Sheffield Arts Tower gets a sporty makeover

The sign making team were asked to brand 1800 windows in the Sheffield Arts Tower in the yellow of the winner's jersey, which will provide a vibrant hello to the cyclists. The Tower, the tallest university building in the United Kingdom, can be seen for miles around and will have quite an impact, signalling the arrival of the Tour. The project was no easy feat for Signs Express Sheffield. Due to the nature of the building which is used daily by students and staff, the work needed to be undertaken with minimal possible disruption, the graphics also needed to be easy and quick to install and also to remove. With a tight deadline also in place, the team worked through the night so that a big reveal could be made in the morning. The project was the largest that the sign experts had ever undertaken in a single night, however the team were delighted to be given the opportunity. Calling not just on their own staff, a number of helpers were drafted in, including two people from Signs Express Headquarters in Norwich, four from "The Cafeteria", the design company who Signs Express Sheffield work with on their Sheffield Galleries and The Children's Hospital, Sheffield projects and six people from The Children's Hospital Charity. As this was such a fantastic community project, it was agreed that rather than helpers receiving payment, Signs Express Sheffield would donate £1000 to charities - Artfelt, The Leeds Children's Transplant Team and CLDF. Steve Morris, managing director of the centre commented: 'As a local business, we really enjoy the fact that we are able to have such an active involvement in the local community and this project was no exception. The Tower looked fantastic and we had a great time working together manufacturing and installing all the graphics.' The Tour De France begins on Saturday 5th July in Leeds and finishes on Sunday July 27th in Paris. The gruelling 21 stage event sees 22 teams with 198 riders in total, all competing for the elusive yellow jersey. Signs Express Sheffield opened in February 2004 and offers a comprehensive range of signs and graphics solutions to Sheffield, Rotherham and the surrounding areas.