We were contacted by The Rev. Tim Williams to design and fabricate a new monument sign face for Holy Cross Anglican Church in Franklin. The church, founded in 1978, was originally called St. Dunstan's American Episcopal Church. During various phases of building and growth, several Rectors have served Holy Cross. The Rev. Tim Williams was chosen to serve as Rector in 2010 and continues to serve today.

The beautiful new sign for Holy Cross Anglican Church, located at
4119 Murfreesboro Road in Franklin. 

The original sign for the church was an old, lighted pan sign. The church members removed the old sign and left the structure for us to install the new sign. The Rev. Tim Williams was extremely hands-on with the design and look of the new sign. He wanted the sign to have a very clean and modern feel. We designed the sign with dimensional acrylic letters to add pop and shadow. The Rev. Tim Williams also sent us an image of the cross he wanted to use for the sign: the Canterbury Cross.

A simple design for the Caterbury Cross.

The intricate design beneath the church's name is a replica of the Canterbury Cross. If you aren't familiar with the Canterbury Cross, it is modeled after a Saxon brooch that dates back to the 9th century. The brooch, originally cast in bronze, was discovered in 1867 from beneath St. George's Street in Canterbury, England. The four arms of the cross are made up of triangular panels, which extend from a small square in the center of the design. The outer edges of the arms are arcs that, when looked at as a whole, give the appearance of a circle. The original Canterbury Cross is on display at the Royal Museum in Canterbury. (Just in case you are headed to England anytime soon!) Variations of the original design can be seen in the branding and marketing material for many schools and churches, including Holy Cross Anglican Church here in Franklin.

Now back to the actual sign! Although the church members removed the old sign, they left the original structure for the sign intact. We often assemble signs in our shop and then transport them to their new location; however, we actually fabricated this double-sided sign onsite. We refaced (or reskinned) the structure in white aluminum composite panel material (ACP). ACP is a type of flat panel that consists of two thin sheets of aluminum bonded to a non-aluminum core. For the Holy Cross sign, we capped the ACP with aluminum corners. We then used a vinyl template to make sure that everything was properly aligned. Once everything was lined up perfectly, we adhered the 1/4" thick laser cut acrylic letters to the face of the sign. 

The 1/4" dimensional acrylic letters stand out just enough to provide
a nice drop shadow. This sign will attract viewers during the day and into the
night when it will have landscape lighting shining on it.

We used Silver A and Dark Blue S for the colors of the cross and the letters, respectively. The colors blend in nicely with the cool gray of the sign structure and the church itself, creating a very unified look. Overall, we hear that the church members are very happy with the sign and the new look for their church. We couldn't agree more - we think it looks great!

Are you looking for a new outdoor sign for your business or organization? Maybe your current sign just needs an update! Our design team is here to assist you in creating the outdoor sign that's perfect for you.