Tuesday, 30 Aug 2016 08:10 GMT

David Catanach

Jo Golding finds out from David Catanach, director of the British Sign and Graphics Association (BSGA), what this year’s British Sign Awards will offer to UK sign-makers

Best of British at the Sign Awards

Why were the BSGA British Sign Awards created?

There have been sign industry awards in the past but, for a variety of reasons, these fell by the wayside. The demand for an awards scheme did not, however, go away and the BSGA Council decided to respond to the demand by launching a new awards scheme under the BSGA banner. As the only representative body for the UK sign industry, we felt we were in a unique position to organise an inclusive awards scheme, open to all UK sign businesses, that had real credibility and meaning.

The aim of the scheme is to recognise and reward the incredible skills of UK sign-makers and provide a best practice focal point for the industry.


Macer Bridges of Vink Lighting (left) presents Signbox’ Mark Bartlett with his company’s award for the Vink Lighting Illuminated Sign of the Year



In terms of the awards presentation, we wanted to create an event that would bring the whole industry together in a relaxed, convivial atmosphere and celebrate the achievements of the winners.

Now in its third year, how will this year’s awards compare to previous years?

We launched the awards in 2014 and were, frankly, amazed at the fantastic response. In 2015 we moved to the East Midlands Conference Centre, situated on the campus at Nottingham University, because the venue is ideally located in the centre of the country and offered far better facilities. We had an attendance of 320, despite an accidental clash with another event.


This stunning canopy and sign reflecting the ‘golden age’ of cinema won Goodwin and Goodwin ‘Architectural Sign of the Year’ in 2015



This year we return to EMCC on November 3rd and, with a clear calendar, are looking forward to an even greater turnout. The format for the awards will remain the same—a reception starting at midday with the integrated ‘sponsors showcase’, followed by lunch and then the presentation of the awards.

The big change this year is our new host, journalist Bill Turnbull, who recently retired after 15 years on the BBC Breakfast sofa. In addition to controlling the presentations, Bill will regale the audience with highlights from his career which included covering the OJ Simpson murder trial and the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Can you tell me about the categories available this year?

There are a total of 14 sign-maker award categories this year, plus the ‘Product of the Year’ award.

Sign-making is an incredibly complex business and the award categories are designed to reflect this. This year we have a couple of new awards, namely the ’Young Sign-Maker of the Year’, intended to recognise the contribution young people (25 and under) make to the industry, and the ‘Wrap of the Year’.

Sign-making is an incredibly complex business and the award categories are designed to reflect this”


Vehicle liveries have always been an important income stream for sign-makers, but with the advent of vehicle wrapping materials and technology, the sector has expanded exponentially. As a result, we have split vehicle graphics into two categories, the first for commercial vehicles—everything from white vans to trains, boats, and planes—and the second for wraps of cars and smaller vehicles for personal, show, or sports use.

A series of awards cover specific signage types including illuminated signs, architectural signs, wayfinding schemes, multi-site roll-out programmes, and wide-format printing, while others look at important signage sectors including retail and interiors.

We also have the Craftsman Award for projects that incorporate a traditional signage skill such as hand-painting, engraving, or gilding. The Small Sign-Maker Award recognises that the vast majority of sign businesses in the UK are SMEs, the Sign Construction Award celebrates the achievements of the ‘backroom’ designers and engineers who make it all happen, and the Innovation Award will go to a business that has demonstrated outstanding creativity and inventiveness.

Full descriptions of all the awards, together with judging criteria and entry forms can be found on the awards website at www.britishsignawards.org.

How will sign businesses benefit from entering the awards and do you have any advice to those who are unsure about whether to get involved?

Virtually every industry and service sector in the UK operates an awards scheme and they all do so because awards have real meaning and value to all who participate. The mere act of entering an award can be a boost for all who have been involved. It shows that the business they work in is proud of work they do.

Of course, the biggest benefits come to those who are shortlisted or go on to win an award. Imagine the value, in marketing terms, of being able to add, for example, ‘Winner, BSGA Wrap of the Year 2016’ to your home page, letterhead, or vehicle livery etc. It impresses your current client base and will help open doors to new clients.

Imagine taking the trophy back to HQ. It has been proven that winning an industry award provides a massive boost to staff morale and generates real pride in the company they work for.

So, the advice is that, if you are in the sign industry and you have produced work you are genuinely proud of, enter it for an award. It costs nothing to enter, apart from a little time, and the awards are open to any sign-maker based in the UK. If you enter and you win, you can enjoy the benefits. If you do not enter, you will never know.

So, the advice is that, if you are in the sign industry and you have produced work you
are genuinely proud of, enter it for an award”


What does the support of companies such as 3M, and all of the sponsors, mean to the awards?

Frankly, without the support of the sponsors, the awards simply would not happen. 3M have been fantastic, stepping up as the main sponsor of the whole awards scheme right from the outset and sticking with us ever since.

This year we have, for the first time, a full-house of sponsors across all the awards and it really is a who’s who of the sign industry—William Smith, Spandex, Epson, Soyang, Metamark, Roland, Nationwide Platforms, SignFab, Complete CNC, Blackburns, Atlantic Tech, Pyramid Display, and not forgetting Trade Etching Direct who do not just sponsor an award, they produce the trophies presented to the winners.

It is also great to have the industry’s two leading trade journals—Signlink and Sign Directions—supporting individual award categories.

We are grateful to all of them. Their involvement makes it possible to not just run the awards, but to develop them into what we hope will be the event of the year for the industry.

What can you tell me about the quality of the signage projects put forward each year?

I cannot tell you anything about the entries for this year, because I do not get to see them until after the judges have done their bit, but if the entries for the past two years are anything to go by, they will be fantastic.


Sign of the Times won ‘Sign of the Year’ in 2014 with its Heinz 57 signage at the Heinz European Innovation Centre in Nijmengen, Holland



Both years have provided great showcases for the skills and abilities of UK sign-makers of every type and size. Sign of the Times, with their brilliant projects for Heinz and at Senator House in London, stole the shows in 2014 and 2015. There was also a whole raft an amazing signs produced by smaller businesses such as the Cambridge Sign Company, winner of both the Small Sign-maker and Commercial Vehicle Awards last year, and Goodwin and Goodwin, another smaller business that won the Architectural Sign of the Year and the Craftsman Award in 2015.

Both years have provided great showcases for the skills and abilities of UK sign-makers of every type and size ”


We had over 300 projects entered in 2015 across all the awards categories and the entries clearly demonstrated the levels of imagination, creativity, technical skill, and traditional crafts that exist in the modern sign industry.


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