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Sign-seeing Adventure: The French Riviera
By Mark Roberts
Being involved in the sign business for twenty-nine years now, I’ve become more and more interested in the various signs in other markets—and especially in other parts of the world. This past July, my daughter Tiffany treated myself, my wife Sherry, and my son Grant to a European cruise from Barcelona to Cannes, France and then on to four stops in Italy.
During this time, I also managed to survey the signage I noticed during our excursions. In the November issue of Sign Builder Illustrated, I took a look at some of the unique signs (and materials) I found in the French Riviera—Cannes, France!
We didn’t have enough print space to publish the photos of all the signs we found over in this area. This online exclusive will provide a forum for these interesting sign examples. I hope you enjoy them:
Photo 1. This is a nice, full-coverage wrap on a Mini Cooper, which advertised a party being held that evening near the auditorium for the Cannes Film Festival. Wow. Wrapping a vehicle to advertise a party? The sign shop must stay busy wrapping that same Mini Cooper for various events.
Photo 2. Here’s a fully digital-printed banner that’s been stretched onto an aluminum frame.
Photo 3. This is a huge digitally printed window perforated film wrap installed on the corner of an office building. The print covers three floors of the corner of this office building.
Photo 4. Here’s an example of a very nice and clean vinyl-lettered police car. This is not a digital print wrap. It’s all cut-vinyl.
Photo 5. All pharmacies in France and Italy have identical green trim capped letters or green luminous tube signs. Pharmacies are quite different in Europe, as they offer medical treatments, injections, and other first-aid treatments.
Photo 6. These porcelain enamel directional signs are pan-formed, with the graphics baked into the background. The photo on the back of these signs shows a mounting method similar to the uni-strut system found in the United States.
Photo 7. Here’s a very impressive glazed tile pictorial sign advertising a perfume maker, his ingredients, and his products for sale. The bottom copy says: “Outfit of a perfume maker,” although I would doubt these guys actually wore garments decorated in such a manner.
Photo 8. This is a double-sided steel sign that advertises a hotel, similar in construction to a channel letter—although much stronger and suspended with heavy chain.
Photo 9. Here’s a nice wooden and wrought iron sign advertising an art studio, located in St. Paul de Venice, France.
Photo 10. Tiffany and Sherry Roberts stand outside a perfumery in Nice, France. The sign is made from painted steel and hand-lettered with enamels.
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