Materials & scope
ADA wanted their new offi ce to have a modern and open
fl oorplan, which would promote a collaborative environment.
Because the offi ce was so open, the goal of the signage project
was to extend the ADA branding throughout the space.
Th e project included 16 colorful phototex wall graphics,
which wrapped around two sides of free-standing walls and
doorways; eight dimensional logos in the elevator lobbies,
a dimensional acrylic logo in the reception area; 16 elevator
door graphics; privacy fi lm on a number of offi ce and
entrance doors; eight full coverage r-sided column wraps;
Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant room signs; more
than 400 workstation sign frames with inserts; and a printed
dusted vinyl history wall.
Th e images and content used for the graphics was the
brainchild of the creative team at ADA. “Th eir team worked
really hard to fi nd colorful, scientifi c images, as well as
portraits from various ADA events of families that have been
helped by the association, doctors, and scientists who work
closely with the association, and those eff ected by diabetes,”
explained Lori Garber, operations manager at Signs By Tomorrow
– Rockville. Accompanying each graphic is a placard
that explains the image to anyone visiting the offi ce.
What machines or materials were used to complete the
project you may ask? Signs By Tomorrow – Rockville used
a Mactac Dusted Vinyl that was printed on their Latex
machine and cut to custom sizes using a Zund router; acrylic
(for the logos)which was printed using their Fujifi lm fl atbed
printers and were lasered to custom shapes using Signs
By Tomorrow’s Universal Laser; Mactac Hitac for elevator
graphics and phototex wall graphics, both printed on their
Latex machine.
How it all came together
Meetings and coordination between various moving parts
were an essential part of the planning process. Th e architecture
fi rm knew they wanted graphics on the walls, but
didn’t know how to accomplish it. “We met with their team
The team worked hard to fi nd colorful, scientifi c images; accompanying
each graphic is a placard that explains the image to anyone visiting.
to provide them with material samples and ideas,” explained
Garber. “We discussed their needs and then presented them
with options that could work. Th ey were ultimately looking
for a material that could easily be removed and replaced in
the future should they ever want to update their branding or
the graphics. Once we determined what materials we would
use, we created a schedule working backwards from their
project close-out date so everyone working on the project
knew when we needed to complete certain tasks so that everything
was done and ready by the time the offi ce build-out
was complete. Once artwork was sent to us, we did another
round of material samples for approval on clarity and color.
When doing large format photograph-based artwork, resolution
always becomes a concern so we had to make sure that
the images supplied to us would be a high enough resolution
for printing at a large size. For those images that didn’t quite
make the cut, we took them in to Photoshop and added some
blurring eff ects to still create a comprehensible image, but
without visible pixilation.”
Signs By Tomorrow – Rockville worked with the lead designer
from EsoArchitecture to nail down the ideas/concepts;
the lead project manager to stay on schedule and make sure
they had all parts of the project organized and approved;
the vice president of content and creative solutions and the
senior manager of creative services from ADA to receive the
fi nal artwork fi les and make sure everything looked correct
and stayed on-brand; and Th e director of administrative services
at ADA to coordinate everything that was happening
on-site during walk-throughs and fi nal installation.
All signage at the ADA offi ces are meant to be a permanent
solution, says Garber. For the wall graphics specifi cally, they
are meant to be a “permanent” addition to the offi ce. However,
Signs By Tomorrow – Rockville did use a material that
removes clean from drywall surfaces and does not damage
the wall aft er removal – just in case ADA wants to change
them in the future. But who would want to with captivating
images like this?
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