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Project Spotlight: AmpliTech 

Innovative Company, Innovative Signage

Named one of the top 10 most innovative telecom solutions companies in 2022 by Inc. Magazine, AmpliTech is headquartered right here in our own Long Island Innovations Park in Hauppauge. They design, develop, and manufacture custom leading-edge RF components for the commercial, SATCOM, space, and military markets. Signwave was proud to partner with them in 2022 to design, fabricate, and install all the signage for their new building on Plant Ave.

 

Exterior Wayfinding Signs

 It was important to the founder that we begin with the exterior monument signage, to firmly establish the AmpliTech name in the industrial park community. We determined the best solution to be a durable, double-sided, sculpted foam monument with faux stone base, aluminum faces with printed vinyl graphics, and dimensional letters on the capstone for the address. The sign is externally illuminated with ground lighting. One of the many benefits of using removable faces on the base material is that they can be easily replaced if there is any accidental damage, or if the logo needs an update. Placed prominently at the corner of Plant Ave and Oser Ave–one of the main industrial park thoroughfares–the sign stands out as a beautiful and practical tool for brand recognition.

This monument sign captures attention and markets a brand on a main industrial park road.

 
Additional wayfinding signs can also be found at the two entrance driveways. They prevent any confusion between the delivery area and parking for staff and visitors. We also created custom aluminum signs to clarify the uses for the different doors in the rear, and to mark parking spaces for visitors (using U channels) and executives (placed directly along the back wall). Printed vinyl graphics on the glass front door are standard for many of our customers, and we included that in our signage package for AmpliTech as well.

Wayfinding is easy when you clearly mark your visitor and delivery entrances.

 

Interior Signage and Design

 Once inside, you’re immediately greeted by the clean and modern lobby design. This includes a clear acrylic wall sign with printed custom vinyl graphics applied to the back surface facing out, a technique known as second surface installation. The sign is mounted to the wall using standoffs. The combination of standoffs–which, as the name indicates, raises the sign out so it “stands off” the wall, plus the second surface graphics give multiple layers of dimension to a simple but effective sign.

Second surface vinyl with standoffs gives multiple layers of dimension to this lobby sign.

One of the focal spots in the office is a beautiful full wall mural using a photograph of a key moment in the company’s history: when they were added to the NASDAQ stock exchange. It serves as both a commemoration and an inspiration on a daily basis. Unfortunately, one of the key staff members was not visible in this photo. It was very important to everyone that he be included, so Signwave’s designers stepped up to add him in using the magic of photo editing. Light, shadow, and positioning all had to be accounted for, and the work is so seamless we’d challenge anyone to pick out the “new addition.” Signwave is extremely proud of the talents of our staff designers.

A mural celebrating a company milestone brightens the office.

 Speaking of inspiration, we were also tasked with creating a motivational word wall for the break room. After going through several “word cloud” type designs. the customer landed on a motivational quote. This quote from another technology company figurehead you may have heard of, rendered in company logo colors, reminds everyone that they are important to the team’s success.

Motivational wall art is a colorful touch in the break room.

 
And not least, we created some custom gallery wrap canvas prints for the CEO’s office. Again we used our staff’s photo editing talents to create beautiful artwork that harkens back to the company’s momentous entry into the stock exchange. Installing canvas wraps in such a way that they all line up evenly is challenging, but Signwave installers are up to the task. And using removable mounting hardware means that the canvasses can be rotated out or relocated without damaging the walls.

Custom canvas gallery wraps capture some of the biggest moments in company history so far.

 

Learn More

 To learn more about AmpliTech and all they offer, visit their website HERE
And to learn how Signwave can help you promote, outfit, and maximize your new working space from floor to ceiling and outside too, give us a call at 631-761-9292 or fill out the website “Contact Us” form.
 
 
 

Signage For Interior Design – High School Cafeteria

We’re always glad for the chance to collaborate with  talented Interior Design professionals like Mary D’Andrea of MDA Designs, who recently brought us in on a High School Cafeteria renovation project. Mary shared her vision with us of a design based around the school color palette, the school’s mascot, and the school’s values. And the opportunity for customization of a dramatic architectural feature that will last for generations.

Roll-Up Cafeteria Door Logos

Each slat is fully covered by custom printed vinyl graphics, laminated for durability.

First on our list was generating school pride with custom graphics on the rollup cafeteria doors. We designed circular logos and printed them on conformable vinyl that would permit flexibility required by their routine heavy use. We applied a layer of laminate that would help protect the graphics for many years of washing (and the wear and tear that we anticipated they would receive on a daily basis). Installation required precise levelling and  alignment, and careful cutting between each door segment.

Dimensional Letters

In the space above the doors, we collaborated on two sets of dimensional letters spelling out their slogan “Home Of The Friars.” We selected black PVC as the optimal material for these, as it has the tolerance for the thin strokes of the school’s font selection, and to provide a high contrast for maximum legibility. In all it makes for a dramatic approach, doesn’t it?

“Word Cloud” Wall

Beautiful printed vinyl in custom logo colors gives the impression of dimensionality.

The designer collaborated with the school’s decision makers to come up with a series of words and phrases reflecting the school’s mission and values. We created typographical art with a collage of the words they came up with. After several iterations, it was time for color matching. The visible color of printed material can vary significantly under different types of light, so to make certain of our fidelity to the school colors we brought sample prints and held it under the actual cafeteria lighting. After all was approved, and printing and lamination complete, we installed our graphic treatment on the cafeteria’s walls.

Cast Brass Logo Plaque

Finally, we were asked to create a large cast plaque to be mounted on a custom glazed tile wall. The wall was to become the dramatic backdrop for a water feature – a functioning waterfall and catch basin. Because the plaque would be mounted behind the glass of the fountain, we opted for the high visibility of brilliant polished brass with oxidized bronze inset areas. We were able to capture all of the logo details in our design, and engrave and finish in solid brass to assure decades of beauty. A cast plaque is among the most durable of signage materials, and is sure to leave its mark for generations.

Thank you to MDA Designs for sharing this great opportunity with Signwave. We’re proud to make our contribution to your design vision.

A side view of the crowning piece, the custom engraved bronze plaque

Project Spotlight: Studio631

Full Facility Signage for Offices

Today we’re proud to spotlight a recent full facility signage project for Studio631 Recordings in Islandia. Studio631 provides a professional studio experience for artists at every stage of recording whether you’re a performer or a producer. Niko and Matt came to Signwave as they were building out their new space on Patco Court, knowing that they needed a combination of bold branding and clear wayfinding. Using their logo, Signwave put together a custom package that solved all their challenges both creatively and practically.

Exterior Facility Signs

Initially the owners only wanted exterior signage. Because the building management has established signage design standards, we created a painted pan face overdoor sign with clean lettering to match the other building tenants. But we added the company logo to the door in cut white vinyl for a little individuality.

cut vinyl on a painted pan face sign plus cut vinyl on glass door

The exterior signage meets the landlord’s requirements while still utilizing the logo font for individuality.

Custom Lobby Sign

As we worked together, Niko and Matt developed a trust in our design and fabrication expertise and asked us for ideas for a lobby sign. We were able to create a very modern clear acrylic panel sign with dimensional painted letter and flat cut black vinyl, all mounted to the wall on standoffs. The different levels of material in the sign create multiple visual effects with light and shadow, and the owners loved the beautiful finished product.

clear acrylic with dimensional letters and vinyl on standoffs

The logo sign for the Studio 631 lobby wows with several layers of dimension: a clear acrylic panel with dimensional letters layered over black cut vinyl, on standoffs so the shadows add even more depth.

Custom Flag Signs

As we worked on the lobby sign, they realized it would be necessary to mark each studio with a separate wayfinding sign. So Signwave went to work again to create a custom design that would fit the studio aesthetic while providing clear direction to the various locations down the hallway. Our final design gives the impression of an old school vinyl record, using logo elements and font on a double-sided circular flag sign.

printed vinyl circular flag sign

A closeup of the Studio 631 flag signs, custom printed on vinyl with corporate colors and logo elements

circular flag signs mark studio doors

Each studio is marked with a custom double-sided circular flag sign.

Signage projects often evolve as the process moves forward. Signwave has the creative solutions and flexibility to help solve all your facility signage challenges. Give us a call at 631-761-9292 and see how we can help you!

Neon – It’s a Gas!

The Las Vegas strip. The Pike Place Market sign. Times Square. These words probably all draw up images in your mind that have one thing in common: NEON. For over 100 years, the technology used to create neon lights has remained very much the same, and purists the world over still rely on it for colorful, eye-catching signage. From large, show-stopping outdoor signs to small interior window signs, here’s a little background info you might not know about your favorite gas!

The Discovery of Neon and History of the Neon Light

The chemical element neon was first discovered in 1898 by British chemists Sir William Ramsay and Morris W. Travers, who at that same time discovered two other inert gases: argon and xenon. When isolated inside a sealed tube, the neon emitted a very bright reddish-orange glow. However because so little of the gas was extracted during their small-scale air liquefaction process, it was too costly to use in quantity. It wasn’t until 1910 that Air Liquide business owner George Claude was able to produce enough neon in his larger-scale process to make it practical for use in lighting applications. His first attempt at neon lighting, to be used in home settings, was unsuccessful. But once he was able to channel the neon light’s extreme brightness and unusual tint into signage applications, the demand began to grow. He sold the first neon signs in the United States to a Packard dealership in Los Angeles in 1923.

Just three years later, Jacques Risler of France discovered how to create additional colors in neon. By coating the sealed tube containing the gas with different fluorescent coatings or “phosphors,” the ultraviolet light emitted by the gases inside caused the tube to glow with various colors. Colors outside the red/orange spectrum usually have additional compounds added to enhance the color, such as argon and mercury. By the 1960s there were about two dozen color options available, and today there are almost 100.

Iconic Neon

Here are just a few examples of how neon can be used to create signs that are recognizable the world around.

Classic Texas barbecue neon sign

The grandfather of all neon cities, Las Vegas

The Pike Place Public Market in Seattle boasts one of the most recognizable neon signs in the US.

Neon can be fabricated in a wide variety of colors

Your (Business) Name in Lights

One of the main benefits offered by neon signage is its longevity. A well cared for neon sign can last for years, even decades. But just as in the early 1900s, neon can be very costly to fabricate and repair, making it outside the budget of many small businesses. So what alternatives have come along? Enter LED technology.

Just a few of the color options in LED neon style rope lighting

LED (light-emitting diode) technology is used in just about every illuminated sign we create at Signwave, from lightboxes to channel letters. It’s super bright, cool to touch, energy efficient, versatile, long-lasting, and affordable. There are even LED rope products that can mimic the look of classic neon tubing with more flexibility and color variety. With all the options that LED technology opened up, a classic-looking neon sign with modern benefits is in anyone’s reach.

Are You Ready To Be Iconic?

Whether you’ve been in business for 40 years or 40 days, you can be a neighborhood icon with the right signage. Are you ready? Call Signwave today and we’ll come to you for a consultation and site visit. We can help you stand out in the crowd.

 

 

 

Using color to identify subsidiaries in dimensional lettering

A Perfect Season for Interior Signage

Wintertime is Interior Signage Evaluation Time

Why are interior signs important?

Outside all signs point to more cold weather to come, but inside it’s a perfect time to reevaluate your business’s interior signage. Attractive signs are much more than just bits of information to stick on a wall or door. After all, it’s not just your customers that use them as a visual marker. You and your employees and co-workers see them, walk past them, and work under them day after day. A drab, purely practical sign does nothing to inspire pride or productivity.

Cream and blue ADA sign reading "work room"

Do a site evaluation and make notes

Take a walk around your facility and see where you have a generic, off-the-rack sign, a piece of printer paper, or nothing at all to designate the different areas and offices. What message would it send to your employees and customers if you had a custom-made, coherent signage plan in place to increase visibility, decrease confusion, and create a harmonious work environment?

Where can we make improvement?

Consider these options:

  1. Signage in your company colors to designate workrooms, conference rooms, and storage areas
  2. ADA compliant bathroom signs that also sport your company’s logo
  3. Panoramic wall vinyl with photos depicting scenic areas in your town, or your products in action
  4. Cozy, welcoming signage in your staff dining areas
  5. Clear directional signage for your customers and visitors
  6. Custom nameplates for offices
  7. Long-lasting, custom made floor markings for social distancing and safety

Custom Motivational wallCustom Wall Graphics for Conference Room

There’s no better time than today

Right now is the best time to make those interior changes, before the warm weather calls us all outside again. Signwave can implement your vision, or start from scratch and come up with a full site signage plan to meet your aesthetic and your budget. Give us a call for a site visit!

floor directory interior brushed aluminum

Commercial Building Signage For 15 Merrick Avenue

directory raised lettering brushed aluminum building sign

This newly-renovated office has beautiful brushed aluminum signage as a key decorative element throughout the building, starting with this custom changeable directory.

We recently were called upon to perform a building-wide upgrade of the commercial building signs at 15 Merrick Ave. in Merrick, NY. The customer was upgrading the entire look of the carpets, walls and fixtures of the building and wanted signage with a style and finish to reflect the standard of tenant that they attracted. At the same time they were looking to improve the signage in other ways:

  • create a consistent look and feel for facility signage throughout the building
  • improve accessibility with adherence to 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design
  • ensure a safer environment through clearly marked and legible fire exit, stairway and elevator signage.

ADA women's room bathroom signage brushed aluminumADA building signage interior brushed aluminumADA building signage interior brushed aluminum

The signs were made of brushed aluminum with contrasting raised letters and Braille beads. Clearly positioned by all exits, stairwells and elevators were clearly marked traffic flows in case of emergency. We fabricated the directory and tenant signs, those likely to change down the road, with custom frames with magnetic-backed panels. This will allow us to replace individual tenant panels at a low relative cost.

ADA interior tenant brushed aluminum signage

Each tenant in this renovated Merrick office building has its own ADA-compliant office sign in beautiful brushed aluminum.

If you are looking for ideas on how to upgrade your commercial building signage, please give the Signwave team a call at 631.761.9292 or ask us a question with the form on our homepage.

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