Last December, we were contacted by Ameren Missouri, the largest electric power provider in Missouri. Ameren has chosen to partner with Signature Signs & Graphics, Inc on several unique projects. In late 2014 Ameren began producing electricity from a solar field in O'Fallon. They found that many people were interested in learning how solar energy worked. We were asked to design a signage display that would be used to educate those interested in solar energy.
T
he guidelines we were given by Ameren were that they wanted something that looked modern and industrial, as well as being strong and durable. The design team at Signature Signs & Graphics, Inc. immediately went to work on developing a solution that would not just meet their expectations, but hopefully exceed them.
Our design consisted of 3 post and panel structures fabricated from aluminum and powder coated in metallic silver. The middle structure included a 4 foot x 8 foot panel for display while the two sides inclu
ded 4 foot x 4 foot panels. Additional posts with arms were added to hold some faux solar panels. Rather than applying graphics directly to the panels, the team thought that using standoffs to hold brushed aluminum composite panels would not only add a nice design element but also be functional in replacing or updating any graphics in the future.
The information and graphics that are on the panels were supplied by the Ameren Marketing team. We printed the graphics on a high performance vinyl on our large format, solvent, inkjet printer. For additional protection, the prints were laminated with a UV laminate before they were applied to the sign panels. The signs were assembly in our shop and transported to Ameren's O'Fallon Renewable Energy Center where we installed them. People can now stop and see the solar field but also learn how this clean energy is captured and transmitted.
We would like to thank our partners at Ameren for giving us the opportunity to work with them on this project. As always, we look forward to working with Ameren on future project.
