cha·me·leon (k-mlyn, -ml-n)
n.
Any of various tropical Old World lizards of the family Chamaeleonidae, characterized by their ability to change color.

Websters Dictionary most likely came up with this definition before 1997. That was the year Color Kinetics made their debut, and now those Old World lizards aren't the only ones changing their colors....now we can make nearly anything change colors
including "SIGNAGE".

When T.A.P. (The Architectural Partnership) purchased the building at 415 N. Broadway in downtown Oklahoma City, they commissioned a sign that would be very unique in it's design, featuring their logo and protruding from the building over the sidewalk for maximum visibility in this well traveled area of downtown.

Anthony McDermid of T.A.P. wanted to explore the use of alternative lightsources in this sign. We had shown Color Kinetics at T.A.P.'s offices in the past and we were pleased to work with Brad Codding at The Walker Companies to come up with an optimal solution as they produced the sign.

We used Color Kinetic's "Colorblast" fixture which is a low profile rectangular array of 300 LED's (Light Emitting Diodes) that are composed of roughly equal numbers of red, green, and blue "source emitting" LEDs. This fixture is perfect for signage applications as it is wet location rated.

We used three fixtures in the bottom section of the sign, facing upward for maximum serviceability should cleaning be needed at a later date. One thing is for certain: relamping will "Never" be required.

Control for the fixtures are provided by one single Cmops 150 Power/Data Supply along with a Multi-Synchronizer 8 setting Wallplate controller.

Color Kinetics fixtures have many wonderful attributes including zero heat, zero UV, extremely low energy consumption (This sign consumes less than 60 watts total on average) and an astounding 100,000 hours of rated lamplife which would equate to over 22 years at 12 hours a day/365 days per year, but their most notable attribute is that they represent the world's first 16 million color light fixture with the ability to bathe a surface or object, or "Even a sign" in glowing, vibrant colors that can gradually morph into other colors along with many other show settings. We should probably mention that they will also do a single color static show if that is what an end-user desires.

Holiday, event, nightly and weekly themes are now possible as this system is all "digital". We can even write our own shows using Color Kinetic's I-Player and their Colorplay show authoring software.

When the lights go down in the city, the show begins for all passers-by as this sign's etched lettering gradually morphs through shades of blue, aqua, along with all the colors of the rainbow and then some.

We'd like to thank T.A.P. for letting us work with them on this and thanks to Brad Codding with the Walker Companies for his help in making this sign "happen"

For more information on Color Kinetics in central Oklahoma, contact: Eric Stewart at Smith Lighting, 405.521.0093 or email us at: custsrvc@swbell.net

Smith Lighting's internet site is at:
www.smithlighting.com

Color Kinetic's internet site is at:
www.colorkinetics.com

The Walker Companies internet
site is at:
www.walkercompanies.com