Posted by Lisa on 12/12/2016

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Feeling Frozen With Rosemaling For Dimensional Signs

Dimensional Signs That Resemble Rosemaling

Are you wondering what we mean by rosemaling? Rosemaling is a design term that is based on Norwegian folk art.  It features flourishes, scroll work and geometric shapes.  Often rosemaling is a repetitive design.  In the Disney animated movie FROZEN, rosemaling was repetitive throughout the film.  The architecture, the furnishings, the outfits and even the winter scenery in the film was designed around the rosemaling technique.  You can see glimpses of modern rosemaling patterns in the  LET IT GO music video below.

Did you notice how the snowflakes, Elsa’s cape and even her castle highlight rosemaling?

Because of it’s artistic style, rosemaling is often incorporated into dimensional signs here at The Sign Depot. Below are a few examples of designs and dimensional signs that have references to rosemaling.

Heading North?

This outdoor dimensional stone sign was sandblasted with a geometric design pointing to north, south, east and west. It also includes some scrolls near the bottom of the sign.

Dimensional Signs And Structures

Below is just one part of what became a large floral sign structure.  With Pantone announcing their 2017 Colour Of The Year as Greenery, this HDU (high density urethane) sign element fits well for this time of year. We think think this structure would also work well in a rosemaling design.

Feeling Frozen?

Even our winter scene logo has geometric shapes and a scroll design that would be found in a folk art rosemaling pattern. While we are not located in Norway, you might get a little chilly when you take a look at all the details in this logo design.

With the arrival of the fresh white snow all we have left to ask is  DO YOU WANT TO BUILD A SNOWMAN?

A little FROZEN humor to melt your heart.

Posted by Lisa on 9/29/2012

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What is a Custom Sandblasted Sign and How are they Made?

What goes into making a Custom Sandblasted Sign?

We often have people popping in our workshop to inquire about the different types of signs we make.  We always want to give our clients a lot of choice and let them know all the signage products that are available to them.  Choosing the material that suits their style and their budget is what the sign experts here at Sign Depot pride themselves in.  A great technique is sandblasting.  Sandblasting allows for full customization of the sign.  This means that you have a lot of options when it comes to creating the sign best suited for you.

Materials

We have sandblasted several materials including stone, mdf and wood.  When it comes to wood we prefer to use western red cedar because of it being rot resistant.  Cedar signs have a long life and with a little bit of care your custom sign will always look spectacular.

Design

Here are some items that our designers will want to know when preparing your sign design

• Size
• Shape
• Colours
• Graphics
• Text

If you come in with some of these points ready, the sign designers can have some choices for you to pick from.  Once the design is ready you’ll be sent an image for approval.  After approval production can begin.

Pre-Production

There are few steps in the pre-production of a sandblasted sign. Once the stone has been selected or the wood has been cut to the desired shape, the rubber stencil made to match your choice of material.  The stencil is cut out on the plotter and then applied to the surface of the selected sign material.

Sandblasting

Once the sign is prepped for manufacturing the sandblasting can begin.  Sandblasting is a process when abrasive grit is pumped through a hose by forced air to carve the design and text into the sign’s surface.  The design is created through the cutout parts of the rubber stencil.  Those parts are sunk into the wood while the spots that are fully covered by the rubber stay protected resulting in a raised surface.  This Sign Depot block is a great example of the sandblasting technique.

The blue areas are the spots where the cedar was protected by the rubber stencil, and then natural wood showing through shows where the stencil was cut out allowing the sandblasting to cut away at the wood.

Finishing

After the sign has been sandblasted it will be sanded to a smooth surface for the proper finish to adhere to.  Finishes come in choices of stains, paints and vinyls.  The finishing is very important as it is the final step before your sign leaves the shop.  Finding a finish best suits the conditions where your sign will be placed is very important.  Whether your sign will be indoor or outdoor, if it will be in direct sunlight or a sheltered area are things to consider when choosing the finish for your custom sandblasted sign.

That is how a sandblasted sign created here at Sign Depot.  To see more examples check out our photo galleries on our main website and our facebook page.  Have additional questions about sandblasting? Tweet them to us, or leave a comment below.

Posted by signmaster on 8/18/2010

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3 Dimensional Signs – What Will They Be?

 Maybe it’s a Question Mark ?

 

Finding Signs Of Mystery

Normally we here at The Sign Depot keep the guess work out signage for you, but for this post we thought we would give you a sneak peak of some of the 3 dimensional signs we are creating for a rather large project. Most of the custom signs shown above look like dimensional props for film, but they all will fit together to make on massive sign display. Can you guess what The Sign Depot is constructing next?

Four Sign Making Technique Features

Here is a quick overview of how these sign components will incorporated into 3 dimensional sign display

1. The first photo is wood sign structure that will serve as a base and High Density Urethane panels will be attached to replicate distressed wood.
2. The second example show how we can instantly rust an object with a modern masters sign finishing technique
3. The third photo demonstrates how professional sign maker create dimension with artistic sculptures
4. The fourth picture is a custom carved sign finished in 23 Karat Gold Leaf through a processes known in the sign industry as guilding

Together these custom sign elements will be brought together to make a enormous sign structure solution for a business wanting to catch the attention of those passing by.  The use of 3 dimensional signs will make sure this custom business sign stands out from its surroundings and will create a lot of buzz for the company.

Update

Still curious about how this all came together to make one giant custom business sign? We won’t keep you waiting any longer. We have posted pictures of our custom sign display. Take a look at our post 3 Dimensional Signs – Proportion Is Everything to see the final results.  Did you guess right? We hope you are impressed by this impressive sign!