Indoor signs
2/8/2018
Monarch reached out to us in need of building signage for their new space in the historic Valentine neighborhood of Kansas City. They wanted to ensure the completed sign would integrate seamlessly with the historic nature of the building. With artwork in hand, our first step was to emulate gold leaf lettering on the windows of the building.
Gold leaf lettering is created by a process called gilding, a term that refers to the application of the foil (gold, silver, copper) to a solid surface such as wood, metal, or glass. This type of lettering application was very common at the turn of the 20th century, when this particular building would have been erected.
We tested a few different applications with gold cut vinyl to see if this was the look Monarch was wanting. The vinyl applications lacked the unique appearance of gold leaf lettering, so we went back to the drawing board.
The next concept was to try a dimensional lettering application for the building. Monarch provided us with a typeface reminiscent of lettering you would see on buildings at the turn of the 20th century. We created a sample letter from the type and provided a mock-up to Monarch of what the letters would look like on the building. We got the green light from Monarch and moved forward with production.
The finished project consists of ½” thick acrylic letters. The letters are painted with Sherwin Williams Extra White in a matte finish to complement the matte black façade the letters would be mounted against.
