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Impressing a new identity upon something that already has its own celebrity isn’t without its challenges but we have a gift for looking at problems like that in terms of the solutions that solve them. And so it was with ‘BNB.’ We had great support from our client who participated in the creative processes and together we landed on something that’s really special to us, and that does exactly what our client wanted it to do.

We produced a Brand Bible centred around a new logo we designed. As we’re fond of saying, Voodoo is cast in the role of a signmaker but the company is also a commercial designer of some repute. The Brand Bible does the job it’s meant to do – it doesn’t give anyone contracted to work with our client’s shiny new assets any latitude for reinventing, bastardising, or meddling with them. That’s not to say it confines creative application – it doesn’t. It just ensures that anything from merch to press advertising produced in our client’s name reflects our client’s ID, and does so well.

We’re particularly attached to the logo despite it being one among others beyond count we’ve created over the years. It’s an evidently simply assembly of elements that reads as a double ‘B’ but its arrangement and geometry speak realms. We dedicated a page in the Bible to explain but it merits repeating. There are intersecting elements that suggest a crossing-of-ways or a point of community focus. The wavy bottom edge acknowledges reflections, perhaps in a swimming pool. The bowls of the B itself morph to become hand-rails to exit and enter a pool and even the voids in the B manage to look a little like pool floats. Design works best when restrained and used to contrast and counterpoint a context. We’ve been told our logo achieves that.

This was all reduced to practice recently when we got the chance to make new office signage in the name of promoting this new ID for BNB. That worked out brilliantly and succeeded in turning the iconic building into a distinctive part of the community that’s respectful of its recent, and not-so-recent past and its local standing.

BNB was quite the journey for our creatives and the outcome one that we’re proud to associate with Voodoo DesignWorks. It’s hard to put a price on such a thing from an exterior perspective but it surely has to start with the difference in value between any old office space, and something with a distinctive and colourful ID that confers quality and a real sense of location. That in turn makes the location desirable and the basic idea of offices accommodated in notable buildings is known to be scalable anywhere.

Were you to want to explore something similar with Voodoo DesignWorks, a door-opening conversation with our team costs nothing at all. We’d genuinely welcome your call and the opportunity to look at your project.

A brand as well-known and as carefully managed as Barbour Will always be prescriptive in terms of its signage and its design. So on this occasion, the Voodoo DesignWorks creative team’s primary responsibility to the job would be compliance with the customers corporate identity.

The job required the manufacture of a form and aluminium pan which would need to be stencil cut to receive lettering and would also need to be stove enamelled in Barbour’s colours. A matching projecting sign fabricated along very similar lines would also need to be made.

The Voodoo production team produced the signage lettering from Perspex which was cut on Voodoo’s production router before being glued and flame-polished. The resulting lettering elements could then be inlaid and secured to the aluminium stencil cut fascia pan.

Lighting for the illuminated sign was provided by an array of LEDs. Despite the installation being an interior sign, Voodoo production used an IP rated illumination source. An acrylic diffuser, again Perspex was used to achieve a smooth lighting effect.

The matching projecting sign was manufactured from stove enamelled aluminium and decorated with cut vinyl lettering made from Metamark M7. The polar White film contrasts crisply with the regulation, green background mandated by Barbour’s corporate ID.

The Voodoo installation team is a familiar sight at Gloucester Quays. It was no stranger to the very shop where it was required to fit the illuminated fascia sign for Barbour either having attended the unit before.

Installation was a relatively simple undertaking involving the removal of the previous occupier’s signage, which was taken away for recycling, and simply installing the replacements for Barbour.

Barbour now has an instantly recognisable sign above its shop at Gloucester Quays, and a matching projecting sign ensuring that, no matter what angle pedestrian traffic approaches from, the unit will be visible to them.

Because of its strictly coordinated corporate identity and the quality of its service and food, Nandos is an instantly recognisable destination of choice for countless thousands. The Voodoo DesignWorks turned on the lights for Nandos when it arrived at Gloucester Quays Leisure Quarter with exterior illuminated restaurant signs and themed interior digital print.

Bristol Signmaker Voodoo has a long standing relationship with Gloucester Quays and with the retail shops, restaurants and other businesses and facilities there. When the popular restaurant chain Nandos arrived in Gloucester Quays Leisure Quarter, Voodoo provided the elements of Nandos restaurant branding that make it such an iconic presence.

The Voodoo team designed and built the illuminated sign structure in house. Because the team used special finishing effects, the results are in character.

We installed push through lettering  via routed apertures in the illuminated sign tray with each flame polished and capped. Colour matching needed for the client’s corporate identity was achieved using coloured self adhesive vinyl.

We made a fabricated sign tray that  is something to behold from the outside.  Those who are familiar with such structures find the internals equally attractive. LED’s provide the light needed to achieve the needed stand-out among other illuminated signs in Gloucester Quays because they do so brilliantly. Unlike traditional illumination sources, they run relatively cool and are increasingly energy efficient.

The Voodoo team also applied its skills to the restaurant interior design. We printed digital murals in house using modern digital décor media. We used a state-of-the-art wide format printing system and applied the results to the restaurant’s interior wall consequently creating the prescribed ambient effect. It works.

So how does a sign maker in Bristol get to deliver restaurant signs in a retail development nearby? Voodoo has an established relationship with Gloucester Quays and has delivered projects as diverse as large format exterior banners and fascia signs there. Voodoo has also provided identity continuations such as window graphics and many other inventive restaurant signs solutions.

Tony Baxter, Director of Voodoo DesignWorks comments. “There are some very inventive people out there who are looking for signs. We take the view that what they’re really asking is – how can I brand my business?”

He’s right. Voodoo has entertained some very interesting restaurant sign ideas in particular.

“Ideas come to us that could sometime be described as off piste. Such ideas will never be met with blank looks. Voodoo can make new things look old. We  get light into the darkest corners.  Get in touch. Our team will do what it takes to make your signs work, and work hard.”