Your logo is crucial to your company’s image, so you want to make sure that it is represented properly in all of your marketing. Most logos are designed for 2-dimensional use like a digital logo for a website or printed onto business cards or bags. This is why we can run into some challenges when taking a 2-dimensional logo and trying to make it into a 3-dimensional sign.
For example, we recently made this channel letter sign for a design studio that wanted their sign to light up at nighttime. There are two main types of illumination that we use for channel letter signs which are front-lit and reverse-lit. Front-lit channel letters have faces that are removable in case they need to be replaced or the light source needs to be serviced. These faces are usually translucent so the LEDs inside can illuminate the faces. Reverse-lit channel letters are solid with a clear back and are spaced off of the wall a little bit so the LEDs illuminate onto the wall or a backer panel and great a halo-effect around the letters. The faces of reverse channel letters are welded to the returns and are not removable.
The client wanted a front-lit channel letter sign, but their logo is black and black cannot be illuminated. To make sure to stay true to their logo while giving them front-lit channel letters, we use day and night vinyl. Day and night vinyl is a perforated vinyl that comes in a few standard colors and for this sign, we used black day and night vinyl. The vinyl is laid on top of translucent white acrylic faces and the channel letters have white LEDs inside of them. During the day the face of the letters are black, but at nighttime when the LEDs turn on and only internal light is present, you can see the white of the acrylic.