Gorta Ask The Big Question...

Is it possible to make hunger history?

Gorta, Ireland's oldest charity, last week marked the launch of their online video initiative, makehungerhistory.org, which aims to collect opinions and feedback from members of the public on the issue of global hunger. With one in seven people worldwide now going hungry, this initiative aimsto help inform and mobilise the public in the fight against hunger and poverty.

Minister for Community, Rural & Gaeltacht affairs, Eamon O'Cuiv, joined Gorta CEO, Brian Hanratty, at the Dublin Docklands to launch the site, just days before the National Famine Commemoration Day took place in Skibbereen to commemorate victims of the Great Irish Famine.

INTO Annual Congress Display

Many issues were discussed at the 2009 INTO Annual Congress last Tuesday in Letterkenny, including the issue of renting pre-fabs for school buildings and the possibility of a day of action in the next few months. There was no love lost between delegates and the Minister for Education, Batt O'Keeffe, and an estimated 30 delegates walked out of the congress to show their distaste for recent cuts in the education sector. Above is an image of the stand we produced for this 'eventful' event.

More Customer Comments...

Our Testimonial page on the website is now full to capacity, so I'm going to add the latest batch here...


' We would just like to say a big thank you to yourself and Declan for
all your help with the presentation. It all turned out really well in the end
(despite all the last minute changes). Our client Jurys Inns were also
very complimentary.'

Siobhan Ward,
Urban Innovations.



‘…thanks for all the help. The stand looked great and worked very well… Apprec all your help and advice…’

Mona Reilly,
Director,
Team PR Reilly.



… Thanks for getting the stands turned around so quickly – they look great…

Aisling Donovan,
Marketing Executive,
Aer Arran.



… It has been a pleasure doing business with you. … very professional…

Michael Sweeney,
Rally Ireland.



… Your guys fitted the sign yesterday and did a good job. Am very happy with how it worked out.…

Daniel Kearney,
General Manager,
Iveagh Fitness Club.

Applied Signs & Display find Work Life Balance at the European Parliament

Earlier this month the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions held their 'Living and Working in Europe Event' at the European Parliament. Applied Signs & Display's involvement was to produce and set up various portable displays at the parliament buildings in Brussels.

Topics covered at the event included migration, flexicurity, active aging and working time.

This was an impressive job which used the space and light of the building well, and by all accounts it was fun to set up too (especially for the alpinists who hung the hanging signs!).

Peugeot 4007 in Action at Top Gear Live

Just got some great images through of the Peugeot 4007 in action at Top Gear Live, graphics by Applied Signs & Display! Let me know what you think...

The Apprentice Final - And Other Recent TV Appearances!

Our work has once again appeared in TV3's The Apprentice, and God were we proud! Our Swift Banner Stand produced for Temple Street Children's Hospital was placed beside finalist Nicky as she made her introductory speech. It didn't help her to win the series but Nicky's team raised €18000+ for the hospital during the charity auction, and we like to think that the curl-resistant, ultra-matte finish Swift Banner didn't hurt!

We can also be seen on your screens at the moment, on the ad for Jason Byrne's new DVD, The Byrne Identity. We produced the colourful backdrop stand - its amzing how versatile and imposing a simple flat pop up stand can be.

Conference Backdrop for Concern Fighting Hunger Conference

This week we have designed and produced a backdrop Pop Up Display for Concern's Fighting Hunger Conference which takes place on Thursday. This event will feature contributions from Mary Robinson, Jeffrey Sachs, director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University in New York, as well as Kofi Annan in his capcity as Chairperson if the The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. Further details are available here...

Plan Expo '08 Preview for Exhibitors

As suppliers of Portable Displays to numerous regular Plan Expo exhibitors, including:

Quinn
Kingspan
Henco Group
Contach Accessories
Easy Screed
Gerkros Heating Technology
Gypsum Industries
Bord Gais
Health and Safety Authority
Incontrol House Automation
Schneider Electric
Moy Isover
Newbridge Metal
Sustainable Energy Ireland

among others, we are in the perfect position to give you a preview of the upcoming Plan Expo '08 event in the RDS. This show, taking place from the 4th to the 6th November, is in its 26th year, and is a perennially popular fixture in the construction industry's calendar. This year it will feature the Irish Home Builders Association Business Seminar and the EcoBuild sub-show, focusing on sustainable energy.

The trend in Display Stands at Plan Expo has, for many years now, been towards stands with considerable height, and stands with attractive, robust aluminium elements. Longer extrusions can be used to to ensure that your display is seen above the masses of people and traditional displays, and custom finials can be used to make sure that your corporate colours or logo is clearly on display.



Another display element growing in popularity is plasma screens and moving or revolving elements which grab the eye. Using modular displays these items can easily be incorporated into even the smallest display, and the beauty is that these stands are fully modular and reconfigurable so if your next exhibtion space is larger, smaller or a different shape your stand can be adapted to suit. This display hardware is available to buy and hire so there is no need to sacrifice impact for budgetary reasons.


If you have any questions about exhibiting at Plan Expo '08 don't hesitate to contact us by phone or email.

First Report from Applied Signs & Display 20th Birthday Party

Full report to follow shortly, but here are a few photos from the event. You can see our new Nomadic Display showroom stand in the background, replete with full bar area with canopy and seating. Thanks to all who came along and made the day so enjoyable...

Applied Signs & Display Help the OPW Signpost Bloom 2008

Bloom 2008 comes to town tomorrow and it promises to be a huge attraction over the June bank holiday weekend. Hosted by Bord Bia in association with Tesco, Keelings, OPW, Pfizer and Failte Ireland, this event will feature a number of 'Show Gardens' including a Health and Wellness Garden, sponsored by Pfizer, and Sandscape Garden, sponsored by Ford, and a Serenity Garden, sponsored by Urban Landscape Design.

For our part, Applied Signs & Display are providing extensive informational signage for the OPW which will allow visitors to Bloom to find their way easily around the Pheonix Park Event. We have also provided attractive pop up display stands with graphic panels to both the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland and the Gardeners and Landscape Designers Association, as well as Pull Up Banner Stands for Mad Flowers.

Graphic Backdrop for DAA 'Airport City' Announcement

The weekend before last we got to flex our conference muscles yet again when we produced and set up the graphic backdrop for the Dublin Airport Authority's announcement of plans to create a high-rise Airport City at Dublin Airport in Cloghran. The proposal includes 600000 square metres of office space and would be expected to lead to the creation of 30000 jobs, 10000 of which would be new jobs. To complement this announcement the DAA used an extensive backdrop, a projection screen, podium graphics and other displays, along with lighting and an impressive scaled model of the planned development. For more information on creating an impressive display like this contact sean@appliedsigns. Footage of the event and branding can be seen by clicking on the movie camera symbol below the header, here.

Irish Business Women Conference

The Irish Business Women website is a resource which I regularly make use of, and I have made contact with quite a few interesting and knowledgeable business people through this busy forum (both male and female, surprisingly enough). The IBW are also customers of ours, having purchased a Nomadic Pop Up Display stand and accessories in the last few years. For this reason I thought it was worth mentioning that their annual conference is taking place this year on the Thursday 29th May in the Mullingar Park Hotel. The theme this year is 'Inspiring Women' and the line up includes Susan Stockdale, author of "Secrets of Successful Women Entrepreneurs”, Maria Waters of Monogram.ie, Senator Mary White, Noemi Beres of Reservacar, Jenni Woolfson of Poshfizz and Celebrity Cook and successful business woman Jenny Bristow. Discounted tickets are available if you book before the end of April, more info is available here...

GAA Congress Backdrop

Conference Backdrops and Stage Branding are some of our favourite projects here at Applied Signs & Display, so we were thrilled to be asked to provide the graphic backdrop for such a prestigious and high-profile event as the 2008 GAA Congress, which took place last weekend in Rosse's Point, Sligo. The stand we provided was a 14m wide flat Nomadic pop up stand, with full graphic wrap which allowed for a striking large-scale graphic, and was complemented by branding for the table front and podium, uplighting and ceremonial flags and flagpoles. The beauty of this equipment is its reusability - the GAA will be reusing this hardware in a similar shape or in different guises for years to come. They also availed of set up and training in the correct use of this equipment so that they will be able to maintain and reuse the stands with a great deal of convenience. This was an especially exciting event as the GAA had recently anounced a new focus where marketing and branding is concerned.

Window Graphics for Read's Revamp

As widely reported in the press, Eason's have recently taken over discount book and stationary store, Read's of Nassau Street. This shop has become an institution for Trinity Students and those looking for a bargain. Following the takeover, the shopfront was given a fresh, eye catching makeover, and we were thrilled to provide the window graphics for the extensive facade of the premises in Dublin's City Centre.

Window Graphics are often overlooked by many business sectors. Shops with decent footfall and passing traffic can use window graphics to great effect, as the reasonable cost of the graphics allows them to change them seasonally. They can do these with banners or posters, you might say. However these graphics can sometimes have an edge over banners and posters as they can be a bit more striking, with vivid photographic images and shapes a possibility. However its not just retail businesses who should decorate their windows - Hair Dressers, Restaurants, Event Venues, Cultural Centres and Offices should also make use of their windows, which have the potential to become like large billboards for them to advertise and market themselves in a way that will really get noticed. Window graphics can be opaque or can be printed on a mesh-like substance, depending on the needs of the customer. Contact us for more detail on this medium.

Our Cut Letters used in IFTAs Stage Backdrop

Last evening's IFTA awards in the Gaiety Theatre saw lettering produced by us incorporated into the stage backdrop set up for the production. We provided individual foamex letters of differing sizes which were then used to great effect by the production designers in a gold-coloured display wall directly behind the stage podium.

This is not a new thing for us. We regularly have our work shown on both the large and small screens, for two main reasons: firstly, our stands are often used as backdrops or branding displays for press calls and political events which are featured on news and current affairs programmes. Secondly, we have been producing custom signs, window graphics, vehicle signage and props for TV and film productions since the late 80s. Our work has been used in various TV ads including Dairygold, Meteor, Utterly Butterly, Ballygowan, Aer Lingus, Carlsberg, National Lottery, Hellmans and on TV shows such as Planet Rock Profiles, Fair City , Bachelor's Walk and Where in the World (back in the day!). We have also produced backdrops for GAA and Munster Rugby press conferences and signage for the Setanta Sports set and for the Films Bloody Sunday, An Everlasting Piece and The Treaty. This work is some of the most fun and creative work we do and we absolutely love it! Nice to have a chance to produce something unique and of course, its a joy to spot our work on screen...

Applied Signs & Display Customers in Sunday Independent's Best of Business 2007

This week the Sunday Independent published its list of 'The Best and the Worst of 2007' in Irish Business, and we are thrilled that several of our customers were represented in the 'Best of' portion of the list! Compiled by '24 of Ireland's smartest stockmarket analysts', this list identifies the Best Large and Small Companies in Ireland as well as the Best Young CEO and the Best and Worst Business Deals this year. Gene Murtagh of Kingspan and Patrick Kennedy of Paddy Power were identified as the Best and 3rd Best Young CEOs in the country respectively, while Norkom was lauded as the Best Small Company and AIB as the 2nd Best Large Company in 2007. All of the above are customers of ourselves (Norkom, AIB & Paddy Power all use our Banner Stands, Pop Up Stands and Display Accessories, while Kingspan use our Re-usable Custom Build Stands, our Exhibition Set Up Service and our Building Signage), and we are delighted to congratulate these CEO's and companies on this significant achievement.