January 9. 2008
An Inside Look: From desk blocks to banners, Sign Center stays busy year-round
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They assist in directing students to class.
They help introduce new employees.
They even help the Purdue cheerleaders get the crowd fired up at games.
These employees work at Purdue's Sign Center, located in the Physical Facilities Service Building. The Sign Center fulfills more than 2,000 orders per year, including street signs, desk blocks, name tags, banners and the cheerleaders' megaphones and signs.
"I think that people are surprised with all that we do," says Matthew Marks, sign machine operator. "We can make street signs, print banners or work on a display for the State Fair. People donÕt realize we do a lot of these things."
The bulk of the center's work comes from the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, the Special Events Office, Purdue Grounds Department and Parking Facilities, Marks says. Purdue's colleges and the regional campuses also help keep the center busy year-round.
Crew chief Carol Farrell says the jobs can cost as little as $10 or run up into the thousands. The center charges for labor and materials. Materials used for signs include vinyl, aluminum sign blanks, magnetic material, sign foam, wood and plastics such as acrylic and PVC .
In addition to meeting with clients to discuss sign concepts, use and materials, the staff designs, fabricates, delivers and often installs the creations.
Farrell says many projects involve assistance from other shops such as sheet metal, carpentry, painting, grounds operation and zones.
"It takes a lot of teamwork and coordination to get these projects done," Farrell says.
Recently, the center worked on a project with Jim Lathrop, director of strength and conditioning, for Mollenkopf Athletic Center's weight room. Lathrop wanted to post large graphics that would represent three key training areas: speed, power and strength.
Lathrop discussed the training concepts with Sign Center staff and gave them pictures of a sprinter and weight-lifters for inspiration.
"I told them my idea and then let them run with it," he says. "They ended up creating my vision."
The Sign Center created three 6-foot-by-12-foot graphics made from a combination of PVC sign material and printed vinyl. A silhouette of a sprinter represents speed; a weight-lifter performing a squat shows strength; and a weight-lifter performing a power clean highlights power.
Marks also designed a new strength and conditioning logo, which features crossed weight-lifting bars behind a shield. The shield has a flying P in the foreground and incorporates elements of the speed, power and strength graphics into its background. The 16-foot-by-16-foot logo hangs above the offices at the back of the weight room.
"People who have seen these graphics or asked about them have responded very favorably," Lathop says. "They did a great job."
And that's the type of feedback Farrell likes to hear.
"We can compete with most other commercially made sign out there," she says. "We strive to come up with unique and creative designs. Hopefully, departments and customers will come to rely on our abilities."