Signage Journal

3D Illuminated Sign in the Heart of Melbourne CBD

Uncle Tetsu’s came to us for a new sign for their cheesecake shop in the heart of the Melbourne CBD.

We made and installed a 3D illuminated sign with two lights in every letter, and turned the whole shopfront into their brand red.

A 3D illuminated sign with two kinds of LED

Many illuminated letters light up one way: from the front, or with a halo from the back. The Uncle Tetsu’s letters do both.

Each letter has stainless steel returns (the edges) and two kinds of LED inside:

Red LEDs at the back, facing the red panel behind the letters. They give every letter a red halo.
Bright cool-white LEDs at the front, facing the street. They light the white face of each letter.

Two light types in one letter is technical work. Both have to fit inside the same letter: one set facing back to the panel, one facing forward to the street.

The result is what makes the sign stand out: a red halo on the red panel, and a clean white face to the street.

How the 3D illuminated letters were made and installed

Fabrication. We fabricated the letters in our Heidelberg West based workshop.
Panel. The letters are mounted on a red aluminium composite panel (ACM). The panel is the base of the sign.
Wiring and test. We did all the wiring in the workshop and tested the sign lit before it left.
Wrap and paint. On site, we turned the shopfront red. The flat surfaces, which were black, were wrapped in red vinyl. The frame, the curved parts and the pipes were painted in the brand red in two stages: a primer, then the top coat.
Install. The panel, letters already fixed, was installed on top of the fascia.
Power. A certified electrician connected the sign to the existing power point, and it was switched on.

Before and after

Before we started, there was no sign on the front, and the flat surfaces were black. We wrapped and painted the shopfront in the brand red, then installed the new sign.

In daylight, switched off, the sign reads as clean white letters on a red shopfront.

At night, both lights come on: white faces to the street and a red halo on the red panel.

Uncle Tetsu's 3D illuminated sign on a red panel, lit for a daylight test in our Heidelberg West workshop

Light test in the workshop, daylight

Side view of Uncle Tetsu's illuminated letters: stainless steel returns and a red halo on the red panel

Side view: stainless steel returns and the red halo on the panel

Uncle Tetsu's sign lit in the dark in our workshop: white letter faces and a red halo

The same sign in the dark: red halo and white faces

Uncle Tetsu's shopfront in Melbourne CBD before the new sign, with black frames and no sign on the front

Before: the old Uncle Tetsu's shopfront, Melbourne CBD

Uncle Tetsu's new 3D sign switched off in daylight: white letters on a red shopfront in Melbourne CBD

After: the new sign switched off in daylight

Uncle Tetsu's 3D illuminated sign lit at night in Melbourne CBD: white letter faces and a red halo on the red panel

After: Uncle Tetsu's 3D illuminated sign lit, Melbourne CBD

Tip: choose the halo and the background together

A halo is light shining onto the surface behind the letters. So the colour of that surface changes how the halo looks.

Planning a light up sign? Pick the halo colour and the panel or wall colour at the same time. For Uncle Tetsu’s, a red halo on a red panel keeps the whole shopfront in one brand colour.

Thinking about illuminated signs in Melbourne, or 3D illuminated letters for your own shop? Send us a photo of your shopfront and we’ll tell you what works. See another halo-lit job: our Peaky Blinders barbershop sign in St Kilda.

At Sign and Fitouts, our Heidelberg West based workshop is equipped to meet a wide range of Signage needs. Contact us today for a free quote.