Branding buildings in Virginia is one thing I do on a regular basis. Come to think of it, I’ve been branding buildings with custom signs since I was 19! That’s all the way back to the 1980’s! Whether it’s a church, a veterinary hospital, or a beer factory, I have probably done it somewhere along the line.
In this blog, I will highlight three projects I have completed in the last several months. All three sign jobs have a few things in common: They all incorporate dimensional wall letters; they all utilize some form of high-performance vinyl graphics; they all use lettering systems with a lifetime warranty against fading and breakage.
First, a job I did for Ridgeway Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, VA. The customer worked with an architectural firm to build a much-needed addition and they needed a main ID sign on their brick wall along with several free-standing directional signs out in the parking lot. Working with the church’s building committee, we were able to come up with a good system that was both functional, attractive, and reasonably priced.
Second, a project for a local Veterinary Hospital that outgrew their old location and built a new facility on the other side of town. The owners of Waynesboro Animal Hospital along with their General Contractor reached out to Augusta Sign Company for help in branding their new location. The building was situated on a busy street in town, so a good signage system was very important to them. The contractor built the building and the free-standing road-side sign structure, and I came behind them and installed the signage. In this case, the signage consisted of formed plastic letters and also flat-cut-out acrylic. The letters were mounted into EIFS which is synthetic stucco finish that many building designers choose for construction.
The third project was signage provided for Skipping Rock Beer Company in Staunton, VA. The owner provided architectural drawings and we were able to collaborate on signage design that was within the local sign codes. On one part of the building I provided fabricated metal letters, and at the entrance area I provided ACM panels that accommodated the company’s logo.
Branding buildings in Virginia and making complimentary way-finding signs goes along with my passion and experience in architectural design. You see, before plunging full-time into the signage field, I worked as an engineering technician in Bethesda, MD, and an intern-architect in Charlottesville, VA. The experience gained has helped tremendously in making quality, functional signage for my customers.
Mark Hackley is President of Augusta Sign Company, PO Box 519, Waynesboro, VA 22980. 540-943-9818, [email protected].