The 2021 Sign Invitational rules are as follows. We are excited about this one!
Theme: GO FISH! Use your imagination. 🙂
Build Envelope: 24″ x 24″ single sided wall mount sign.
Contest Date: Wed, Apr 7, 2021 – Fri, Apr 9, 2021
Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas Nevada
Fan voting will be counted and awards announced Friday Apr 9, 2021
Contest Booth: Signs of the Times ISA Booth #TBD
Back in 2015 when Dan and I sat on a grassy hill at the EnRoute summit in Denver Colorado, I would have never guessed our crazy ideas would turn into an amazingly fun event. The premise, Invite the best of the best in the sign industry and see who answers the call. The challenge, set some rules and see how creatively people can break them. That my friends is exactly what we have seen in the past 3 years. 24 amazing entries later, I would like to think we have done our little part in helping the visionaries in this business dream a million dreams. The best part is we are not done yet!!!
This year’s Sign Invitational may have been small in participants, but there was no lack of fan involvement or passion across the entries. Competing were Dan Sawatzky (Imagination Corporation), Gary Johnson (Great American Sign Co), Douglas Hancock (SignPro of North Florida) and myself, Jim Dawson (Synergy Sign & Graphics).
Everyone showed up with amazing creations that were true reflections of themselves as well as creative solutions to the guideline limitations.
Dan Sawatzky
Gary Johnson
Douglas Hancock
Jim Dawson
In end, 567 fans had voted for their favorite and Dan Sawatzky took the crown home for the 2nd year in a row.
Next years contest is going to be extremely interesting. Stay tuned for some major announcements including 2 divisions and something that is surely to be a show stopper!!!
Check out the video here! The Sign Invitational 2018
Thanks again to our amazing sponsors.
The 2017 ISA Sign Expo was held this past week at Mandalay Bay convention center in Las Vegas.  The show was very well attended and directly translated into an all out mob of traffic for The Sign Invitational located in Multicam USA’s booth for the second year.  On display were pieces from Peter Sawatzky and  Dan Sawatzky ( Imagination Corporation ), Doug Haffner ( Haffner’s Fantastic Creations ), Aubrey Gealsha and Jim Dawson ( Synergy Sign & Graphics ), Doug Hancock ( SignPro of North Florida ), and Janey Freid ( Atlas Signs and Plaques )
While the show was not as big as it was last year, competitors clearly pulled out all of the stops and created some amazing pieces this year.
In the end, after over 900 votes were cast by show attendees, Â Dan Sawatzky came out on top with his awesome train design. Â Finishing second was Doug Hancock by a mere 25 votes. Â Doug’s piece literally defied gravity with his awesome levitating sign design that payed homage to Nicola Tesla. Â Rounding out the top 3 was Jim Dawson’s piece with his mash up design called Poe’s BBQ Pit and Pendulum.
Doug Hancock and his Tesco Levitating Sign
Dan Sawatzky and his Magical Train
Aubrey Gealsha and Magical Palmistry and Fortune Telling piece.
Doug Haffner and His Sign Magic piece.
Janey Freid and Her Rabbit with the Magic Hat
Jim Dawson’s Poe’s BBQ Pit and Pendulum build.
The 2017 Competitors.
Huge thanks to all of our sponsors once again this year.  Multicam USA, SAi Enroute, Coastal Enterprises, Signcraft Magazine, and Laird Plastics Akron.  Without all of you, this contest doesn’t  happen.
We all had a blast this year and cannot wait for next years competition. Â The theme will be Marvelous Machine. Â Do you have what it takes?
-Jim
Today we loaded everything into a trailer and packed up for Orlando. The trailer currently houses the ballot box and stand, Peter Sawatzky’s entry, Dan Sawatzky’s entry, a sculpture for Coastal Enterprises that Dan made, Peter Poanessa’s entry, Phil Vanderkraat’s entry, Synergy Sign’s entry, number plaques for all of the entires, Xpressive Graphix’s entry, and various other tools, thank you plaques, and other things needed to pull this contest off.
( 5000 ballot entries for the voting process. )
I hope everyone can make it out to ISA 2015 and see these works of art on display for everyone!!!
You can come see us in the Multicam booth during show hours.
Trade Show Floor Hours
Thursday, April 21 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Friday, April 22 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 23 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Stop in and vote for your favorite!
Roger Cox from House of Signs provided us with a few of his portfolio pieces today. Roger has begun building his entry into the Sign Invitational.
I can’t wait to see what he comes up with.
