Patent Award Display – ASML, a semi-conductor capital equipment company, was looking for a novel way to display 119 patents in a random design with the ability to expand as new patents were awarded and move the entire display to a new building location within 1 year. Prior to Mission City Signs involvement, ASML had worked with several companies specializing in patent award plaques. Unfortunately, their solutions involved using a standard product in traditional manner. The challenge was to create a sense of randomness in a structured way. Truly random placement or sizing of many objects near each other typically gives the illusion of misalignment. A single presentation on the importance of using structure to create the illusion of randomness was able to quickly get decision makers buy-in after struggling with other vendors concepts for over a year.
The final product was comprised of 3 large puzzle-fit acrylic panels for mounting patent plaques, 119 transparent blue acrylic hexagons, laser engraved and paint filled with patent award details. Paint filling is used with laser engraving to increase contrast of fine details. A zigzag pattern on each side of mounting panels conceals the seams between panels and provides a natural transition for adding new panels. Solid aluminum stand-offs hold each plaque in place. Threaded holes were used to mount stand-offs to panels, eliminating the need access the backside of panels for installation or removal.
ASML was delighted with the results and
Since the initial installation, plaques have been added using hard tooling to drill and tap holes and insure proper alignment on site. When the display was moved to the new location, the white acrylic mounting panels were replaced with identical brush aluminum panels to provide improved contrast with change in color to white wall.
Written by: Mission City Signs
