Situated in St Helier, The Royal Yacht is Jersey’s newest architectural gem. The interior is fresh, contemporary and has just a slight marine hint to accentuate its surroundings.

This subtle but effective interior was created by IDP Design who immediately recognised that a small detail like a hotel door number has the potential to influence an interior.

“From the very beginning of this project, we visualised that the hotel guest room would be illuminated. This would create a visual line of light going down the corridor to give a futuristic feel,” explains Lynne Jordon, Interior Designer.

The designers also wanted the door signs to suggest a nautical theme to complement the décor. Their vision was to steer away from the traditional square sign and introduce a curved line and wave effect. The interior design company approached Signbox, who specialise in LED illuminated signs.

Signbox confirmed that wave-shaped signs could be achieved and that LED lighting would create a stunning effect, with the line of light they originally visualised. However, there was a slight problem. To incorporate LED, there had to be a hole in the wall for the transformer.

“We explained to the designers that the driver, which is connected to power source, is ideally buried in the wall cavity, before the wall is finished. Unfortunately, the walls of The Royal Yacht had already been built so it was necessary to cut a hole in the wall,” explains Neil Devery, Business Development Manager of Signbox. “To hide the hole, an oak laminated backing panel that matched the doors was used. The backing panel could then hide the electrics for the LED’s.”

With the solution in place, Signbox proceeded with the design. To achieve the desired look, Signbox used illuminated sign blocks which can be cut to various lengths and sizes. The room number was then pin-routed onto the acrylic panel, and in-filled with frosted vinyl to create a sparkling effect. To complete, Signbox used LED’s to illuminate the number and the edge of the sign. The hotel’s logo was then digitally printed to create brand awareness.

In total, Signbox designed 108 signs for the Royal Yacht hotel that has now been officially opened to the public.

“(We are) delighted with the signs and the solution of the oak panel. It looks fantastic and creates the subtle marine look we desired but in a contemporary fashion.” says Lynn.

“This is the first time we have used Signbox who have impressed us with their ability to solve problems and their reliability,” Lynn enthuses. “If you want illuminated signs, Signbox are definitely the best people to employ.”

Signbox are exhibiting at 100% Design from the 20th -23rd September 2007 on stand E78.