Following the disruptive effects of Covid-19, family-owned signage fabricator Graffiti Design has enjoyed a record end of year – which has seen it deliver a host of signage solutions for both one-off and roll-out shopfits, plus an increase in enquires for more eco-conscious media and solutions …
With both the pandemic and climate emergency very much on the agenda, businesses have to be increasingly flexible and adapt to change, responding strategically in different ways. At Graffiti Design, the company has supported its existing client base with new approaches to shopfitting, while advancing emerging brands looking to expand their foothold in the UK.
Even during these challenging times, Graffiti is seeing emerging brands leave the world of small mall concession stands to take new high street retail units for the first time. One such brand is Bubble CiTea, whose brand Graffiti is helping to reinvent for the high street.
Graffiti has also been working with established brands – including a rebrand for Flying Tiger, which has seen it roll out new signage to over 16 sites. “It is reassuring to see such growth right now, and to know that there is increasing confidence to invest,” states Graffiti’s MD, Bruce Pestell.
Boom Battle Bars is another thriving new brand that is taking up large, empty retail units in shopping centres up and down the country. Graffiti has worked alongside its shopfitters to incorporate illuminated signage elements into their prefabricated timber furniture. These include acrylic beer-pong tabletops and illuminated tray signs, which run the entire length of the 5m-long bars. “The resulting interiors are illuminated wonders in themselves,” Bruce enthuses, “even before any fun is had playing mini-golf or axe throwing!”
Sustainability in signage is also on the rise, with many clients requesting more eco-conscious solutions. There is a strong focus on reducing, recycling and reusing to minimise material landfill and waste.
Lush, for example, recently commissioned a glue-free letterboard made of recycled content, which Graffiti has mass-produced efficiently for distribution throughout the UK and Europe.
In addition, Barker and Stonehouse, the first large-scale furniture retailer to achieve carbon-neutral status, has continued its work with Graffiti, most recently commissioning reusable PoS stands. Constructed from aluminium, one of the greenest metals available due to its ease of recycling, the stands feature hanging display boards that can be easily swapped or replaced.
With brands such as Lush stating they want to “leave the world Lusher than [they] found it”, and the likes of Selfridges launching drives such as Project Earth (pictured), there is a rise in big brands specifying PVC-free alternatives and requesting more eco-conscious choices.
Following on from this and COP26, Graffiti has launched a new sustainability service. “Aiming to educate and provide information about many of the eco-materials and alternatives readily available, we hope to use it to help brands be kinder to the planet, one sign at a time,” Bruce concludes.
