions now, spurred by demands from the biggest players for technology such as networked digital signage systems. Ball believes that digital signage applied to way-finding will only continue to gather momentum and eclipse traditional wayfinding directories in all major building spaces. This is mainly because they act as so much more than just directional information guides, displaying everything from stock and raw material prices, to the weather, and room number guides on one screen.

Three wishes

As we finish our interview, Ball says that with more than three decades of experience he has three wishes for change in his sector of the sign industry. The first is that an impartial database be funded and created that would allow for advice on the environmental-impact of using a material on a project over its life-term. The second is that the government step up and create a system that enforces court judgements over non-payment of invoices. And the third is that certain elements of the construction industry realise that partnering with a subcontractor and being fair over the release of retention fees is far preferable to their own long-term success than trying to avoid payment if at all possible. Well, I’m no genie, but hopefully someone is listening.


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