City of West Des Moines Entrance Signage

Located in West Des Moines, IA

The growing community of West Des Moines, bordered closely by several other large cities, wanted to emphasize its boundaries with signage that reflected both its traditions and its progress. With these borders located along interstates and major thoroughfares, right-of-way concerns and making the boundaries visible to drivers were important considerations. The final design of the signs would require the consensus of a committee working on behalf of the city, with each person bringing different ideas to the table.

After several iterations, the final design blended tradition with innovation, mimicking the rusted steel look of other wayfinding signage throughout town and incorporating the city’s compass logo. Aluminum was used instead of rusting steel; with a special coating, the color will appear to rust but the darkening can be stopped when the desired depth of red is reached. The city’s compass logo with a “W” in the center was embellished, with colorful rays emitting from the compass to give it movement. By using bright metal and intricate lighting, the compass and lettering glow at night. The colors of the compass incorporate the green of the city’s logo with the orange of the school color, with an outside ring of blue.

Five signs were created: at the intersection of SE University Avenue and Waco Place; at Westown Parkway and I-35; on westbound I-235; on northbound I-35; and on westbound Highway 5. Four of the signs were over 20 feet tall; on I-35 southbound, the sign is 40 feet high. While these larger signs brought added structural and right-of-way challenges, this ensured their visibility to drivers.

The end result was signage that coordinates with the family of signs throughout West Des Moines while also adding exciting embellishments at the various gateways. The signs are identical on both sides and to each other, giving the boundaries a consistent look, and are highly visible to drivers even from major interstates and thoroughfares. The city’s logo, well-known to residents, is incorporated but given a wow factor with the help of materials and lighting.