Client
Campbell's Resort
Case study · Campbell's Resort
How do you design a resort sign a builder can make without guesswork?
New monument signs for the main entrance of Campbell's Resort and two other high-visibility corners. The concept, "Timeless Foundations", uses the resort's own materials and light.
Industry
Hospitality and resorts
Location
Lake Chelan, Washington
Services
Concept development, Research and inspiration, Sketching and design, Material selection, Fabrication guidelines
Outcome hub
Bring customers back
The problem
An entrance sign that no longer matched the resort
The old stone sign at the main entrance read "Resort and Conference Center" in a style older than the new brand. The resort needed signs at three locations that matched its buildings, could be seen early and late in the day, and could be built by a local fabricator.
What we did
Three decisions behind the signs
1. Use the materials guests already see
The signs are Corten steel, the same weathered steel used across the resort's buildings, set in landscaping with local boulders and native plants.
Key takeaway: New pieces feel original when they use the materials already around them.
2. Light them for Lake Chelan summers
Internally lit letters and the Campbell's sun glow through long summer evenings and early mornings, with warm spotlights on the landscaping.
Key takeaway: Design for when customers actually arrive, including after dark.
3. Hand the builder a drawing, not a mood board
Each location got front, side and rear drawings with sizes, post spacing, footing depth and a removable access panel, and the main entrance and Columbia/Woodin signs share one width.
Key takeaway: Clear specs save money and arguments during the build.
Also in this project: the Campbell's Resort website and the Pub & Veranda and Shaka Shack brands.
Inside the project
Before and after, concept sketches for each location, installed signs.
What changed
Before and after, in plain terms
The stone sign was replaced by lit Corten steel signs at the main entrance, the north (Lakeview) entry and the Columbia/Woodin intersection, built from our drawings.
[FIGURE: none needed; the before-and-after photos tell this one.]
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