Entrance signs for a social club are varied but most important for all of them is that they are noticable, as they are intended to be a sign more so than a nice image/design. The imagery & look has appeal to draw you to look at the sign but the sign should be clear & noticable for reading so you know exactly what building you are entering.
There are instances where more subtle signs are required but generally entrance signs are intended as a noticable welcome wayfinding sign. An entrance sign for a social club or bar requires a fairly noticable sign. This is what the clients were after. A much improved signage in terms of looks, but also be noticable.
The clients gave the brief of something more professional & more finesse than what they had previously, which was a rotten,worn out, sign that didn’t fit the entrance panel. They fitted a fresh panel, base painted it all in a matching grey colour, then requested Traditional Signs of London to incorporate their old logo/branding with a gold leaf & smarter version.
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The clients previous logo was set to a white background & was arched lettering in ‘gold’ with a black shading. So they wished for an arched lettering to remain & the sub title wording to remain but the style could be altered. They also requested the street numeral be in a roundel, with their phone number also on the panel. Designing wise this didn’t leave a great deal of scope other than sizing & placement of the wording, along with some typeface altering.
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The artwork was designed & produced in the studio on paper to the ideal sizing, that would fit the measurements of the entrance, with the image drawn & in a ‘pounce pattern’ (pin pricked). The artwork is then taken to site on the day, where painting & gilding the work will be produced.
On the day unfortunately we were welcomed by some rain showers, but with some thinking between client & signwriter, a make shift covering was formed. This enabled no delay in measuring up the entrnace panel, marking centre & guide lines, then offering up the artwork/pattern to be aligned & taped in place.
Once level & upright artwork is ensured the design is ‘pounced’ onto the entrance panel by means of padding powder through the pricked holes, in effect tracing/reliefing the artwork.
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The rain passed over which really helped. It was workable but not ideal having a temporary, makeshift awning. With the artwork laid on the panel the 23ct gold could be laid. This wouldn’t be possible in wet weather. The process for this is to paint the lettering first using a mix of ‘size’ (glue) and a gold ish colour of paint. The painted letters are then allowed to go tacky to the point of near dry.
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Very fine & delicate genuine gold is used by pressing small sheets of gold to the areas of the signwriting. The backing paper comes away from the gold & is discarded. The gold is allowed to dry & harden to the signwriting.
Where possible, as much of the writing is produced, but you are always aware of the drying time of the ‘size’ which can vary dependant on the temperature of the atmosphere & much more so if theres a breeze or wind. When this is the case, its only a few letters at a time which are painted before the gold is applied to the painted letters.
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Once all the gold leaf has been applied to the signwriting on the entrnace signs, its then a case of clean off the excess gold (burnishing), which in this instance proved a little tricky due to the surface becoming damp due to the weather, but with care, expertise & good materials, this was achieved. Then the main heading wording is given a deeps set black shadow.
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Touch ups were made to the gold. This was due to the damp conditions affecting the clean up of the gold. The remaining wording also had the gold applied to & cleaned off. With the weather improved the powder could be used to prevent excess gold sticking to the surface rather than where the ‘size’ had been painted to create the letters. This enables a far better clean off of the excess gold.
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The final piece of work to produce was adding a cast shadow to the phone number & sub heading once the gold had been applied & the excess cleaned off. This makes the difference & allows the wording to really stand out & match the main wording. The clients were extremely pleased with the completed look.
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Hand Painted Traditional & Contemporary Sign writing in London
Sign writer: Traditional Signs of London
info@traditionalsignsoflondon.uk