class="tag"Posts Tagged ‘artistic signs’
No Comments Artistic Sign Design With Pantone’s 2017 Colour Of The Year – Greenery
‘Tis The Season
As in prior years, designers await an early December announcement from Pantone. It’s an announcement that does set a “tone” for the next year. Yesterday the wait ended as Pantone announced it’s upcoming Colour Of The Year. The choice for the 2017 Pantone Colour Of The Year is GREENERY.
It’s perfect timing as our last post was about selecting cedar trees as Christmas trees and we think adding some green is always a great idea. It’s a colour we often incorporate into our artistic sign design for our seasonal products.
Going Green For 2017
With Greenery making it’s way to the forefront of Pantone’s extensive colour list, we expect to see it incorporated into logo designs and branding strategies very soon. The new year is a fantastic time to plan a re-brand or launch advertising campaign, and a fresh colour like Greenery will add vibrancy to branding and marketing initiatives. Finding ways to stay ahead of competitors is something that needs to be planned months in advance, so now is the best time to decide if your business should go green for 2017. One of the best ways to get ahead of the pack is to update your company signs. If you are not sure where to start when it comes to signage, just visit our CONTACT US page to be connected with The Sign Depot’s artistic sign design team. They can assist with ways to incorporate this colour and complimentary shades into your branding, exterior business signs and retail signage. If you already have your designs in place we are able to work with that as well. Many well known design firms come to the sign-makers here at The Sign Depot for their expertise in creating signs that match their design work. The Sign Depot’s artistic sign designers and sign-makers understand the creative process. From concept to design to manufacturing the approved signage, they can produce a high quality representation of your business.
Do you plan to incorporate the Pantone’s Colour Of The Year GREENERY into your business for 2017? Let us know in the comments.
Brewing Up Some Artistic Signs For The 3 Brewers Restaurants
It’s A Beautiful Day In The 3 Brewers Neighbourhood
The 3 Brewers, also known as Les 3 Brasseurs, are Canadian microbrewerey restaurants. Each location is unique and has a dedicated beer for the neighbourhood that the restaurant is situated in. When they had a need for individual brand representation at each establishment, they came to The Sign Depot for a variety of custom artistic signs.
Artistic Signs As Demonstrative Drawings
While infographics are often used online, this demonstrative drawing serves as an step by step infographic of the brewing process perfected by The 3 Brewers.
As you can see from the image above, the graphics were hand drawn by the expert signmakers here at The Sign Depot. After completion the drawing was placed into a custom fabricated metal frame and cnc cut HDU replica bolt heads were affixed to the piece. The distress finish completed the vintage look of the artistic sign.
Custom Crafted Beer Deserves Custom Made Signs
As mentioned earlier in this post, each location of The 3 Brewers has a one of kind beer created for that restaurant. Naturally they wanted these specialty beers highlighted in each locale. That is when a custom sign shop can play a very important role. The signmakers crafted custom pieces for display and replication for each indivdual location. Below are just a few of the charcoal art pieces that were created for The 3 Brewers.
Raise A Glass To Those Who Value Custom Craftsmanship
While The 3 Brewers are Brewmasters, The Sign Depot has a lot in common with them.
We both
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Hand craft our products
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Create high quality items
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Take pride in our trade
We raise a glass to all those who take pride in their work and say CHEERS to all those that value custom craftsmanship!
Do you think these traits are important as well? Let us know in the comments what the word craftsmanship means to you!
Our Artistic Signs Make Us The Signmaker To The Stars
…… sort of
How about the signmaker to the stars by association?
Over the years we have had the opportunity to work with several design firms that have high profile clients. Getting to manufacture the signs that compliment the aesthetics of an establishment is something we excel at. Finding ways to interpret a designer’s vision into artistic signs is the way we approach these types of signage projects. We want the signs to become cohesive architectural elements that elevates the design package.
Wayne Gretzky’s Sports Bar
Wayne Gretzky’s Sports Bar was one of the first celebrity inspired signs we created. The project came to us through MACKAY WONG DESIGN. This is just one of the many artistic signs we have created with this design firm.
Montecito
More recently we worked with MACKAY WONG DESIGN to create the signs for Ivan Reitman’s Montecito Restaurant. This project garnered a lot media attention being that it was a Toronto International Film Festival hot spot for celebrity sightings, because of it’s close proximity to the TIFF Lightbox.
Balzac’s Coffee Roasters
Through CHAD ROBERTS DESIGN we were able to connect to Balzac’s Coffee Roasters. The name of this cafe may sound familiar to many Canadians as they are well known as the coffee company that was invested in by Arlene Dickenson and Bruce Croxon of Dragon’s Den. We are now the supplier for the Balzac’s brand which has opened several locations in Southern Ontario.
Let’s Put Your Name On Building
Don’t worry you don’t have to be a star, but we’ll still treat you like a star client! We want to see your name in lights, but if you prefer not to have a lit sign we’re okay with that too. Let us know what your signage needs are by visiting our CONTACT US page and requesting a quote!
Community Involvement – Getting Involved In The Grand River Film Festival
Getting To Know GRFF
Earlier this year the artistic sign we created for Ivan’s Reitman’s Montecito Restaurant brought a lot of media attention our way during the Toronto International Film Festival, otherwise known as TIFF. This grabbed the attention of our local film festival known here in Kitchener Waterloo as GRFF which is short for Grand River Film Festival. This film festival looked like a great partner for our community involvement projects and decided to be involved with GRFF for the first time.
Headed For The Big Screen
The Grand River Film Festival provided us with a postive experience. The films were from a variety of genres, ranging from comedic fiction to real life modern day documentaries. Several of the screenings involved Q&A sessions with people involved in the film that was played that day. It added insight into the film and gave you a connection to the message surrounding the it. Adding artistic value and culture to our community is something we can really get behind. The Grand River Film Festival gave our local area a reason to celebrate the great events that happen in our community and displayed a true sense of all that goes into creating a film project. Finding out about films that are not mainstream (yet) gives you a great idea of what is coming next in the film making industry. It was an exciting festival and we were glad to be involved. We were even more excited to see our logo on the big screen!
Grand River Film Festival Attendees We Want To Hear From You!
Did you attend the Grand River Film Festival this year? We want to know what films you viewed and what your enjoyed most about your experience! Leave us a comment on FACEBOOK or send us a TWEET! We are always looking for ways to connect with our community both online and in person!
Del Dente To Dels Dimensional Signs
Adding Dimension To The Dels Enoteca Pizzeria
If you have visited Kitchener Waterloo Ontario there is a very good chance you have noticed the Charcoal Restaurant dimensional signs on the exterior of their building.
The Charcoal Group, known for their foreward thinking in the food industry, made the decision to rebrand their Del Dente Restaurant to Dels Enoteca Pizzeria. As described on their website the new logo was born out of the idea that our cuisine is an art form. The shape behind the word dels is a graphic representation of a hand-made pizza dough as well as a spot of sauce that might have splashed onto the chef’s coat when they took the first taste-test. Or, it is the splash of paint from an artist’s paintbrush. The customized font to represent ‘dels’ reminds us of spaghetti or linguine noodles and it exudes a fun and approachable feeling. The logo and identity will embrace that feeling that will flow into all touch points that the guest might see or touch. To bring the brand identity to the forefront during the establishment’s renovations, our expert sign-makers created dimensional signs to reflect the restaurant refresh.
Rebrand, Remove, Renew, Refresh and Repurpose During Restaurant Renovations
There were several steps involved in the Dels Enoteca Pizzeria Signage Package. Once the rebranding renovations began, time was of the essence to change over the Del Dente dimensional sign to #TheNewDels signs.
Removal of the iconic sign
Installation of temporary signage
Construction of new dimensional signs
Refurbishing of previous sign pieces 
Installation of the new signage package 
If you check out the video below you will see that several artistic signs were fabricated for Dels as well as some of their other signs were repurposed for the project.
Although they are no longer in their original spots they have been installed in new locations around the building. If you happen to see any of these dimensional signs while you are at the restaurant, be sure to tweet us a pic!
Artistic Sign Design – Radiant Orchid Is The 2014 Pantone Colour Of The Year
Passionate For Purple
When Pantone announced the 2014 Colour Of The Year would be Radiant Orchid, it was described as an enchanting harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones. This a very fresh and young colour which often see in Florals, Easter Jelly Beans, and suprisingly enough Celebrity Hairstyles.
Out With The Old
Last year Emerald made a impact as the 2013 Colour Of The Year with it’s bold jewel tones and striking vibrancy. With a much paler tone being added to the Pantone’s yearly collection, it will interesting to see if designers will take an understated artistic approach to including Radiant Orchid into their upcoming design projects.
Artistic Sign Design
Our expert sign makers have already found a way to incorporate shades of purple into their artistic sign designs. They chose to lighten up a 3 dimensional Christmas display this year with a lavender colour that looks very close to Radiant Orchid.
Adding pops of colour can give signs and designs an extra punch that can aid with visibilty and make it memorable. Adding too much of a good thing can have the opposite effect. You want to avoid your artistic designs from becoming eye-sores. Remember that less is more when it comes to logos and signs. Think of the message you want to convey and how colours and fonts can give you the results you are looking for. All of these choices are a representation of your brand.
If you’re not sure of the colour scheme for your custom sign? Then talk to one of our expert sign makers. Visit our Contact Us page and while you’re there be sure to subscribe to our monthly newsletter to be sure you are up to date with the lastest trends in sign design and get a behind the scenes look at what happens in a custom sign workshop.
Custom Painting And Creating One Of Kind Artistic Signs
Are You Unique?
Being a custom sign shop we are always looking for unique ways to create custom artistic signs. Many of our signs have custom paint finishes to make them a one of a kind sign. Custom painting is something that has had a cultural impact throughout history and is still carried over to modern day.
Custom Sign Painting
The crew here at The Sign Depot had the opportunity to view the film Sign Painters, which was glimpse into the world of handpainted signs. (FYI there is a swear word or two in this trailer- don’t say we didn’t warn you).
SIGN PAINTERS (OFFICIAL TRAILER) from samuel j macon on Vimeo.
The film showed how historic sign painting techniques are still used today, but the real star of the film is 1 Shot Paint, something we use almost daily here in our workshop.
But I am sure all of our expert sign makers will agree with what the painter in the trailer said “I want to make signs that turn into art”
Spray Painting With Airbrush Techniques
Another great custom painting technique is airbrushing. We often use it for backgrounds on our custom wood signs. This paint finish can provide overall coverage or colour fades just like the skyline in this cottage sign below.
Airbrush techniques are often used in several variations of street art as well.
From the Las Vegas Strip
To a very popular graffiti artist
To learn more about how street artist Bansky pranked passers-by in Central Park take a look at the Colossal post about the Unannouced Art Sale (a big thanks goes to Unmarketing’s Scott Stratten for bringing this amazing post to our attention!)
Even we have taken to spray painting techniques outside the shop. Below is a time lapse of stencil and spray paint sign technique (you can see it happening mid-way through the video) and although we don’t get many opportunities for this kind of sign work we always jump at the chance to try something new.
Creating A Custom Look
The expert sign makers here at The Sign Depot have several other custom sign painting techniques to ensure your sign has a unique finish and creates an impact. If you are looking for something vintage and weathered, or modern with a high gloss finish, they can achieve a one of kind look for your artistic sign. Once you have an idea of your sign project be sure to visit our Contact Us page in order to receive your quote. Looking for more ideas? Search around our website, blog, facebook page, and pinterest boards for some inspiration.
Adding Chalkboard Vinyl To Custom Signs And Other Custom Interior Items
Heading Back To School
With feeling of fall in the air and the children heading back to school to work on their ABC’s, we thought we would take this opportunity to give you a few lessons on adding chalkboard to your custom interior signs and other items.
Chalkboard Signs
Here at The Sign Depot we are quite familiar with chalkboard paint and how it can be used for custom sign applications. Using chalkboard paint to create an artistic sign in can be very labour intensive. There are many quick at home do it yourself chalkboard paint tutorials, but is a lot of sanding, priming and painting required in order to give a custom interior sign a professional look.
If you don’t require an actual board we have second option to help customize your signs and other custom interior items. We have added Chalkboard Vinyl to our lineup of vinyl products. Chalkboard vinyl is quick way to add an artistic element to your custom signs decor items. It is especially handy for those that are constantly changing their specials on for their business. It gives you the flexibility to change menu items, add some quick messaging and add daily deals without creating a new sign each day.
It would be great for signs in
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Car dealerships
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Anyone looking to re-use their signs while frequently changing up the items they offer
Unique Ways To Use Chalkboard Vinyl
Looking for other unique uses for Chalkboard Vinyl? We created a Pinterest Board to give you some inspiration! The board shows many projects created with chalkboard paint, but we think they would look just as great if chalkboard vinyl was used for these items. Head over to Uses For Chalkboard Vinyl Pinterest Board and see what inspires you!
How To Get A Chalkboard Vinyl Sign Designed?
Wondering how to get a custom Chalkboard Vinyl sign designed? Contact our Ben our Vinyl Master by emailing Ben@sign-depot.on.ca and he will be able to prepare your custom quote and let you know all the options you have when it comes to temporary custom signs created with vinyl!
Custom Wood Sign Trends – Why Barn Board Is Hot In Artistic Sign Design
How Do Trends Start?
By definition a TREND is a general direction in which something is developing or changing. If that is the case then we are trendsetters here at The Sign Depot. We strive to always be unique and innovative when it comes to creating our custom signs. We approach each project individually and look for ways to help our clients get noticed. We have been recognized for the uniqueness of our custom barn board signs by winning Runner Up for Best Business Sign for the Spirithouse sign we created, but the real trend began when barn board started popping up in Kitchener Waterloo. When clients come in with sign concept in mind we work hard to create the vision they have in mind. This was the case with the Death Valley’s Little Brother sign.
Bringing Back Barn Board
When Death Valley’s Little Brother needed a rustic looking wood sign that would catch the eye of passers-by we knew this would be an out of the ordinary custom business sign.
Barn board was used as a backer for the rusted finish individual cut out letters. In order to give a lot of contrast between the wood and the letters the reclaimed barn board with given an distressed finish and the letters were pin mounted to add dimension to the sign.
And They Tell Two Friends
Once the Death Valley’s Little Brother sign was installed in Waterloo, we started receiving inquiries about rustic look wood signs. The Truth Beauty Compay. contacted us regarding their upcoming move and wanted to have a vintage-look wood sign created for their new location. You can read more about their sign creation over on our post Custom Vintage Look Wood Signs.
Another inquiry came from Cheeses Murphy. Cheeses Murphy is a late night grilled cheese eatery that was about to open a second location in Downtown Kitchener. They had noticed the custom wood signs that their Uptown Waterloo neighbours had and came to us to create a barn board sign for their new establishment. Take a look at our Reclaimed Barn Board post to learn about the process to make their sign.
Photo Courtesy of Cheeses Murphy
We’re Trending
Because of the many retro-look signs we have created over the past few years we are getting a lot of calls about signs made from reclaimed materials and even for new signs that have a distressed look.
It is a design trend that we love. Using a variety of materials and fabrication methods is something we specialize in. Finding ways to create dimension through artistic signage is what makes us unique in the sign industry. What makes you a trendsetter in the marketplace? Leave a comment with your answer! We want to know what makes you stand out!
Gold Leaf And Custom Artistic Sign Making
Go For The Gold
One of the custom sign making techniques that we get a lot of inquiries about is the application of gold leaf. There is no substitute for the shine achieved by 23K gold leaf. It is multiple step process which requires a lot of expertise in order to properly apply the gold leaf to a sign or artistic sculpture. The best example of well known gold leaf application recognized worldwide would be the Queen’s Flotilla. To learn more, you can read our post Fit For A Queen, to see how The Royal Barge was sculpted using many of the same techniques that we use right here in The Sign Depot Workshop.
See The Sign Making Steps
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First Gold Size Oil is applied. Gold size is an adhesive that is applied to the surface of where you want the gold leaf to be.
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Next the sheets of Gold Leaf are separated to ensure even application.
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The Gold Leaf is applied with a specialty brush
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The last step is letting it set. In order to ensure the longevity of the finish, you must make sure the Gold Size Oil and Gold Leaf are completely dry before moving the sign.
Below you can see a quick recap of how we apply gold leaf to our custom signs. It adds quite an artistic touch to the finishing process.
Custom Sign Making Techniques
Curious about other custom sign making techniques? We have a fix for that! Be sure to RSVP to the upcoming Sign Depot Demo Day by clicking the image below. There you will get a behind the scenes look at what goes on in our sign manufacturing workshop. Peter Moir and the staff of The Sign Depot will be on hand to answer any questions and you’ll be amongst some of the top marketers in the business industry.
Click The Image Above To Register for The Sign Depot Demo Day
