Sign & Graphics | Bi Monthly Publication of Signage Industry in India

Avery Dennison announces its fourth Spirit of
Invention Scholarship Awards in India

Avery Dennison Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Avery Dennison Corporation – a global leader in labeling and packaging materials and solutions – announced their fourth ‘Spirit of Invention’ (InvEnt) Scholarship Award. The award function held in Gurgaon, Delhi NCR, honoured ten Indian students from five reputed institutes for their outstanding innovation capabilities in engineering, science and technology. The award-winning students were chosen through a merit-based, rigorous two-stage selection process; first at the college level and then the second at an independent selection committee level.

The ten students who bagged the 2015 ‘Spirit of Invention (InvEnt) Scholarship Award are: Arnav Kundra, Harsh Sharma, Rishabh Gupta and Vasu Sharma of Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani; Ayush Nema and R Vandana Reddy of MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore; Shantanu Methikar and Sohum Waikar of Pune Vidhyarthi Griha’s College of Engineering and Technology, Pune; Chirag Manchanda of MIT, Manipal and Nidhi Sharma of St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, Delhi.

“We are pleased that the InvEnt Scholarship Programme has entered its fourth year in India. The Avery Dennison Foundation is committed to improving the communities in which we operate, and supporting education is part of this commitment. We recognise the need for talent development to nurture effective leaders of the future. We hope that by encouraging the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship among students, we can help them pursue their dream careers. We are excited to play a part in the journey of these ten students from India as they get ready to take on new opportunities in their future,” said Alicia Procello Maddox, president, Avery Dennison Foundation.

To inspire the spirit of innovation among university students pursuing courses in engineering, science and technology, ‘Spirit of Invention’ (InvEnt) scholarship programme was launched in the year 2008 in China. In India it was launched in the year 2011 with 20 scholarships have been awarded to university students to date. Present at the award function included Anil Sharma, MD, South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa, Avery Dennison Materials Group; Anne Hill, senior vice president and chief human resource officer, Avery Dennison; Ajay Relan of Citicorp Finance (India) Ltd; Vimlendu Jha, executive director, Swechha and others including university professors, deans and students of the respective institutes. Avinash Venkat, director HR, Avery Dennison proposed the vote of thanks at the closure of event.

XAAR celebrates 25 years of
digital inkjet leadership

Since its incepted in the year 1990 as a four-member company in a small office on Cambridge Science Park in Cambridge suburb of Chesterton, UK, XAAR always looked at the goal to develop and commercialise the digital inkjet print technology arising out of work done by Cambridge Consultants. Today the company employs more than 600 people worldwide with offices in Hong Kong, India and USA. And today the company is 25 years old and it has proved itself to be an inkjet innovator many times. The company’s XAAR 128 printhead transformed the wide-format printing industry 20 years ago; even today XAAR technology still drives approximately 75 percent of the wide-format printers in use. To mark its 25th anniversary XAAR organised a programme of events during the summer and autumn.

FA STSIGNS after Dubai presence gets
strong growth in global sales and franchise

FASTSIGNS over the last few months has reached to global revenues of $400 million – an all-time high for the company, along with inking 24 new franchise agreements and opening of its first location in Dubai. The company expects to sign an additional 33 franchise agreements by year’s end and is finalising master franchise agreements in two new countries. FASTSIGNS executives attribute the robust mid-year revenue achievement in large part to the company’s expanded products and services—which aligns with its ‘More Than’ brand positioning—as well as the formation of an outside sales force that has now grown to more than 360 sales professionals. The sales team of the company succeeds by offering businesses specialised, forward-thinking services, such as digital signage, imaged glass, window shades, exhibits and displays, mobile marketing and digital printing. The company continues to develop progressive strategies, combining new technologies and cutting edge services to help their franchisees provide the most effective visual communication strategies to their customers.

Arlon launches new blog ‘Arlon HUB’

Uevery month with the latest news, announcements and tips on some of the company’s most popular products and other industry topics, Arlon launches its new blog website ‘Arlon HUB’, which will also provide users the opportunity to freely comment or share blog posts with audience anywhere at any time! Arlon HUB will be focused on topics from all areas of the industry that can be openly discussed, as well as offering a platform where readers can engage with Arlon contributors directly. Many of the blog posts will include visual content to further supplement the post such as videos and tips & tricks. According to Holly Curtis, director of marketing communications, Arlon Graphics, LLC, this industry blog is one of the many ways Arlon is trying to further promote industry education, and find other ways to connect with their end users. The new Arlon blog can be found by logging on to: http://www.arlon.com/blog

‘Go Slow’ campaign of Hidesign
goes fast everywhere

Craftsmanship at Hidesign has always been slow. Vegetable tanning, cutting leather by hand, solid brass fittings which are individually sand cast, small groups of production, hand rubbing and waxing each bag are the norm at Hidesign. This year’s OOH marketing campaign of the company highlights these values and lifestyle, embodied by the brand, long before they became fashionable. The campaign features a series of exquisite photographs shot around Pondicherry by sculptor and photographer Rupert Lorhaldar.

Commenting on his photography, “A realistic approach was taken to capture these lovingly handmade modern classics in a moment of calm and openness, in an otherwise hectic world,” he says. Each ad features an image of the ‘slow’ lifestyle along with a photograph of the handcrafting process of a bag, shot in Room no.5 at Le Dupleix, where the brand was founded 37 years ago. The campaign’s visual language is that of wide open spaces, with Hidesign’s tradition of handcrafting and the brand story of ‘Slow’ working seamlessly together, says Sheila Bedi, art director and creative lead. She added that the campaign talks to a mindset, rather than an age group.