I like to check out how retail shops present themselves. Sometimes a lot of thought goes into signage. Larger businesses will have a style guide that is the point of reference for how they present themselves to maintain uniformity across the brand. A small business will engage a graphic designer to create logos, colours, imagery etc to be used across signage, print and web media to present a cohesive and attractive brand. A bit of cost upfront but if they use and reuse the same elements then the end result is selling their product, service or brand effectively, uniformly and ends up being cost efficient. For other businesses the budget runs out; it’s all been spent on the fit out and for the signage they want a quick cheap solution. Which in effect cheapens everything else they have achieved to date. I get this on a budget level but I don’t get it on a business level because as consumers we make decisions about what our experience might be before we even enter a shop. Take a cafe for example. This might sound a bit snobbish and maybe I am but if I arrive in a new town I either walk or drive around looking at all the available cafes then make a choice. If I am going to fork out for food I want to enjoy the experience, the surrounds, the ambience of the place. I want it to be friendly, happening and appealing to more than my sense of taste. A lot of this has to do with how it looks even though every one says don’t judge a book by its cover. Smell, taste, emotion also play a big part in how we feel about an experience we are about to have.

Anyway here is Designed Blinds new showroom in Richmond, a before and after to show what a good looking sign makes to the external appearance and identification of this building. It is everything I am trying to explain above … it completes the building, it creates a sense of place and order, it tells you a little story without you even knowing it, it is appealing and when you know the brand itself it is in keeping with how Designed Blinds like to present themselves.

BEFORE

AFTER
The difference here is the sign but also the simple landscaping; creating the white pebbled mounds with tufts of green further enhances the appearance

Other great examples of cafe work we have done that pulls together all of the elements described above ….

Restaurant Projects Link

It is that time of year where the SALE sign hangs prominently in every retail shop window.  Some shops bang out the same SALE sign every season, the off the shelf red and white variety, others invest a bit more design time and effort knowing that SALE time brings its own reward for effort 

We have a couple of clients who use the SALE sign as another way of window dressing their shop, in other words they periodically put time and effort into marketing their shop even during a SALE period.  FIG are a good example.  They engage graphic design group, Mahon and Band  for their creative.  Here are some examples of SALE signs we have printed and installed  for FIG over the past couple of years.

FIG

We were out looking at bathroom fixtures and fittings on the weekend and I spotted Designed Blinds across the road and asked John if that was the work we had just installed for Designed Blinds. Yep was the ever matter of fact reply so with new phone camera in hand I was off taking shots of the reception signage and pylon signage outside.  Didn’t realise that Jon and Kevin were frantically preparing for the opening on Monday inside.  They came to the front door to see why I was happy snapping outside.  John called out not to let me in but they did and the whole family followed.  Kevin had some questions anyhow while I snapped away.

Here’s a little look inside and outside ….

Subtle Logo Interpretation | 3D white on white

A quick passing snap of some printed corflute external exhibition signage for the Rupert Bunny ‘Artist in Paris’ exhibition currently showing at the National Gallery of Australia at Federation Square.  Taken at a fair distance but we did the white on pink balustrade graphics.   Generally our gig is internal exhibition graphics at the NGV (all the bits you read about the exhibits in relatively small sized text (referred to as didactics ~ educating the public about the artist and their exhibits).  Have been doing this and other bits and pieces for 14 years now for the NGV.  

It’s starting to  look a lot like winter. 

Rupert Bunny | Exhibition Signage

We call them Pull Ups, (not to be confused with the trainer pants for toddlers) but you may also know them as Display Stands or Rollaways.  Called Pull Ups because you pull them from the base up, like a reverse blind. The banner rolls back into the base unit after use for ease of transport.  Pull Ups are generally used indoors as they are fairly light weight and could be a hazard on a windy day, not exactly a lethal weapon but could land a pretty good scare.

Here’s 3 we prepared earlier this month …. different colour bases to match banner print design.

Car Safe Kids

The Man in Black

Can't read Greek