Beppi’s Gelato Signage
Studio Jensen was pleased to present Beppi’s Gelato with their new signage. As part of their broader visual branding (featured in ‘Communications Design’), we were tasked with designing and fabricating frontage for the store. The goal was to develop signage with a very traditional aesthetic but with a sense of fun, in keeping with an Italian heritage and locally-owned spirit. It was important for the sign to really feel a part of the community and appear as though it had been there for many decades.
The Build
Here the sign is getting close to being ready for powder coating. Once coated, the sign would have crevices sealed with black silicone and the logo panels inserted. But much had to be done to get to this point…
For the rounded edges, I bent a 1" tube to the shape of the sign and cut it down the middle to give me two halves. These halves were then tacked in place to the flat sheet metal.
Once tacked in place, these welds were completed, giving a strong start to the structure. This structure would later be strengthened by angle iron cross members to that doubled as attachment points.
This is what the join looks like when ground and polishing is in process.
Fitting the support 'wings'. These must be beefy to resist lateral forces from wind gusts. They are also fitted at a 2º angle to rest flat against the shiplap building exterior. To ensure a 100% solid base, we actually removed part of the building siding and replaced the underlying insulation foam with solid wood.
Starting to look like a sign now - long way to go though.
Fitting the two halves of the shell. Half of the shell will be permanently attached to the sign, while the outer half must be removable so logo panels can be inserted and changed in the future if required. An inner tab will underlap the shell and be riveted in place: These rivets can easily be drilled out if/when needed.
Fabricating the cantilever arm and supports: This arm was actually bolted from the back in addition to being welded with decorative lateral support gussets added.
The decorative connective structure was not only welded and riveted to the post, but also strapped for maximum strength.
Starting to form the decorative connective structure.
With powder coating complete, next was a solution to keep the logo panels in place and to give maximum resistance to wind gust. A rigid foam structure was fabricated so that any loads would be transferred to the opposing shell frame, which have high strength. This foam structure also gave further unifying strength to the two halves of the shell.
Finished store frontage installed.
