Mapco Express Inc’s mission is to bring a little good into the world. They accomplish this by providing modern, efficient gas stations with warm coffee, tasty snacks, and friendly smiles. Another small way Mapco brings goodness to its employees is through its corporate break area. We recently fabricated and installed a new custom dimensional sign to make the break area at Mapco’s headquarters more inviting!

Over the past few months, we’ve worked on several projects for Mapco’s new headquarters, located just down the road from us in lovely Franklin, TN. We’ve created custom logo signs, wayfinding signage, ADA compliant signage, name plates, modesty panels, and an exciting tensioned display system for Mapco’s new branded interior. (Look for an article on the tensioned display system coming soon!) The attractive new custom sign for the break area was created as another finishing touch to help Mapco’s corporate employees and visitors feel welcome.

To begin this project, we visited Mapco’s headquarters to take photos of the area where the sign would be installed (just over the coffee bar), as well as take measurements. As you can see, the space needed a little help!

The coffee bar in the break area at Mapco's new headquarters was looking a little bare. We were hired to fabricate a beautiful new custom hanging sign to make it more inviting!

The original design layout, including the fonts, icons and wording, was supplied by Mapco. It was our job to figure out what materials to use, how to fabricate the individual pieces, and how to assemble and install the dimensional sign.

To create dimension, the larger main panel and smaller round panels stand out from the wooden panels at different depths.

To fabricate the sign, we started with a 70” x 28” matte black acrylic panel. We rounded the corners and then UV printed the white text and graphics onto the surface of the panel using our flatbed printer. To add dimension, we laser cut the name “Kris Ledlow” out of ⅛” white gloss acrylic and adhered the acrylic letters onto the sign. This created beautiful proportions, and the shiny appearance of the letters provided an appealing contrast against the matte black panel.

For the smaller, round icon panels, we printed the colored graphics onto white PVC. We used the same process to laser cut the outlines of the icons out of ⅛” white gloss acrylic. We adhered the acrylic icons onto the round panels, which again created depth as well as contrast between the glossy icons and matte color underneath.  

To create the back portion of the sign, we used two ¼” birch panels with a custom, digitally printed wood grain panel which matched the look of the wood in the ceiling above the bar. The panels were added to provide further dimension and richness to the completed sign.

Once all of the pieces were ready, we travelled to Mapco’s headquarters and began the installation process. We bolted a custom frame to the ceiling above the coffee bar. We secured the larger main acrylic panel to the front of the frame, and then secured the birch panels to the back of the frame, two inches behind the main panel. The round icon panels were then installed on the wooden panels to stand off at different depths. The completed hanging sign measures 112.5” x 28”. We love the new break area sign, and now we’re ready to enjoy a good cup of joe!

As you can see, the new coffee bar area is much more welcoming now that the new dimensional sign has been installed! 

The beautiful new custom hanging sign doesn’t just direct employees to coffee and snacks … it also has a greater purpose. It was designed in loving memory of a special Mapco employee, Kris Ledlow.

The custom signs and projects we’ve created for Mapco’s headquarters are part of the company’s new branded environment. This means that all of the elements work together to create brand awareness and value in the minds of visitors and employees. The repeated use of the Mapco brand throughout the headquarters also strengthens brand recognition.  

We enjoy using our creative talents to design, engineer and fabricate custom interior signage. If your company or organization is looking for custom signage solutions, give us a call at (615) 595-6564 or click on the link below. In addition to signage and branded interiors, we also specialize in full-coverage vehicle wraps, partial vehicle wraps, advertising wraps, and more! We serve all of Middle Tennessee, including Nashville, Franklin, Brentwood, Murfreesboro, Hendersonville, Spring Hill, and Clarksville.