SEASONAL SIGNAGE This period of year always proves to be a busy one for the sign industry. Major events come thick and fast, with Halloween and Bonfire Night swiftly followed by Black Friday, Christmas, and New Year. All of these events come with the demand for signage, especially from the retail market where stores are aiming to draw in customers and get them to spend their hard-earned money during peak seasons. Of course, when talking about seasonal work Christmas immediately springs to mind, but the reality is that other major events take place throughout the year which sign-makers and wide-format printers are able to take advantage of. Here, we celebrate some of the recent work produced around seasonal events, highlighting the opportunities on offer to the industry and offering food for thought on future projects. Happy Holidays Given the time of year, it only seems right we begin with Christmas. Window graphics are a key part of retailer’s strategies, helping draw in passers-by with festive messages. Over in the US, Capital INK Branding Solutions partnered with famous retail chain Macy’s to create a colourful set of graphics for a store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Capital INK chose to work with Drytac’s SpotOn White M50, a monomeric PVC film. Graphics were printed on a Canon Colorado 1650 and installed by the company’s team on site at the store. What made the project extra special was how Capital INK overcame a tricky issue with the windows. Capital INK national sales director Dave Heit explains: “All the graphics were to be produced second surface and installed from the interior but two of the windows had a permanent black border already installed second surface. So, for these two windows, we were asked to install the graphics first surface. “The challenge was that Macy’s had recently added a clear security film to their storefront windows. We reached out to the security film’s technical team and were told that most adhesive vinyl applied over their security film would damage the film’s top layer or cause a haze effect upon the removal of the applied graphics. “After testing many other adhesive vinyls, SpotOn White M50 was the only material that adhered well and removed cleanly with no damage to the security film. Macy’s liked the look of the first surface graphics so much more than the second surface graphics that they decided moving forward all their holiday window applications will be first surface applications using Drytac SpotOn White M50, so not to damage the security film.” Also feeling festive was Huddersfield-based Leach, which created festive displays for luxury goods brand, Swaine. Two Swaine stores – one in Mayfair’s Burlington Arcade and the other its 7,000sq ft flagship store in New Bond Street – were transformed ahead of Christmas 2023. The brief focused on a theme of gentleman’s games, with Leach tasked with producing displays featuring backgammon checkers, cards, chess pieces, dominoes, and dice, nestled among cut-out figurines of sketched aristocratic Victorians, top ‘Tis the Season to See Signage 36 Issue 256 - December 2024 / January 2025 www.signlink.co.uk From creative window and floor graphics to colourful billboards and digital displays, seasonal events offer all manner of opportunities for signage work. Here, we offer some inspiration from some thought-provoking campaigns within the market ▲ Leach created festive displays for luxury goods brand, Swaine Our wide breadth of specialist printing capabilities came together to produce a stunning display that exceeded expectations
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