Gatorfoam is an ingenious substrate that first came on the market around 20 years ago. It is a durable, yet very lightweight foam material that is best suited for use indoor, although they just introduced an outdoor version of the material recently. Gatorfoam signs are so lightweight that they can be mounted with a strong adhesive, no screws necessary.
These signs can be cut to make dimensional letters or logos and can be finished with specialized laminations that can give them a glossy look or even a brushed or stainless steel finish. The “returns” or the sides of the signs that give them depth, can be painted to create a cool contrast with the face of the sign. The possibilities with Gatorfoam are endless and the price point is great. Its creation has allowed so many to adorn their lobbies with signs that were once reserved for only the largest and wealthiest businesses. We’ve worked on a great number of Gatorfoam lobby sign projects in the Chandler, Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, and Gilbert, AZ. Here are a few that show off this substrate’s great potential.
Western Adventist
Western Adventist Foundation is a Scottsdale based organization that specializes in providing financial management services to charities and donors. Their operation is based out of their Scottsdale, AZ headquarters, and they recently decided their lobby could use an upgrade. When they called us, they were unsure of exactly what they were looking for in the way of a lobby sign, they just wanted it to be dimensional, classy, and attention grabbing.
As far as color, the folks at Western Adventist were immediately drawn to the idea of using letters with a metallic finish. This is a timeless look that exudes trustworthiness and competence. As is often the case, the people at Western Adventist were surprised to learn how easily and inexpensively three dimensional, metallic finished letters could be produced using Gatorfoam. We used black Gatorfoam, which contrasted beautifully with the metallic letters. The Gatorfoam was laster cut into the organization’s signature “W” and the letters were finished with a lamination that gave them a beautiful, shiny finish.
Sapcorda
Sapcorda is a Berlin based company that recently expanded their operation to Scottsdale, AZ. They are a high tech company that develops advanced GPS technology for various applications. Their new Scottsdale offices were pretty plain, and they called on us to help. We provided a lobby sign as well as frosted window vinyl to bring the office to life. Their employees are mostly left-brained engineers and they left most of the design work up to us.
We produced a Gatorfoam lobby sign with their company emblem and name and we finished the letters with a matte paint. Also, the returns on this side were painted the same color as the face, this gives the feel of a cohesive, solid piece. This is the alternative style to the glossy metallic finish that we used with Western Adventist, it also looks great. Sapcorda was so happy with the signs that we made two more that were shipped to the big offices in Berlin.
Empire Wealth Management
Empire Wealth Management is a financial management company in Gilbert, AZ. They are a relatively small operation but they have an incredible emphasis placed on quality in every aspect of their business. Their brand is impeccably fleshed out and expressed with the utmost professionalism in their website and at their offices.
For their lobby signage we used a combination of the styles that are displayed above. The Gatorfoam sign features their icon and their company name. For this sign, the icon and “EMPIRE” were done with brushed silver lamination and the “Wealth Management” portion was done with matte black. The matte black of the subtext matches wonderfully with the visible black returns on the sides of the “EMPIRE” Gatorfoam.
