30 Issue 250 - December 2023 / January 2024 www.signlink.co.uk ADNAMS X DB SIGNS still hand painted. Barber explains that some will have cut vinyl for commercial reasons and there are one or two that have been produced in vinyl or printed which are generally the more contemporary signs that have been designed in-house by Adnams. However, the group still very much champions the art of traditional signwriting for its premises. Some signage such as the amenity boards are painted and then have vinyl applied as this enables DB Signs to prep batches of standard-size boards and apply the vinyl when needed. “Doing things this way still gives a more friendly feel to the signs. They have a more organic and soft look but can still be turned around quickly when needed,” Barber explains. On what it is about traditional handpainted signs that Adnams has treasured for the past five decades, Barber says: “I think Adnams can see the difference between getting the details right and wrong. The emphasis is being sympathetic to the situation and the job that their signs have to do. A little more time producing a sign but making sure that it really suits the environment is key. “In addition to this, they are a very loyal company that values progress but not at the detriment of quality, tradition, and aesthetics. Each job is taken on a case-by-case basis to make sure that the look and feel complements its surroundings and sometimes that means using period methods, signwriting being the major one for me.” Barber says that as far back as he can remember, signwriting has been part of the Adnams look, even through the introduction of vinyl and print. It is due to this that Barber attributes the company as being solely responsible for him continuing with signwriting as a trade. “I have such a varied workload that it keeps me fresh and interested and hopefully that means I will suggest things that may otherwise have been done in an alternative manner”. Immense Variety of Work So, what is actually involved in producing such a variety of signage for a company with 150 years of history as brewers, distillers, wine merchants, retailers, publicans, and hoteliers? For all pub work, Barber has worked with Teresa Holman, area manager of Tied Estate at Adnams for 32 years. The pair will get their heads together over a coffee and talk through Holman’s vision of how to tie pub work into the overall look of the business. For this, Barber will get colour schemes for the range of pubs which he works with as a base, and there will also be a range of typefaces to work with. Once the format is there, it is up to Barber. ▼ Photo: Adnams & Anthony Cullen ▼ Photo: Adnams & Anthony Cullen ▼ Photo: Adnams & Anthony Cullen
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