{"id":6829,"date":"2016-08-19T01:06:34","date_gmt":"2016-08-19T06:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/krisbunda.com\/blog\/?p=6829"},"modified":"2017-02-13T00:19:02","modified_gmt":"2017-02-13T06:19:02","slug":"heres-yer-sign-dayton-rodeo-version","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krisbunda.com\/blog\/2016\/08\/19\/heres-yer-sign-dayton-rodeo-version\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s Yer Sign: Dayton Rodeo Version"},"content":{"rendered":"

This Ain’t My First Rodeo (Sign)<\/h2>\n

This post is about some signs I designed over the course of a few years for boosters of an annual rodeo event and its facility<\/a>. Actual fabricated versions may have turned out differently.<\/p>\n

On their website, there’s a photoshopped image of it in pictures, and in one it looks like it’s being suspended by a chain.<\/p>\n

From Dayton Rodeo Website:<\/h5>\n
\"SIGN-DAYTON<\/div>
SIGN-DAYTON RODEO WEBSITE IMAGE 3<\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div>
\"SIGN-DAYTON<\/div>
SIGN-DAYTON RODEO WEBSITE IMAGE 2<\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div>
\"SIGN-DAYTON<\/div>
SIGN-DAYTON RODEO WEBSITE IMAGE 1<\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div> \n

Design Considerations<\/h3>\n

Notice there’s a couple different sign ideas here. One is the oldest version (with just a bronc rider), the other single-plate design\u00a0came later. Then came the welded, post-mounted assembly\u00a0idea.<\/p>\n

\"DAYTON<\/div>
DAYTON RODEO SIGN 95 X 47IN - SIZED FOR REGULAR STEEL PLATE<\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div>
\"DAYTON<\/div>
DAYTON RODEO SIGN 46 X 24IN VSN<\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div> \n

Landmark Signs need to be designed for longevity…<\/h4>\n

Weather is a killer, and the elements will rot your sign out and make it look shabby in no time if you don’t design for it. Signage, by definition, sends a message. Don’t make your message “I’m tired and neglect details.”<\/p>\n

The post-mounted sign design is\u00a0large, with much material lasered out, so I added a rib across the entire bottom edge in the weldment to stiffen it (with weep slots, to discourage rainwater accumulation, and angled so as not to be mistaken for an empty-beer-can shelf).\u00a0There are voids from lettering and pictograms for wind to blow through the sign, but in this design, it’s fixed to posts just at the bottom corners. The rib would\u00a0counteract the wind forces that could be applied to the top, turning the large sign surface into a lever, rocking and wearing against the fasteners and post lumber over time.<\/p>\n

The pyramidal post caps are purely decorational, although they may keep moisture out of the endgrain of the treated posts, if that helps.<\/p>\n

Life Cycle:<\/h5>\n

I’m trying for a 35-year life cycle before scrapping due to weathered wood and rust. if such a sign were wire-brushed and painted occasionally, the weldment could be shot-blasted and powdercoated again when the posts wore out, and remounted. This sort of sign is style-generic (no branded fonts or logo that will date the sign when changed) that it could serve as long as stakeholders would want it.<\/p>\n

35 years goes by pretty quick, but a nice, simple greeter sign can become a familiar landmark to visitors. If the event\u00a0and\/or\u00a0facility name doesn’t change, it can be a very inexpensive asset (amortized) for multiple generations, incurring minimal maintenance costs.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, many institutions change names with new ownership, mergers, rebranding, or whatever.\u00a0And that’s if they manage to stay in business for generations.<\/p>\n

Still, a Great Value for Signage:<\/h5>\n

So some businesses change names. So maybe the idea for saving money on signage for decades doesn’t hold as much water as at first blush. But the real point is that signs like this are pretty inexpensive anyway.<\/em><\/p>\n

Inexpensive… while also looking classic and high-end, because they’re clearly custom-designed & tailor-fabricated installations. Add one of these to a little landscaped island on a\u00a0property, complete with nighttime\u00a0point lighting, and it\u00a0creates a broadly- and visually-appealing framing of a namesake.<\/p>\n

\"Machiavellian<\/a>
Machiavellian Signage – photo by Matthew Hutchinson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Machiavellian Signage<\/h4>\n

But there’s more than just the striking, memory-searing branding of a\u00a0bespoke signage installation. There’s something else there too, something psychological. It tells the casual passersby and potential clientele that see it:\u00a0This is a business that plans on sticking around in the community for a while.<\/em> It’s not some vinyl sheet\u00a0held to a storefront with rope. It’s not an interchangeable plastic tile in a stripmall marquee. It’s a steel and wood sculpture that was purpose-built; crafted for announcing the importance and location of this particular service provider. It creates a mental picture worth a thousand unspoken words (or at least this next paragraph):<\/p>\n

…If they thought enough to manifest a landmark-of-a-shingle, they may\u00a0invest\u00a0enough thought and effort in their services to develop repeat customers and referrals. They apparently plan to be supported by the community enough to put down roots and add to its aesthetic.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Okay, if you just read that, a few things:<\/h5>\n