This project would have to be one of the most technically challenging yet deeply satisfying that we’ve ever completed.

Traffic Cop Bay painted by the late great Bill Hammond was never intended to be reproduced this way but it sure fits the space perfectly in more ways than one.

The biggest challenges we faced on this one was the sheer size and scale of the job, ensuring that our x41 (8m) drops of vinyl would line up perfectly and tackling the intricate fascia profile without blowing out the imagery.

The satisfaction came from seeing how much this meant to the awesome community of Lyttelton - having daily chats with the locals passing by as they shared their stories and memories of the artist and the execution of our many hours of product testing and planning.

The cherry on top for this project was that it was awarded a GOLD medal at the 2024 New Zealand Sign and Display Association Awards.

This will go down as one of our most “Outstanding” ever.

Check out this incredible overview video that really shows what it meant to all those involved.

South Island Branding Roll Out

A project of this scale and nature requires a large team and a collaborative approach to working together to achieve a common goal.

We were first contacted by NPD to produce and install the interior graphics for their retail sites (launching the Refresh Cafe brand) - which has now lead to us installing all of the exterior, forecourt and carwash signage as well! 

Working closely with NPD head office (Nelson), BPM - the Project Management Company (Wellington) and MAG Assembly, who make the sign extrusions (Auckland), Downing Design and both SIS (South Island Screen Printers) and Cutting Edge Graphics (all Nelson) who produce and apply the graphic elements, this truly is a collaborative project!

This is one of the fastest growing Petrol Station brands in NZ and we’re honored to be part of this little bit of history for NPD.

The sites look amazing inside and out and even better at night when the iconic blue LED strip lighting is visible from miles away! 

Services: Project Management, Logistics, Installation

A couple of weeks back we completed this awesome van wrap for the team at Layne Watson Plumbing.

Emma and Layne we’re keen to do something a little different to turn heads and really get noticed... in fact they said they came to us because they really wanted to “Stand Out!”

With a really open design brief, our design team took the lead and went nuts with this idea!

To add to the awesome design we matte laminated the background colour and then added full glossy graphics over the top for an epic finish.

One of our Core Values here at SNL is “Be Proud of What You Produce” and the whole team that were involved with this project couldn’t be happier with the results!

Outstanding at Making You Stand Out!!

Services: Design, Digital Printing, Graphic Application

Bespoke Illumination

The team at Bacon Bros desperately wanted a hanging lightbox that complimented their iconic Little High Eatery site whilst also helping them “Stand Out” from the other food vendors. 

This sign project just won (2019) a Bronze Medal at the New Zealand Sign and Display Association for Illumination - we’re extremely proud of this result!

With a completely open brief (and a trusting client) our Design team went to work.

The illumination of the logo was pretty straightforward, utilising push-through opal acrylic panels routered in-house on our CNC machine.

The rest of the job was anything but standard. We welded, ground, beat, scratched and layered a bunch of paint effects to pull off the “aged gem” look that we wanted and complimented the paintwork with 34 incandescent LED bulbs to give the whole project a believable yester-year effect.

The lightbox was then installed and it instantly looked like it belonged there all along!

Services: Design, Illumination, CNC, Effects, Installation

Office Fitout

Corcoran French Lawyers were displaced during the Christchurch Earthquakes and upon the opportunity to move to their new permanent offices, they left no stone unturned.

We worked quite closely with the client and the very clever buggers at Dalman Architects of Interiors to deliver a space that I would happily hang my hat in for 40 hours a week.

From custom printed wallpaper and carpet to bespoke joinery and a bold colour pallet that work seamlessly together, our signage elements really added to the overall look, feel and style of the fit-out whilst being very true to the brand. There are so many highlights to this project but here are our favourites… 

•  The custom-designed 3D Core Value wall display.

•  The feature wall prints in the toilets that match the colour pallet of each toilet door.

•  The one-way window graphic applied to the glasswork in the lobby, which really defines the entrance to the building without destroying the natural light entering the stairwell.

•  The double-layered frosted glass effects in the boardroom and meeting rooms.

•  The subtle blue on blue 3D Welcome graphics in the stairwell

•  The huge corner-mounted, illuminated signage on the street side tower.

The absolute key to the success of this project was the collaboration of all parties involved. Ideas, suggestions and solutions were discussed openly and honestly and it was a real team effort.

Services: Design, Illumination, CNC, Window Films, Graphics, Installation

The team at SuperTyre got us involved to help them with the move from one premise to this state-of-the-art tyre changing facility.

Moving your business, especially when you have gear this BIG can be an arduous task at the best of times and this sure was a collaborative team effort between the Construction Company, Interior Designer, Agency and Client.

This project was really rewarding for us as it showcased so many different signage elements. From the large illuminated channel letters on the front of the building, to the huge 7m tall illuminated plinth sign inside the showroom and offices. The WOW moments continued with some stunning signage features and out in the workshop, we created 6 massive billboards highlighting some of the main partner (tyre) brands.

Services: Fabrication, Illumination, Installation, Large Format Printing, Window Graphics, CNC.

Bespoke Sign

When we saw the design and location of this sign we knew there was the ability to do something special. The problem was, we only had 5 days to complete it before the venue’s first booking!

We put forward two completely different concepts to the team at The Old Kaikoura Winery. One was a digitally printed solution, which was cheaper and would have been much faster to produce. The second was a more authentic option, which was a little hard to describe on paper. Luckily, the client, which we hadn’t met in person at this stage, took a leap of faith and trusted us to deliver the authentic version.

After a quick all-hands meeting with some of our key team members, a plan was hatched to build, pack and install the sign within a now 4-day period.

This saw our team rifling through 2nd hand timber at recycling yards, burning, aging (a flash way to say “beating up the timber”), staining and applying a whole lot of love to this project.

The second tricky part to consider was the installation. We could only spare 2 of our team for the installation at short notice and the remote location of the sign and lack of power to the site all added to the complexity. We also needed to be able to physically lift the sign with our manpower, so it was built in manageable sections that could be assembled onsite.

As there was no time to visit the site pre-install we had to come up with a range of contingency plans that gave us the flexibility to ensure we could deliver on time for the clients. 

Services: Bespoke Craftsmanship, Installation

Nationwide Rebrand

We worked really closely with the Fairview National Marketing Team and in total, rebranded 16 sites (external building signage and internal showrooms) and approx 50 vehicles across the South Island and collaboratively designed the signage for most of the North Island sites.

The dramatic rebrand really transformed each site and we have some amazing before and afters to prove it!

We looked to partner with a painting contractor to complete this project but logistically it was too hard and we made the decision at a very early stage to undertake all of the painting work ourselves. This allowed us to control the timeline of the projects and minimised any budget blow-outs. More importantly, we were able to offer consistency to the project to ensure the brand was rolled out perfectly from site to site.

Each site had its own set of logistical challenges from finding suitable accommodation for our team, the remote location of some sites and of course the weather played a major role.

Technically this rebrand allowed us to showcase a variety of skills from the large hand-painted “Love Your View” to the custom-printed wallpapers used in the showrooms.

This lead to us winning a Silver Medal at the New Zealand Sign and Display Association Awards for Corporate Branding and Identity. We were extremely happy to share this achievement with the team at Fairview shortly after at their South Island Conference. 

Services: Collaboration, Painting, CNC, Wall Graphics, Vehicle Graphics, Installation

New Office Signage

The team at Lightning Construction had always had their offices attached to their yard, but they desperately wanted a space where they could host their clients. One that would give them more credibility and the opportunity to focus on the customer’s needs.

Chris and the team at Lightning had been long-time customers and gave us full scope to do what we wanted with their space! 

There were a couple of requirements and a few things to work around. One was the large artwork in the Reception area that the landlord did not want to be removed. We digitally printed an overlay that fitted into the existing frame and turned the print into a giant iPhone. This was to show off their recently completed, new website and to hammer home one of the company’s pillar content messages.

The landlord also didn’t want any signage drilled or glued onto the fascia, so we made the most of the large upstairs windows as sign-writing space. However, these windows were situated in the boardroom, so rather than block out the natural sunlight and view, we printed on a one-way vision material, which gives the best of both worlds.

Chris’s team built a false wall to hide the view of their filing area, so, rather than print a custom wallpaper we opted to print directly to the 18mm MDF panels which had a great texture and subtle wood grain running through them.

The boardroom was where Chris really wanted a WOW effect so we custom-printed his boardroom table with scale versions of things that you would find on any project Manager’s table. From a calculator, iPad and Gantt chart to some neat little details like coffee stains and handwritten reminders in notepads… we even managed to squeeze one of our business cards in there with a note saying “Call the sign guys”.

Services: Design, CNC, Window Films, Direct to Substrate Printing, Installation