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Illuminated monument shows institution's community strength

By Eric Swanson

Municipal Bank, a Bourbonnais, IL-based bank with additional branches in Momence and Manteno, IL, is the type of prudently run financial institution with the strength to withstand troubled times.

Friendly Signs embraced the task of helping Municipal Bank owner Merlin Carlock develop a sign that represents its local standing. He wanted a monument sign for the Bourbonnais location that under-scored the institution’s strength. While considering the project, I noticed the white-brick construction of each branch, the use of pillars, and a few, small, concrete lion sculp-tures around the property. I thought a lion of large stature would let customers know that Municipal Bank offered a strong community presence.

Using Adobe Creative Suite, we developed seven designs for the client to review. However, we expected the lion design would be chosen. In this situation, it made the most sense. I envisioned residents telling visitors to turn “by the bank with the lion sign,” and kids wanting to run errands with their parents just to see the Municipal Bank lion.

Foam and function
Friendly Signs subscribes to several sign-industry and design magazines, including ST, and I’d heard about the work of Chisel 3-D (Atlanta), which produces hardcoated, expanded-polystyrene (EPS) foam sculptures for unconventional signage, and museum and theatrical applications. When we got the green light for the lion design, I immediately thought of that company and the possibility of a coated-foam lion sculpture. Its owner, Gary Bystrom, liked the idea of a 10-ft.-tall lion sculpture as the sign’s centerpiece.

Gary, Sarah Andreina (she managed the project for Municipal Bank) and I carefully considered the lion’s design. I didn’t want it to appear like an afterthought, compared to the rest of the sign. Also, I wanted him to look strong, not scary. I studied lots of lion poses, and decided that a lion on the prowl and roaring, as if standing guard over a rocky hillside, would be the most appropriate design.

We’d never built a sign with this type of material, so I knew it would be a learning process. Gary provided very detailed information about the material, how it would perform, the type of steel structure needed to support the sculpture, and the hardware required to attach it.