Fresh Creative Co. were commissioned by Rebound nightclub at Swansea University to paint 2 sugar skulls with the cut and install of two large scale vinyl signs in their bar area to display the rules for their ping pong tables and also their house rules for beer pong.
METHOD
We were sent the designs for these installations as vector files, which are scalable without losing any quality through pixelation. Our first job was to strip these files down in Adobe Illustrator to their core components to make them ready to cut. A vinyl plotter cuts any path that’s shown on the document, so it’s important to ensure that there are no hidden or double up paths which could cause a problem. The Beer Pong image was two colours, so these also needed to be separated out from each other in order to be cut from different coloured vinyl rolls. Once all this was completed we moved the documents into the cutting software to lay out and cut using our vinyl plotter. We cut the signs in sections, so that each one when finished would consist of four separate panels which we could then recombine on the wall to give us our final image.
Once we had all the lettering cut we next had to weed the designs. Weeding is the process of going through and removing all the vinyl that you don’t need, leaving behind just the design. This is done by hand using a fine blade to pick up the edges. This can be a laborious process as it’s important to ensure that you don’t accidentally lose any elements along the way that you need.
Once the weeding was completed we set about the task of laying out the Beer Pong sign, recombining the red and the grey which of course had had to be cut separately. This was done by using transfer paper to remove the red elements from their backing sheet before replacing them in their correct positions on the backing sheet that housed the grey lettering. The final step of preparation was to the lay transfer paper over all eight panels, this time to aid us in transferring the signs from their backing sheets onto the walls of the venue. With all this done, we grabbed our tools and headed to site.
Upon arrival at the venue we began the task of installing the signs in their new homes. We measured in to find the central point of the walls and then used a laser level to project a vertical line down the centre. Next we found the vertical centre of each individual panel of lettering. Working one panel at a time, we then lined up our marked centre point with our central laser guide, and used a spirit level to make sure it was level. Once the panel was taped in place we peeled back one half and removed the backing paper, leaving the lettering and other elements on the backing paper. Working from our central line out we then used a vinyl application tool to slowly smooth the letters out onto the wall, pressing firmly to stick them down solidly. This was then repeated on the other side, again working from the middle out until the panel was entirely fixed onto the surface. We then slowly removed the transfer paper, making sure not to take any letters with us, leaving our sign in place on the wall. This was then smoothed I’ve one last time to ensure that everything was stuck down properly. This process was then repeated for the remaining seven panels until the signs were complete. Lastly, we tidied up our rubbish, and headed home.
FINISHED PIECES
This was a really fun project to work on and the signs looked really great once they were in situ.
