Archive for the ‘3 dimensional signs’ Category
No Comments 3 Dimensional Signs – How Street Signs Can Increase Business
Sometimes It’s Helpful To Throw A Wrench In Your Plans
Here on Borden Ave in Kitchener Ontario we get a lot of drive-by traffic. Finding ways to capture the attention of passers-by can prove to be difficult for some businesses. We often suggest that you walk across the street from your business and take a look at your building’s exterior. Do you think the company storefront will stand out to those passing by at 50 km/h?
When Integraflift moved into our neighbourhood last year, they encountered this problem and the solution involved throwing a wrench in their plans.
3 Dimensional Sign Displayed For All To See
The idea for the Integralift sign was to highlight all of the services they provide. Everything from forklift sales, to automobile repair. The signage package included two exterior business signs with the company’s contact information and the services they have. In addition to the exterior signs, a 3 Dimensional sign was added to the mix. Using High Density Urethane (a signfoam often referred to as HDU), the sign experts here at The Sign Depot created a oversized wrench. This scupltural projection sign was created to grab the attention of the passing traffic, and serve as a landmark sign for the business.
See More Images At The Bottom Of This Post
The Best Business Signs Make An Impact
When the project was completed and installed Dennis, the owner of Integralift, let us know that the new signs made quite an impact. He received new business from people who thought they had just opened and had no idea that Integralift had been there for a year already.
The View From Across The Street
Here at The Sign Depot we encourage our clients to think of their custom signs as an investment in their company. They are a 24 hour advertisment for your business and a display of what your company represents. These are things to think about when budgeting for your signage upgrades and branding designs.
Finding ways to show off your company’s assets through signage is something we excel at. For more information on how street signs can increase business awareness and 3 dimensional signs, be sure to visit our Contact Us Page or connect with us on Twitter and Facebook.
Creating Custom 3 Dimensional Signs For The Next Big Thing – Thalmic Labs
Getting Geared Up
If you are following the #CES2014 twitter feed you’ll see that wearable tech gear is all the rage at this year’s event. While this may be big news out of town, here in Kitchener Ontario, Thalmic Labs makers of the MYO armband have made another big move in the marketplace by moving from the VeloCity Garage into a retrofitted building. This is making the tech gear company big news both North and South of the boarder.
Diving Into 3 Dimensional Signs
When you think of digital companies, you imagine the next piece of software that is coming to a screen near you. Thalmic Labs is taking your digital experience and adding dimension. Their MYO gesture control armband stands out from the typical tech gear by incorporating their users’ movements into the mix. They are standing out as the next big thing in modern gear and they wanted their custom exterior sign to stand out too. Below is a step by step look of how their custom 3 dimensional sign was created using High Density Urethane, LEDs and a Custom Paint finish.
To begin the process High Density Urethane (HDU) was CNC Router Cut into the shape of the Thalmic symbol.
The logo pieces were primed and given a custom finish durable enough to endure our ever changing weather conditions.
The HDU pieces were wired with LEDs and then enclosed with an acrylic piece
Make A Statement
3 dimensional signs give companies a way to add impact to their branding. The make a statement without becoming an eye-sore. As you can see in the image from Thalmic Lab’s blog their exterior sign is standing up to our Canadian winter. This gives them ability to stand out from the surroundings and brand their new location.
For additional photos see our gallery below. We’re gearing up for 2014 in a big way! Let us know how your business is getting in gear for 2014. Leave a comment, send us a tweet, or post on our facebook page. We appreciate the gesture.
3 Dimensional Signs Are A Smashing Pixels Success
Adding Dimension To Your Custom Business Signs
With winter just around the corner, now is a good time to look at your interior signs. They are one of the first things that your clients see upon entering your establishment, so be sure to leave them with a memorable image of what your company represents. The best way to stand out is to have a 3 dimensional sign custom crafted for your office interior.
Making A Branding Move
One of the best times to work on your business branding is when your company is moving locations. This was the case for Smashing Pixels. Smashing Pixels, a digital marketing and website design agency located in Brantford Ontario, was in the midst of moving their office when we first heard from Kevin Magee. Kevin was looking for custom dimensional sign with the Smashing Pixels logo that fit with the brand both he and Trevor Cherewka created in the Brantford business community. Trevor is no stranger to The Sign Depot either, take a look below when he first visited our workshop for our inaugural designers’ demo day (you can see Trevor’s comments at the 40 second mark in the video below)
With both Kevin and Trevor looking to give their office a professional look, the Smashing Pixels 3 dimensional office sign took shape.
Below are a few images of Smashing Pixels sign being crafted here in our Sign Depot workshop.
The Smashing Pixels sign was a mix of sign substrates. It began with a sandblasted cedar backer
Followed by custom cut acrylic letters mounted to the cedar backer. The combination of wood and acrylic adds dimension and interest to the sign.
The sign was then installed at their new location at Dunsdon St. in Brantford.
Business Signs And Branding
Just like the Smashing Pixels team can help with your online digital branding, we want to assist you in all aspects of your offline branding through our custom signs. If you require any additional info about 3 dimensional signs be sure to send us a tweet, message us on facebook or send an email through our Contact Us page.
3 Dimensional Augmented Reality Created From Retail Signs – Augtober
Adding A Layer To Business Signs
If you have been watching our Twitter page you may already know we have been talking a lot about Augmented Reality this October and have renamed the month Augtober. Here at The Sign Depot we relentlessly strive to stay at the cusp of signage technology. This allows us to offer our clients an abundance of choices when it come to their custom business signs. The development of Augmented Reality, sometimes known as AR, has found a way to take 2 dimensional images and turn them into a 3 dimensional signage experience. If you are wondering how AR works, it is a layering process, where a marker is embedded into a sign. By using a smartphone app, people are able to see the sign brought to life. It is best explained in the article 10 things you need to know about augmented reality
Markers work by having software recognise a particular pattern, such as a barcode or symbol, when a camera points at it, and overlaying a digital image at that point on the screen. If the image is three-dimensional or animated, the effect is of a digital experience unfolding on the surface upon which the pattern is printed.
In an earlier post 3 Dimensional Augmented Reality And The Sign Industry we showed how Marvel was using Augmented Reality with their retail signs to bring superheroes into the store. This creates a unique shopping experience and makes it memorable to those browsing the aisles. Once again retaliers have engaged a younger audience in their locations by launching a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Augmented Reality campaign involving their business signs. You can see it highlighted at the end of this video
Want to talk more about 3 Dimensional Augmented Reality Created From Retail Signs? Send a tweet to @TheSignDepot and include the hashtag #Augtober
We would love to hear your thoughts about it!
3 Dimensional Signs and Sculptural Structures
We Had A Barrel Of Fun Creating This 3 Dimensional Sign Structure
Here at The Sign Depot we are always looking for ways to add creativity to signs. 3 dimesional signs are a great way to customize and transform a sign into a creative sign structure. When we were approached by Souvenir City to create a custom photo booth we went all out to make sure that the sign not only served the purpose as a photo opp spot, but also to build an eye-catching scuplture. As you can see in the pics below we had a barrel of fun with this custom sign.
From Design To 3 Dimensional Sign
This sign project began with an in-house designed metal structure with attached High Density Urethane (sign foam) pieces carved to create a Niagara Falls scene for the photo booth.
The sign foam was pieced together to look like a barrel headed over Niagara Falls. After assembly, the sign structure was coated with epoxy to harden it and make it durable.
Next it was time to give the 3 dimensional sign structure a custom paint finish. It started with dark base colours to give the the custom structure depth.
After the base colours were dry, lighter colours were applied to add highlights and add to the dimensional look.
A final coat was added to the barrel to instantly age the sculpture. The rust finish technique was exactly what the barrel needed to make it feel vintage.
When CTV News Channel contributor Neil Hedley and his wife Tatiana stopped by, we decided to give the photo booth a test run. The look on their faces is priceless!
The next steps included fabricating the top portion of the photo booth and manufacturing a Niagara Falls sign that would be affixed to the top of the sign structure.
The sign structure travelled to Niagara Falls where our expert sign makers installed the photo booth and added the Niagara Falls Canada sign.
If you happen to stop at Souvenir City Headquarters make sure to tweet us a pic of you in their new photo booth!
To see the project evolve in more detail take a look at the gallery below. As you can see this sign project really “stands out”. If you are interested in having your business stand out, make sure to visit our CONTACT US page let us know about your future signage plans. We’ll be sure to get your project quoted asap and perhaps our next post will be about YOU!
Custom 3 Dimensional Signs Can Be Big For Business – Baden Coffee
A Big Bean For Baden Coffee
Finding ways to bring attention to a new location can cause difficulty for some businesses, but Baden Coffee knew just what to do for the opening of their sit down coffee shop and retail location. They decided a 3 dimensional sign would be a great way to attract attention to their establishment and increase the findabilty of their location. Baden Coffee decided to create a landmark sculptural sign that would make their business highly visible to passers-by. Over the years we have created several signs for Baden Coffee and they wanted to heighten the visibilty of their unique brands.
The 3 dimensional sign was created to extend their branding to the exterior of the store. A replica of the animated coffee bean from their logo
was constructed from Carved High Density Urethane (HDU) through the use of our CNC Router Table and a lathe to manufacture the rounded objects.
Below is photo recap of how the project evolved within our Sign Depot workshop.
Artistic Finishing Touches
An artistic custom finish was applied to the sign scuplture. It included a styrocoat spray applied to the surface to harden the HDU (sign foam) and serve as a base for the paint to adhere to. Painting was done in stages and made to match the character logo for Baden Coffee. Creating the custom paint finish for the Baden Coffee Bean sculpture added to the “look” of the 3 dimensional sign.
Bringing In Big Business At Baden Coffee
After the Baden Coffee Big Coffee Bean was completed it was installed above the main entrance. This 3 dimensional sign is sure to become a landmark for the Baden Coffee retail location and will attract the attention of the traffic passing by.
To see more pics of the Baden Coffee Team with the new BIG BEAN head over to their facebook Photo Gallery. To learn more about our 3 dimensional signs for business and how they can create a branding buzz, be sure to check out Proportion Is Everything post. There you will see how sculptural signs quickly become landmarks and a 24 advertisement for your company.
Custom Wood And 3 Dimensional Sign Questions And Answers
Q & A From Conestoga College Graphic Design Students
We are always happy to welcome the Graphic Design Students from Conestoga College into our Sign Workshop. This year a group of thirty first year design students came by to learn about the sign design process. They will be creating their first sign project shortly and had a lot of great questions for Peter. Running a custom sign shop for almost 20 years, Peter has a lot of insight about sign design and how it compliments the graphic design field. Below is a list of some of the questions the design students asked along with the answers Peter provided to help them with their first custom sign project.
Q: How did you get into the sign industry
A: I worked at a sign shop in my teens. Then I went on to get a degree in Fine Arts at University Of Guelph and then decided to start The Sign Depot
Q: What type of sign work do you prefer
A: Something that is challenging, often large scale 3 dimensional signs require a bit of problem solving, so I enjoy creating signs that get me thinking about how it can be created.
Q: How do you decide how on how big a sign should be?
A: I take photos of the building and put them into my software. When I design a custom business sign I can see what it will look like on the building. Trust your eye. You know what looks best.
Q: Any recommendations for an on site sign versus a highway sign?
A: When designing a sign for a high traffic area think of the message you want to get across while traffic is going by quickly. Less is more. Make the sign memorable not messy. For on site signs such as the restaurant signs we do, it is about relaying the message of experience you will have when you visit that establishment.
Q: I noticed that you have won an award for the 3 Dimensional Sign for Beertown, can you tell us a bit about that sign?
A: We wanted the look of the retro sign but wanted give it a modern feel. We used LED lights as a stand in for marquee light bulbs, as for the mural there was a template made that was spray painted on the building followed by artistic hand painting on the sign.
Q: What if you didn’t agree with client’s sign idea? Do you let them know?
A: I believe it is my responsibility as a designer to let them know about what makes for good sign design and I would make recommendations. Let them know that a good sign is a good investment for their business. So many customers have let me know that their sales increased because of their new sign. Additionally I think all of our signs stand as a business card for Sign Depot, we always think of how it will reflect on this business.
Q: When it comes to your gold leaf signs why do you choose 23K gold leaf?
A: We are very familiar with this type of gold leaf and know the kind of shine it can bring to our custom signs.
Q: How big is your customer base?
A: We are well established here in our community, as well as nationwide and have shipped our signs in the USA market too.
Q: Have you ever made a sign that was too big for your shop?
A: No, that goes back to our problem solving and business sign solutions that we design for our clients and why we have such a big sign workshop.
Q: Have you ever been approached by a show like Restaurant Makeover?
A: Not yet, you can go ahead and set that up though! We are involved in a lot of restaurant design builds and some of the experiences we have come across would make for some great reality tv!
Advice For Young Designers
Peter also had some parting words for these aspiring graphic designers
Always strive to be the best in class. When you’re out looking for jobs you want to let people know you are the best of the best.
Importance Of A Good Business Sign Can Be Compared To The Importance Of A Good Cookie
C Is For Custom Creative Cookies
Here at The Sign Depot we talk quite a bit about standing out and being memorable. Finding ways to be unique can be difficult sometimes, but it well worth the effort when it comes to signs for your business.
According to ChamberOfCommerce.com’s article The Importance of Advertising Signs for a Growing Business
What you put in front of someone’s eyes is perhaps the most decisive factor in determining what they think of you and your business. In fact, consumers are more likely to purchase a product if they have seen the name before. Therefore advertising effectively, and making the product or sign memorable is crucial to the success and the growth of your business
Advertising effectively is what PJ Lowe had in mind when she first created her promotional cookies. Her story was about having memorable items to hand out at a public event. She wanted something that would stand out from all the rest. She created cookies with logos on them. Really in our terms they were mini custom signs. The cookies were so popular she started the company Nom Nom Treats. Take a look at her photo gallery and see how many brands you recognize.
When the Cutegecko Design Agency approached us about creating a sign that looked like a cookie for Nom Nom Treats we new it would be a fun project. Not only would we be making a custom sign, we would be making a custom cookie sign for a company that makes custom designed cookies. Try saying that five times fast!
Dimension was key when it came to creating the cookie. It was all about standing out from the rest! The cookie was created in layers and then given a high gloss finish to replicate icing. Working with logo designer we were able to duplicate the Nom Nom Treats logo and gave it an extra layer of dimension when it came to the text. The end result was as 3 dimensional delicious looking as the actual Nom Nom Treats themselves.
Want to know what made us even more ecstatic? The fact that we just might be the best gift ever! At least that’s what PJ thinks!
Have Your Custom Business Sign Made From Wood Or High Density Urethane
Using 3 Dimensional Signs To Stand Out From Other Businesses
Have you ever thought of your business sign as a landmark? When people give directions is your business often mentioned as part of the mix? These are signs that your business sign stands out from the rest. Your business is noticeable and recognizable to passers-by which means you are memorable to many. Dimensional signs are great eye-catchers and with the choice of Sandblasted Wood Signs or High Density Urethane (HDU), dimensional signs and structures can create a distinctive look for your brand.
Dimensional Cedar Signs
Custom western red cedar signs are a great choice when looking to create dimensional look. There are a couple of ways which wood can achieve the desired look.
- V-Cut Grove signs are carved by a router to sink the letters/graphics into the wood
- Sandblasted signs create dimension by blasting away the cedar to raise the wooden text and logos to make them the prominent part of the sign
Both the techniques are great ways to use wood for your business signs.
Dimensional High Density Urethane Signs (HDU)
High Density Urethane otherwise known as Sign Foam or HDU signs are becoming more and more popular in the business industry. Finding a Sign Company that can easily manipulate that material is the key to having the sign look amazing. By using a CNC machine and well designed sign file, High Density Urethane can be transformed into almost anything.
Either sign substrate choice will make your business sign stand out, and make your business look outstanding! Need more info on how dimensional signs and structural signage can fit into your business? Then contact The Sign Depot and one of our Award Winning Sign Experts will be pleased to help. Looking for more examples of dimensional business signs? Visit our photo gallery on our website and our facebook page.
Creating Artistic Signs for the Beer and Liquor Industry – Tribute to the Irish Rovers
Just in time for patio season….
….we thought we would introduce some of our festive signs. Take a look and see if your brand of choice is in the list of our artistic signs
Could Have Been The Whiskey…..
Might Have Been The Gin.
Could have been the three….
Or Four….
Six Packs….
I don’t know but look at the mess I’m in.
My head is like a football….
I think I’m going to die. Tell me oh me or my……
Wasn’t that a party?
Now that we have you humming a merry tune, how about joining in a sing-a-long with the band?
