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A Letter to Our Friends at the SEGD Conference

Pictured: Encompass Sign Systems at SEGD Conference NEXPO. June 10, 2016.

Pictured: Encompass Sign Systems at SEGD Conference NEXPO. June 10, 2016.

Dear SEGD Friends and Colleagues,

We would like to personally thank you for all the wonderful, thought provoking, innovating conversations we had with each and every one of you. Besides the President’s Reception, NEXPO, the presentations and the SEGD Global Design Awards, some of our favorite experiences at the SEGD Conference in Seattle included:

Design Workshop: Design Improv

We were fortunate to take a design workshop class called Design Improv. This particular class was lead by the entertaining Ben Whitehouse (New York Chapter Co-chair) and Daniela Pilossof (Vancouver Chapter Chair).

We had a blast working in a team to repurpose Amazon Lockers. Our team developed an experience, lead by drones of course, guiding you through the city of Seattle, stopping at local restaurants, shops and tourist destinations. The purpose of this experience was to get the everyday Seattleite and tourist out of their routine or typical Seattle experience.

Pictured: Drone Drop project from SEGD workshop Design Improv. June 11, 2016.

Pictured: Drone Drop project from SEGD workshop Design Improv. June 11, 2016.

Through the experience, the user would acquire tokens or clues from the different locations of the repurposed Amazon Lockers, which would take them to their next destination. There, they would replace the token or clue they just received from the Amazon Locker with an item of equal value.

At the end of their adventure, the user would receive a randomly generated gift, which would help promote local businesses or organizations. This particular experience was appropriately named, “The Drone Drop”. 

We would like to thank everyone who attended and directed this design workshop for all their creative and entertaining ideas! Other ideas/companies/experiences that came from this workshop included: HotBox, JoyPort, PotPods, and a city-scape design concept.

Thank you for all of your creative ideas!

Tourist Day: Pike Place Market

On our final day in Seattle, our team took a morning trip to Pike Place Market. We experienced everything from fresh produce to a vast array of seafood (obviously), fishermen yelling about seafood, fruits, vegetables, the Original Starbucks and the fragrance of peonies, roses, lavender and lots and lots of fish. We also admired totem poles and the beautiful bay view while exploring Pike Place park. To say the least, our final day in Seattle was peaceful and it felt natural to be immersed into the daily Seattleite culture.

Pictured: Fresh fruits and vegetables from the Pike Place Market. June 12, 2016.

Pictured: Fresh fruits and vegetables from the Pike Place Market. June 12, 2016.

We are so appreciative of the new experiences and friends we made in Seattle and we hope to return soon!

See you all next year at SEGD Miami 2017!

 

 

Sincerely,

Phil Quattrocchi and Isabelle Gomez

Encompass Sign NewsEncompassComment

A Gold Timex to Photopolymer ADA Signage!

Thanks for your service to industry for the last 25 years. Photopolymer signs have been the predominant choice of designers for tactile ADA signage for a quarter of a century. Thankfully, at the inception of ADA legislation in the late 80’s and early 90’s photopolymer signs provided a standard process and uniform look for ADA signage. 

Without photopolymer ADA signs, designers in the 90’s would have chosen sub-standard, ineffective and random sign designs for their building environments. 

Before Beanie Babies, the World Wide Web, and before anyone understood the importance of branding…. photopolymer signs made it easier to outfit a building with ADA signs.  Even after the Japanese tsunami forced core prices to double, photopolymer signs remained the only good choice for designers. Thankfully, new technology has finally evolved. 

Thermoformed ADA signs give designers the creative latitude and durability that designers need to meet their client’s branding needs, at an appealing price point.  It’s no surprise that according to Dodge Analytics, “Thermoformed ADA signs” saw an increase of 237% in Specifications in 2016. Thermoformed signs are now universally acknowledged in Specs as an “approved equal” to photopolymer signs and that’s a big win for ADA thermoforming manufacturers. Those who really know about the differences between photopolymer ADA signs and thermoformed ADA signs are knocking clients off their feet with new ideas never available until now.

Photopolymer signs are still plenty viable.  There are over 3,000 sign-makers that still maintain their relationship with the two surviving raw material photopolymer providers. Machinery needed to produce these signs still exists and is almost free to get started; it’s the raw photopolymer material price increases to watch out for...  While Father Time and new technology may have caught up to photopolymers signs, their contribution and service to the industry over the last 25 years certainly must be treasured!   

To learn how to use this new thermoforming ADA technology and provide your design team a new design tool belt, durability and scalable branding offering, follow this link http://www.encompasssign.com/gallery/ or simply contact us 855-672-2201

Adam Halverson, Chief Strategist : adamh@encompasssign.com

About Encompass Sign Systems

Encompass Sign Systems specializes in thermoformed tactile signs and leading-edge directional and wayfinding systems. We provide designers and architects with highly scalable wholesale signage that have limitless branding capabilities and unsurpassed durability.