Musco Lighting: A Best-in-Class Example of Corporate Signage Systems

When Musco Lighting expanded its corporate headquarters with a new addition and major renovation, they needed a signage partner capable of balancing high-volume interior functionality with complex exterior engineering. Jacyln Taylor, CEO of Taylor REP, engaged Latitude Signage + Design as the design-build partner to bridge the gap between architectural vision and operational reality.

The Ask: Personalizing Functional Signage

The Musco team wanted to celebrate employee longevity by integrating magnetic anniversary medallions into office and workstation signs. The medallions have been a long-standing tradition in Musco Lighting’s company culture, signifying milestone employee anniversaries.

With hundreds of cubicles involved, five sign concepts were presented to the team, and ideas were refined and revised until we reached an approved final design. That design included a magnetic area for 1.5”-diameter, 0.25”-deep medallions to be displayed and easily swapped without damaging the sign face, as employees celebrated their years of service.

Next, a custom seamless hanger was fabricated to work with Musco’s workstation signs. That process started with physical prototyping tests to ensure the system worked prior to producing hundreds of sign hangers. It was designed to be hooked into the fabric, allowing the top cap of the cubicle system to be detached and replaced, so that the workstation signs are a harmonious part of the outer cubicle wall. In the end, hundreds of sign hangers and employee name inserts were fabricated, printed, and installed.

Using the custom anniversary nameplates as inspiration, our production designers began crafting an entire signage family. This included ADA-compliant room identification and wayfinding. The design of these signs included dimensionally printed wood grain that matched the building’s wood laminate and natural wood finishes throughout. This design helped integrate the signage into the architectural environment.

The Challenge: Extreme Coordination on Exterior Signage

An architect-designed illuminated exterior monument sign features two types of illumination: face-lit yellow for the circular brand elements and halo-lit letters that glow against the raw concrete texture.

The unique, cast-in-place concrete exterior monument required perfect coordination before a single drop of concrete was poured. The architect’s designs were turned into production-ready plans with conduit runs and radiuses. It was crucial that every electrical penetration for the illumination was identified and placed with surgical precision prior to the pour. This ensured that when the concrete cured, the Musco brand emerged exactly as intended — permanent and powered.

The halo-lit letters were especially challenging, as each letter required an individual power feed. Close collaboration among production, installers, and electrical experts led to a successful cast-in-place pour.

The Takeaway

Early involvement in the planning stages of a new building or renovation allows us to help clients navigate the complexities of architectural signage and high-volume interior logistics around workstation signs, ADA/fire code, and room identification needs. It also gives us the opportunity to elevate seemingly simple interior signage with cohesive designs that withstand the test of the time.

Have questions about this project? Reach out to us at connect@latitudesignage.com.

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