The Opportunity
Once the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation took full ownership of the State Fair of Virginia, the management wanted to update the look of the fairgrounds to create excitement about the annual event.
The Challenge
The Farm Bureau called FASTSIGNS® of Richmond, Virginia with a challenge of creating new wayfinding signage to give visitors an improved fair experience. In previous years, fairgoers were confused about where to go and were unaware of all the events and attractions available.
The Solution
FASTSIGNS' Tim Dalton, Director of Key Accounts, met with the Farm Bureau's Greg Hicks, Vice-President of Communications, to discuss ideas for directional signs and visual graphics to brand the venue. With the Virginia State Fair spread out in many different areas, the venue needed consistent branding that incorporated their new logo.
Brainstorming unique ideas to draw attention, the FASTSIGNS team designed a unique welcome graphic for the tunnel leading to the state fair. The 80 ft. by 20 ft. mural is located 200 yards from the main ticket entrance and provides a grand entrance as patrons walk to the fairgrounds. Using Rough Rap material on the concrete tunnel, FASTSIGNS provided clear graphics that were noticed by everyone entering the fair.
FASTSIGNS also suggested color coding the signage and memorable graphics to provide a cohesive look and generate visual interest.
"We worked with the Farm Bureau on color coding all of the signage and met weekly to make suggestions for new wayfinding signage," Dalton said. "It was a highly collaborative effort."
Dalton and his team designed graphics to complement the Farm Bureau's names for various locations including the Midway Madness, Festival Loop, Young MacDonald's Farm, the Thrill Pit and Kidway Rides and Games. FASTSIGNS helped to identify each section of the fairground and added signs to draw more attention to various events on the Festival Stage, the Destruction Derby and the Pig Races.
FASTSIGNS placed 20 A-frame directional signs and 12 wayfinding signs in high traffic areas at the state fair. The directional signs featured white circles designed with space for arrow decals, allowing the organizers to remove the graphics and change the signs in the future.
The fair's site signs were updated so that wayfinding, directional signs and banners were included in each fair ring, such as the Destruction Derby. The team designed a colorful fair map and directional signs with brief summaries of each fair attraction.
Initially, FASTSIGNS added vehicle graphics to a school bus to help the Farm Bureau promote the fair in a TV commercial. Fair organizers later parked the wrapped bus in different locations as a mobile advertising tool and used Facebook to promote ticket giveaways.
The Result
The innovative design consultants at FASTSIGNS completed several branding projects for the Virginia State Fair that looked spectacular. Making a grand impression on fairgoers, the team demonstrated that any surface (including a tunnel) can be branded to give visitors a unique experience.
