Outside: the two site compounds
The site compound and the storage compound sit in the middle of a public forecourt. Both were wrapped end to end — long runs, gate leaves, returns and corners — in captioned archival photographs of the harbour.
Live cruise terminal · Hoarding graphics package
308m² of hoarding, turned into a history of the harbour.
Mettle NSW is upgrading Sydney's cruise passenger terminal at Circular Quay while it keeps taking ships. The build runs in stages and so do the graphics — the site compounds out on the public forecourt first, then the escalator surrounds, lift shafts and store hoardings inside the building. Every stage is surveyed, printed and installed by Platinum Signs, and every panel carries a black-and-white timeline of the terminal instead of a blank sheet.
308m² measured on site and installed across two completed stages · surveyed, printed and applied by Platinum Signs
The compound, wrapped corner to corner
Out on the public forecourt, the site compound is wrapped end to end — a captioned c.1962 harbour view turning the corner into a 1970 aerial of the Quay, with the heritage gates alongside.
- Location
- Circular Quay, The Rocks NSW
- Installed
- 308m² across two completed stages
- Scope
- Compounds outside, escalators and lifts inside
- Build
- Digital print on 2.4m SAV runs, matte laminate
The project in detail
From the tape measure to the finished run.
Fifteen photographs follow the package stage by stage — the site survey, the printed rolls leaving the workshop, the two site compounds going up outside, and the escalator, lift and store hoardings inside the terminal.
All photographs are of the completed stages at Circular Quay. Further stages of the hoarding are still in survey and are not shown here.
Project at a glance
Two compounds outside, three levels of hoarding inside.
Hoarding at Circular Quay is not back-of-house. It faces passengers, commuters and tourists every day of the build, and it had to be delivered in stages that follow the construction programme rather than hold it up.
Inside: escalators, lifts and stores
Escalator surrounds at Level 1 and Level 3, lift shaft hoardings repeated across Levels 1, 2 and 3, and a store hoarding at Level 1 — all in the same graphic language as the street.
Client messaging built in
The asset owner's Acknowledgement of Country and its message to passengers about the terminal upgrade are set into the panels, not stuck on afterwards.
How it came together
Measure the hoarding first, print second.
Hoarding graphics fail when artwork is drawn to a plan and the built hoarding turns out different. This job started with a paid site survey and ran on real measurements the whole way through.
Read the four delivery stages
- 1
Survey the built hoarding
Every run was measured on site before artwork — lengths in linear metres against a consistent 2.4m panel height, including the awkward escalator and lift-lobby returns.
- 2
Set the artwork to the measured runs
Archival images and captions were laid out against the surveyed lengths so joins land between photographs, not through them.
- 3
Print, laminate and label
Panels were digitally printed on self-adhesive vinyl, finished with a clear matte laminate, then rolled and labelled by stage and item so the crew installs in order.
- 4
Install around a live terminal
Install dates were set against the cruise schedule, not ours — Stage 1 over two days in July 2026, Stage 1.2 on 21 and 22 July, with inducted crews starting at 7am before the forecourt filled.
Project anatomy
Specified to survive salt air, sun and foot traffic.
The build is deliberately simple, because the failure modes on a harbourside hoarding are simple too: lifting edges, glare and scuffing.
Self-adhesive vinyl
Digitally printed SAV applied directly to the hoarding panels — flat, seamless within each run, and removable at the end of the build.
View hoarding signageClear matte laminate
A matte overlaminate kills reflection off the harbour and the terminal lighting, and takes the knocks that come with a public walkway.
View wall graphicsStaged install crews
Site-inducted installers working to the surveyed run schedule, in the access windows a live cruise terminal allows.
View construction signageMaterial decision
Why matte laminate rather than gloss on a waterfront hoarding?
Gloss looks better in a photograph and worse in real life here. The hoarding faces open water and low afternoon sun, and gloss turns archival black-and-white photography into a mirror at exactly the angles people walk past it. Matte holds the image legible from every approach, and hides handling marks on a surface the public brushes against for months.
The laminate is also what makes the graphics survivable — bare printed vinyl on a public hoarding scuffs within weeks.
Budgeting hoarding graphics
What drives the cost of a hoarding package.
Hoarding graphics are priced by area, with install priced separately against site access. The main drivers are:
- Total square metres across all runs, inside and out
- Panel height and how many corners, returns and obstructions the graphics wrap
- Whether a site survey is needed before artwork
- Access conditions — trading site, public frontage, after-hours or night work
- How many stages the package is split across
Send run lengths and photographs for an area-based quote — access conditions change install pricing more than the print does.
Technical detail
The deeper project information, available when useful.
The main story stays visual and easy to scan. Open these sections for the delivered scope, the evidence in the photography and the specifications that still need a site-specific review.
The terminal is being upgraded in phases, so the hoarding graphics were surveyed, approved, printed and installed the same way — each stage on its own dates.
- Stage 1 — the site compound and the storage compound out on the public forecourt, plus the escalator surrounds at Level 1 and Level 3
- Stage 1.2 — lift shaft hoardings repeated at Levels 1, 2 and 3, and a store hoarding at Level 1, inside the building
- A further escalator panel printed from the same approved artwork, cut down to suit the opening and released to the install crew
- Two further stages covering the remaining lift shafts across Levels 1 to 4 are surveyed and not yet installed
- Artwork ran through mockup, revision and client approval before each stage went to print
The confirmed scope shown and described on this page includes the following elements.
- A paid site survey of the built hoarding before any artwork was set, repeated for each stage
- 308m² of printed hoarding graphics measured and installed across two completed stages
- Digital printing on self-adhesive vinyl with a clear matte laminate throughout
- The site compound and storage compound on the forecourt, including gate leaves, returns and corners
- Escalator surrounds, lift shaft hoardings across three levels and a store hoarding inside the terminal
- Artwork layout of archival photography and captions to the surveyed run lengths, through client approval
- Application of the graphics to the site hoarding panels by inducted install crews
The photo set documents the package from survey through to installed graphics on a live site.
- The site survey being taken against the built hoarding, not a drawing
- A full stage printed, wrapped and labelled by item before dispatch to site
- The compounds being wrapped on the forecourt, with an elevated platform still on site
- Completed external runs at Circular Quay by day, at dawn and after dark
- Completed interior runs through the concourse, lift lobby and escalator zones
A comparable hoarding package should be scoped from its own site conditions.
- Measured run lengths and panel height of the hoarding as actually built
- Whether the hoarding surface is new, painted or previously graphic-wrapped
- Access windows, inductions and after-hours requirements on a trading site
- Artwork ownership and image licensing for any archival or third-party photography
- Stage boundaries, and whether later stages repeat or extend the design
Sydney landmark work · Construction capability
Two stages complete, more of the site still to come.
Stage 1 and Stage 1.2 are installed and finalised, and a further escalator panel has been printed from the same approved artwork and released to the install crew. Two further stages of the terminal hoarding remain in site survey and are not claimed as complete here. Platinum Signs supplies and applies the printed graphics; the hoarding structure itself is the builder's.
- Every run measured on site before artwork is set
- Print, laminate and install handled as one package
- Staged delivery that follows the construction programme
Prepare a useful brief
What to send for a hoarding graphics package.
Hoarding is quoted off area and access. Two numbers and a few photographs get you a real price quickly.
Read the four-point quoting checklist
- 1
Run lengths and height
Linear metres of hoarding and the panel height — or ask for a site survey if the hoarding is already up and unmeasured.
- 2
Photographs of the hoarding
Wide shots of each face, including returns, corners and anything the graphics have to wrap around.
- 3
Artwork and image rights
Print-ready artwork, or the images and messaging you want laid out — including who holds the licence for archival photography.
- 4
Site access
Induction requirements, working hours, and whether the site is trading or public-facing during install.
Frequently asked questions
Questions this project usually raises.
Practical answers for builders, project managers and asset owners planning site hoarding graphics.
Yes — this one was. The cruise terminal kept operating throughout, so install dates were set against the ship schedule rather than ours, and inducted crews started early to be off the forecourt before it filled.
Either. On this project a paid site survey came first and every run was measured against a 2.4m panel height, which is why the joins land between photographs instead of through them. If you already have accurate lengths, we will work from those.
Glare. A harbourside hoarding faces open water and low sun, and gloss turns black-and-white photography into a mirror at the angles people actually walk past. Matte stays legible from every approach and hides handling marks.
That is the point of printed vinyl on hoarding panels rather than a painted or permanently bonded finish — the graphics are applied for the life of the build and removed with the hoarding.
Yes. This package ran as separate surveyed stages, each measured, printed, labelled by item and installed on its own dates, so the graphics follow the construction programme rather than holding it up.
Related capability
Explore the services behind the Circular Quay hoarding.
Use the project as proof of large-format site capability, then open the page that matches your build.
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Hoarding graphics packages
Got hoarding going up on a site people actually look at?
Send the run lengths and a few photographs, or ask for a site survey. We will quote the print and the install together, and stage it to your programme.