The Sky's the Limit

A large globe structure was made from 16 individual pieces and once put together, was suspended by a 7.5t steel plinth, with a massive 6.5m diameter. Working in partnership with Fab Media, who organised all of the ground works, Signs Express (Basildon) applied graphics to each piece, signifying the longitude and latitude points of the World. Due to the size of the structure, only one piece at a time was available to the Signs Express production team; meaning that graphics needed to be perfectly aligned when they were installed, as Signs Express (Basildon) owner Tony Surface explains, 'Each piece of the globe is literally the size of a house and so the sheer scale of the graphics was something we had never undertaken before. It was very important to ensure that all of the lines would align once the globe was pieced together at Heathrow Airport. Thankfully our attention to detail paid off, as each segment's graphics perfectly matched the other.' Signs Express (Basildon) was also called on to add detailing to the five Boeing 777 planes which adorn the globe. Each aeroplane has a wingspan of over 2m and needed to faithfully represent the branding of Turkish Airlines. In addition to these, Signs Express (Basildon) was asked to complete a series of letters to surround the globe and spell out the prime locations that Turkish Airlines fly to. Illuminated for maximum night time visibility, passengers coming into the airport get a view of the high-profile destinations available from Heathrow and incoming visitors then see a different set of destinations when they are leaving the airport terminal. Signs Express (Basildon) was also on hand to provide large scale advertising hoardings with full colour digital printed graphics, which curved around the installation area. Tony was elated with the whole project and stated, 'We were really excited to work on a project of this magnitude and seeing the finished effect of the structure now it is fully installed gives me great pride in the work undertaken by my team.' The entire project took over 3,500 hours to complete and will be seen by millions in the years to come. If you'd like more information on Signs Express (Basildon), and how they may be able to help you with your signage needs, please call them on 01268 247 010 or visit their webpage:www.signsexpress.co.uk/basildon.