Perfect for purpose

Signbox is no stranger to the Sign Industry Awards, having notched up an impressive series of wins over the last four years. This year, its sleekly sophisticated signing for City Place House bagged it the Interior Sign of the Year Award. Zinnia Cordell visits the company’s Egham based headquarters to find out what makes it tick. Any visitor to the Signbox headquarters in Egham, Surrey is immediately impressed by the company’s reception area. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, this is a testament to its impeccable design credentials. However, progress a little further, and it becomes obvious that the same adherence to the principles of good design, combined with a painstaking attention to detail, permeates far beyond the public areas and into the high tech assembly facility and the warehouse, both of which display a perfect fusion of form and function. First established 21 years ago in 1985, it is obvious that the passion of the company’s founders, Mark Bartlett and Matthew Wilkins, for excellent design combined with the highest possible quality, informs everything they do. Mark and Matthew first discovered their common interest in architecture when they were piloting franchise opportunities during the development of Sign Language, a business wholly owned by 3M. At the same time, they also identified a niche in the market for creative, well designed sign solutions, of the kind that would appeal to architects and design/build agencies. Mark explains: "We initially set Signbox up to cater for the short run vinyl graphic market, but both Matthew and I, with our backgrounds in architecture and engineering, were primarily drawn to the A+D industry where there is a great potential for well designed wayfinding schemes." Very soon, the duo became involved with several new sign systems and conceived the idea of producing a complete system of components, which could fulfil all the signage requirements of an entire building. Mark reflects: "We wanted to be in a position to manage tenders throughout an entire project, so that we could ensure a truly consistent design solution throughout. A joint venture with Shopkit Designs enabled us to pool our design and engineering skills to develop Signkit, a complete system of components, which are precision engineered to suit the display of signs and media." In fact, Signkit is just one of Signbox’s many USPs and continues to spearhead its desire for innovation. The latest development in the Signkit range is an LED illuminated emergency fire exit sign, which is supremely energy efficient, offering an expected life of between 40,000 and 60,000 hours.

"LED technology has enabled us to develop the Signkit range even further," continues Mark. "Energy efficiency is increasingly essential to the environment and LEDs combine low emissions with a long life capability." Perhaps more than any other company, Signbox has certainly benefited from the Sign Industry Awards competition, which is now in its fifth year. In 2003, the company won the Sign Design Award for its work on the Williams F1 Grand Prix Engineering Conference Centre in Wantage, Oxfordshire, for interior signs and displays, which complemented the exacting standards of Williams F1 Grand Prix Engineering. Its elegant wayfinding scheme, together with the large format, digitally printed displays, formed the backdrop to the main Grand Prix collection and perfectly illustrated how the clever use of graphics can enhance any environment.

The following year, Signbox scored a hat trick, winning no less than three awards, this time the Best interior Sign, in respect of its work at the London Aquarium, a project that also netted it the highly coveted Sign Design Award. In addition, it was highly commended for its DDS compliant wayfinding scheme at Sir Harold Hillier Gardens. This was, in fact, a real coup, since the project had not originally even been entered in this category, but so impressed the judges with its simple design and clarity, that they awarded it the accolade anyway!

"We were thrilled to win the two awards for the London Aquarium project on the South Bank, as it showcased many of our skills," enthuses Mark. "It was a real challenge to create a scheme incorporating tactile and Braille signs in such a dark environment. Not only did we have to consider how we could illuminate the signage to make it visible, we also had to ensure that it was subtle enough not to detract from the exhibits in any way. By using LEDs we were able to create a high degree of contrast between the text and background, without disturbing the overall ambience of this popular London attraction." Mark and Matthew’s talent for designing signage which enhances, underlines their continuing passion for good architecture. Both believe that well designed signage should both welcome and inform and no where is this demonstrated better than at City Place House, where their beautifully conceived and expertly engineered scheme was decreed by the judges of the 2006 Sign Industry Awards, to be, quite simply, perfect for its purpose. The scheme, supplied as part of the refurbishment of one of London’s landmark buildings, won the company its second Interior Sign of the Year Award and demonstrates just how well signage can work in tandem with architecture.

"We were originally contacted by architectural practice Haddon Few Montuschi who had designed a contemporary and inspirational entrance to City Place House," remembers Mark. "Mike Montuschi explained that the existing entrance hall, although rich in marble walls and granite floor, lacked any real character and needed an ‘injection of life.’"

To remain sympathetic to the original Chicago style architecture, it was suggested that a combination of light and glass be used. Signbox embraced the initial designs and suggested using traditional materials and modern engineering to achieve the desired aesthetically pleasing result.

As part of the building’s refurbishment, the reception area was to be transformed, with the addition of a new 1930s art deco style reception desk, complete with an illuminated purple front and a tenant directory centred behind it. To keep faith with the style of the desk, Signbox used a glass tenants’ directory, simply mounted on to an illuminated textured glass panel, some three metres high and 1.3 metres wide. In addition, similar sized panels, illuminated by concealed up lighters, were also created, to accentuate the three marble recesses in the reception area and to frame two plasma display screens. To support the glass panels, Signbox designed and manufactured bespoke brushed stainless steel fixings.

Five textured glass panels, slightly overlapping each other, were also used in the reception area to create a stylish branding for the building and to further embellish the impressive entrance. Again, concealed uplighters were used to illuminate the fused glass lettering and to imbue the slightly austere space with a subtle warmth.The atrium area, although already saturated in ambient light from its glass panelled ceiling, was completely redundant. Haddon Few Montuschi was therefore faced with the task of making this into a pleasant and comfortable break-out area. This was achieved by using clear Perspex cubes, containing jets of water, illuminated with changing colours. The atrium has thus become a tranquil oasis of clam. The cubes are also visible from the open landings of the ten storey building and serve to entice staff down to the raised stage area of the atrium.

To complement the colourful cubes, Signbox designed and manufactured a full width, illuminated structural mast system, over eight metres wide, to provide a suitably fitting backdrop. However there were a few technical requirements which had to be addressed. The glass screening required structural calculations taking into account the weight of the glass and the safety of staff. Another requirement was the ease of accessibility to the building’s mechanical and electrical services, which were hidden behind the screen. "To satisfy health and safety regulations the 13 illuminated textured glass panels had to be laminated," explains Matthew. "The two ends of the screen also had to be hinged, to allow access for maintenance, which provided a satisfactory solution".

In order for Signbox to create the required ambience, as well as complementing the building’s interior design and architecture, all the panels were produced with a textured finish, sandblasted to the rear. Using fused glass meant a three dimensional effect could be achieved, in keeping with the ripples of the water in the cubes.The complete installation required Diamond drilling of the granite and chemical fixing of the stainless steel glass support. The glass panels were also manufactured from toughened and laminated glass.

"The project took about four months to complete and it was a real labour of love," muses Mark. "It was a fantastic job to work on, as it shows how well the right signage can work with contemporary architecture. The feedback from the Interior Sign of the Year Award was also very positive – it was definitely one to be very proud of."

Over the last 21 years, Signbox’s reputation within the hotel and leisure sector has spread to the extent that it is now working on projects in Barcelona, Venice, Florence, Geneva and New York! And, by the end of the year, the company will be launching a fully e-commerce website. It’s secret? Well, as every reader knows, the overriding philosophy within the Sign Industry is that it’s best to play your cards close to your chest, as competition is fierce, however Mark has developed an alternative ethos. He says: "Design is the pulse which powers Signbox, that and our passion for quality. We are very aware of our competition and the need to keep moving forward with new initiatives and ideas. But most importantly, we need to keep producing quality designed signs which direct and inform and do it beautifully." And you can’t get better than that!

October 2006

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