Making an entrance

by carly_mchugh | 10 February 2023 10:34 am

By Carly McHugh

Winnipeg, “Winterpeg,” the “Gateway to the West.”

No matter what you call it, Manitoba’s capital city has its own share of unique charms—and local sign shop SRS Signs and Service (SRS) has actively done their part to accentuate them.

Over the last five years, the company has been tapped for many of the city’s iconic sign projects, including the 2.4- x 16.1-m (8- x 53-ft) “Winnipeg” sign in the central neighbourhood of The Forks, as well as the “Garbage Hill” sign in Westview Park, which marks the location of the old, repurposed dump.

Therefore, it seemed only natural for SRS to have a hand in Economic Development Winnipeg’s (EDW’s) most recent sign project: 10 new welcome signs, placed along main routes to greet visitors entering the city.

These signs were created to accompany the launch of the city’s new place brand, “Winnipeg: Made from what’s real.” The design, which was conceived and provided by EDW, featured the new imagery and slogan, along with an acknowledgement recognizing Winnipeg’s presence on Indigenous land.

Once they received the final artwork, SRS got to work on fabricating the 1.8- x 4.8-m (6- x 16-ft)
signs. The team had about eight weeks from approval to have all 10 signs installed around the city.

In most cases, the shop’s staff of 30 handles the whole process in-house. However, for this project, all that was needed was some fine tuning before the signs were digitally printed on Orafol print media. Additionally, due to their outdoor location, they were protected with Oraguard matte laminate. Once the signs were printed and laminated, they were laid out and applied to aluminum composite panels (ACPs).

Next began the installation process. For each location, SRS installed the signs using their Freightliner truck with an 18.8-m (62-ft) lift. To frame the signs, they used aluminum trim and stainless steel screws.

The first sign was installed in early October 2022, at Brookside Boulevard (Route 90 and Farmer Road)—a major highway leading into the city. As most of the signs were going to be erected in very busy, high-traffic areas, extra attention needed to be paid to traffic control measures. This was imperative to keep the project team safe, and to keep traffic away from the job sites until each installation was complete. The remainder of the signs were installed before the end of the month.

SRS’ president and owner, Shane Storie, says his shop enjoyed the opportunity to be included in the project, and the repeat invitation from the city further validates the quality of his team’s work.

“It’s amazing to be part of another sign that will be part of the history and evolution of this city,” Storie added. “We hope we continue to get calls to be involved and engaged in the community I so love.”

Source URL: https://www.signmedia.ca/making-an-entrance/

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