Great American Insurance

Branded Architectural Signage and Wayfinding for Downtown Skyscraper

The 41-story skyscraper that serves as the corporate headquarters for Great American Insurance is located in downtown Cincinnati. Crowned by a complex steel structure, which is designed in memoriam of the tiara worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, the Queen City Square Tower is the focal point in the burgeoning Cincinnati skyline. The steel structure is constructed from white steel tubes illuminated by rooftop floodlights, and it rises 130 feet from the roof of the skyscraper.

Because the steel “tiara” structure plays such an important role in defining the look of the skyscraper, the designers and management team at Great American Insurance wanted to include the image of the structure throughout the interior architectural signage solution. In addition, the interior signage solution needed to be a flexible, modular solution that could grow and change for their 22 floors in the tower.

About the Solution

In partnership with the design team at KZF Design, ASI provided a turn-key interior signage solution to serve the wayfinding needs of the visitors and employees of Great American Insurance. ASI provided Messenger Interior™, and slim-line, flat panel modular system to communicate the wayfinding plan. To answer the client’s need to integrate the tower structure into the interior signage, ASI utilized its print on panel finishing solution. The print on panel system uses true white ink, not simulated white, to deliver crisp, vibrant and color-accurate graphics which was important due to duotone photographic image of the white steel structure. In order to ensure the image met the specific needs of the architect and the designer, ASI created a wide range of printed samples to show the range of hues for the blue duotone color. These test chips allowed the team to agree on a final graphic solution and ensured the interior signage would be delivered with a consistent color graphic application. In addition to the Messenger Interior™ signage, ASI also provided custom signs for the executive floors in the tower.

Due to the success of the Great American project, ASI was asked to extend the signage program to Great American’s recently renovated Dixie Terminal office complex. Dixie Terminal is a historic building that once served the transportation needs of the city, but has since been converted to a corporate office structure. To complement the aesthetics and interior design of the Dixie Terminal, KZF changed the duotone graphic on the Messenger Interior™ panel to reflect the historic architecture of the building.