Signs Of Community Involvement – TEDx

Connected Community

We want to ensure that our community involvement brings people together for a common good and this new event was something that was recognized as a positive change for our local area. With our past community involvement in TEDx Waterloo we were thrilled that TEDx Kitchener came to us to bring their branding to centre stage, especially since the theme for this event was Fostering Connectivity.

 For highlights from the event be sure to check out their #TEDxKitchenerED hashtag to see what those in attendance thought of the conference.

Grabbing The Attention Of An Audience

As a way to introduce TEDx Kitchener, a dimensional sign was created to draw in the audience members.  This stand up sign stood out from the stage but did not take away from the speakers’ presentations.  It is imperative for signs to have a unique look without becoming an eye-sore, so this one was designed for modern style of the TEDx brand.  To acheive the clean look the sign letters were router cut on our CNC table.

Vinyl was applied to the letters and they were placed into a custom platform piece to hold up the sign.

While following the TEDxKitchenerED twitter feed, we noticed that the sign grabbed the attention of audience member @KWSarah when she tweeted  this pic

All set for #TEDxKitchenerED tonight ! #kwawesome pic.twitter.com/NPERJQTuJv

— Sarah Bach (@kwsarah) May 20, 2014

Community Involvement In Your Area

Community involvement has always been a part of what we do here at The Sign Depot. We want to know how you get involved in your community. There are many ways of doing so. Do you volunteer? Donate to a charitable organization? Participate in community events?  How do you give back to your community? We look forward to hearing about it! Leave a comment below, post on our facebook page or send us a tweet.  We are always looking to connect with local community as well as our online community. We think that is great way to begin Fostering Connectivity.

Business Branding With Signs – Why 2014 Will Be All About Brand Trust

Focus On Branding

In earlier posts we have discussed business branding and why focusing on branding better is so important to your business. Finding ways to make a visual impact with a custom sign to match your branding, adds to your company brand recognition, as well as brand trust.

You’ve Built Your Brand – Now What?

Remember your branding needs to be a representation of what your company stands for and how your clients feel about your business.  Use the quick checklist below to see which terminolgy best represents your brand.

 You can read more about this on our blog post about showing your best attributes.

Now that you have a grasp of how to best represent your brand, you need to ensure your company reflects that image.  You want your business to stand out among your competition by ensuring you are the best of the best. When you always strive to be at the top of your industry, you are building trust with your clients.  Brand trust helps increase the word of mouth advertising about your company.  Here are four focus points that can get others talking about your brand.

1. Quality – Everyone wants a well made product
2. Service – Taking the extra step to exceed expectations
3. Sourcing – They may come to you for additional projects that were not part of their orginal inquiry
4. B2B Relationships – Happy clients are sure to refer your company to others

While these may not be the top points for all companies and services, they are ones the expert sign makers at The Sign Depot focus on.  Well made custom signs that exceed our clients expectations. Full branding from exterior signs, interior wayfinding, vehicle decals and window graphics make it easy for our clients to refer us to their colleagues.

How Will You Improve Your Branding In 2014?  We want to hear about the steps you plan to take in the new year.  Leave us comment, send us tweet or update us on facebook with your branding ideas for 2014

     

Custom Vehicle Graphics Are Not Just For Cars

Promotional Graphics For A Custom Food Festival Vehicle

Is your promotional vehicle giving your brand all the credit it deserves?  David from Bread Heads decided very quickly that his Wood Fired Pizza Trailer needed to be branded better.  He was already creating a lot of buzz at outdoor festivals with his unique trailer but quickly realized that highway travelers were taking a second look as he was towing it to or from the festival site.

Big Branding Design Decisions

David came to The Sign Depot for assistance in branding his promotional vehicle as well as his company Bread Heads.  Without having a true logo for his business, Adam (Sign Depot Designer) was able to come up with a concept that would work as vehicle graphics and transfer well into custom business signage for David.

A Fully Customized Festival Vehicle

When we say fully customized we mean it featured custom designed vinyl vehicle decals and a custom paint finish achieved by Ben otherwise know as our Vinyl Master.

With the large white decal text on the red vehicle the info stands out very well.

For the upper part of the vehicle a vinyl stencil was layed down and painted over to use the negative space as a way to highlight the designed logo.

Following?

Are you following them on the road or following them on twitter? Either way the info relayed on this promotional vehicle will help you find out where Bread Heads is heading to next.

Having a clear message that can be relayed through signs gives passers-by a way to contact or connect with your business.  If you wish to connect with us, leave a comment below, follow us on twitter or post on our facebook page.

Thanks to The Sign Depot for doing a great job on the trailer! Look for us on the road to Simcoe tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/evAO6iYf9d

— Bread Heads (@heybreadheads) August 22, 2013

 We would love to help you with your vehicle graphics whether it be for one car, or a fleet of busineess vehicles.  We think you’ll be happy with the results too!

Better Branding – Red Bull Wins

Red Bull Stratos Sponsors Felix Baumgartner’s Live Jump From The Edge Of Space

Where were you the day that Felix Baumgartner stepped out of the weather balloon’s shuttle will be a question that many may ask, but most likely it will be described as the Red Bull Stratos LiveJump. The Red Bull Stratos Mission was scientific mission backed by several companies but the only one you’ll remember is the one that claims it GIVES YOU WINGS.

What Red Bull Did Right

Over the years many public figures have been associated with wearing brands.  Think of Michael Jordan and Nike or which fresh faced celeb is now the spokesperson for Covergirl or the movie star sporting a milk moustache for the Got Milk? campaign. This has also been a trend with car races and now event venues IE The Air Canada Centre.  Finding a way to get a company name to be common place in everyday discussion is the right way to market.

 Think of it this way, how often do you ask for a Kleenex? What you should be asking for is a facial tissue.

Red Bull did it right, with just a few properly placed logos in the spots that the cameras would catch and adding their brand to the event’s name they will forever be associated with the historical jump.

http://youtu.be/s_PIyqZYVBk

Nik vs Felix

Just a few months ago Nik Wallenda crossed Niagara Falls on a high wire.  It is believed that millions tuned in to watch the event live and has since been watched by a billion.  Imagine if a company had their brand name attached to that event.  How many eyes would have witnessed it?  How many companies are realizing now that it was a missed opportunity for brand recognition?

Better Branding

A few things to consider when it comes to branding

• Branding is about connecting with your current and future customers
• Find ways to be top of mind in your marketplace
• Be a leader amongst your competitors by staying orginal
• Be known as a reputable company
• Stand out from your surroundings

Whether you are building your brand, or rebranding to refresh your advertising, always consult a professional when it comes to the look of your company logo.  Colours, graphics, text and font choices are all part of corporate branding.  Make sure your logo is designed as a good representation of what you have to offer consumers, as they are the ones that decide which brand they are going to buy.

So the big question is, do you remember where you were doing during the Red Bull Stratos Live Jump?

 

Artistic Singer, Artistic Design and What they Have in Common With Signs

Signs, Designs and How Bob Dylan Brought it All Together

Bob Dylan is often referred to as artist of a generation.  His unique sound and thought provoking lyrics have been heard by many but what brought Dylan to the mainstream audience was the clip of his song Subterranean Homesick Blues  in the film Don’t Look Back.  During the clip Bob Dylan uses several of rudimentary signs to grab attention to the messages in his song.

Flash forward to present day.  Film and video are still ways to express a message and Bob Dylan is still influencing others.  Take a look at how his lyrics influenced one designer to re-create the signs and messages from the original film clip, using several styles of artistic typography.

http://vimeo.com/49556689

 The video is a great representation of how fonts play into relaying a message.  Finding a lettering style that matches what you want to convey is something that designers do very well.  They choose the font that best tells your story and fits your brand.  Here’s a great example of the word scary displayed in two different fonts.

The choice of font makes a bigger impact in the lower photo because it also displays the feeling that goes along with the word. Your artistic font choice gives your text a voice.  Make sure to consider what your text says when picking a font. It can put emphasis on the message you want others to read and understand.

Finding Fonts Fascinating?

Then join us at the screening of the TYPEFACE Film.  Happening October 12 2012 at 7pm in Waterloo Ontario’s Princess Cinema.

Watch the trailer on our post The Sign Depot Presents Typeface and purchase your tickets.

Becoming a fan of fonts? See how to use them in artistic sign design from both a signage point of view in the links in this posts and look for upcoming blogs on the topic.

3 Dimensional Sign Letters – Williams Fresh Cafe Rebrand

When A Well Recognized Business Brand Decides To Refresh 

Many Williams establishments in the area are currently going through a rebrand and more fittingly a refresh.  They are changing from William’s Coffee Pub to Williams Fresh Cafe.  The reason for Williams new branding is explained  by Corey Dalton CEO of Williams Fresh Cafe  on the Williams Fresh Cafe website

“People’s palates are becoming increasingly more refined with restaurant expansions and the food education they receive via pop culture. Also, consumers have far more access to global foods through the supermarkets offerings as globalization continues,” Dalton said.

This switch to fresh fare required a change for all their company signs and required a new green influenced colour scheme to match the refreshed brand.  The Williams restaurants we worked on required a couple of sign elements.  The 3 dimensional sign letters  that hang from a bulk head over the menu boards were the noticable difference between the new branding and the orginal Coffee Pub signs. Frosted vinyl window graphics were also a part of the business sign solutions we provided. These window decals add to the warm and friendly entrance-way.

Top Five Reasons To Rebrand – According To The Sign Depot

Why would you want to rebrand? Here are the 5 reason we find most businesses rebrand

1. You want your business to appeal to a new demographic
2. Your company is expanding and you want want it represent your growth
3. The type of services you provide are changing
4. To reflect new trends in your industry IE green economy, organic lifestyle
5. A merger or a switch to a collaberative workspace

Hot Beverage Anyone?

On a dreary day like this, sometimes all you need is a Hot Beverage to Perk You UP! If you stop by a Williams Fresh Cafe let us know what you think of their new business branding.  Did you enjoy the new look? Did the updated signs add to the refreshed atmosphere?  

Custom Wood Signs – Fitting Different Logos Under One Business Brand

Three Very Different Logos Get One Uniformed Look

Recently here at The Sign Depot we had the opportunity to test our branding matching skills. The UPI Energy office requested new reception area signage. It involved taking three very different logos and making them fit together as one business brand.

 

Custom Wood Signs

In order for these logos to “work” together in the same space the sign solution was simple.  Creating custom wood signs for each of the business logos would give them a clean uniform look.

These custom crafted reception signs were resized and by using the same wood stain finish they were able to change their differences into similarities. Taking a client’s marketing dilema and finding the right sign solution is something that the sign experts here at The Sign Depot are quite acquainted with.  With their professional sign making techniques and custom sign finishes they are able to acheive and exceed the expectations of our customers. 

Finished Sign Project

 As you can see  in the pictures below, UPI Energy will have a warm welcoming reception area thanks to the use of custom wood signs. The use of artistic signs brought the three company logos together to fit under one brand. If you wood like more information on how custom wood signs and reception signs work together to  make exceptional interior signs, make sure to visit The Sign Depot Contact Us page and get in touch with our sign experts.  One of our professional sign designers will gladly offer you suggestions on how to upgrade your reception sign while ensuring to design a custom business sign in your budget range. Providing creative sign projects for companies is what we are known for, and we would love to have the opportunity to quote a custom artistic sign for your company that showcases everything your business has to offer.