We recently installed the first element of this signage project for viXtel.  Scope of work to extend to an internal office fitout hopefully featuring a couple of WallScrawls and some other branding elements along with carpet, painting, cabinetry etc.   To kick things off though ~ external building id: 3D acrylic logo on white acrylic with corner fold & return and concealed fixings all to maintain a clean aesthetic and lift the quality of the signage.  Nick and Terry wanted to be noticed.  They liked our carsales.com.au signage and wanted something with similar impact so here it is.  Stay tuned for more over coming weeks.

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

One. I don’t like the word Testimonial.  Two. I sometimes think that people make them up to put on their site.  Three. We don’t go asking for them.  Four.  I am a living contradiction. Because when we get something like this from carsales.com.au do ya think we are gonna hold back???  No way, we’re gonna  post it right here under the heading “testimonials” – carsales.com.au because we know and they know ït works”!

Louise @ carsales.com.au sent this response to Mr Taylor (makes him sound very senior) in response to our recent installation of signage on Burwood Road in Hawthorn.

OMG

I know this is a bit delayed, but today is my first day back from annual leave. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and all that jazz but I really just wanted to let you know that the sign looks FANTASTIC and we are absolutely thrilled!!!!  Your boys worked sooo hard and I hope you have rewarded them accordingly. When I spoke to them in the afternoon they said they wouldn’t be able to put the car bit up the top because they needed a winch (or something like that?) but then I went out that night and drove past the office after 9pm and they were just finishing off the whole sign.  You make sure you tell them I said thank you and that they did a wonderful job.  We are very happy customers Mr.Taylor. Keep up the good work.

Down with the old and up with the new

Bayside Beauty Therapy had already had some signage done by some other company but after seeing what we did at Tease Me Hairdressing she realised she wasn’t all that happy with what she had had done.  So John went out to see her and gave her some advice. 

1.  The sign below the AVEDA decal was way too small so a waste.  To make full use of the light above John suggested a much bigger sign to overlay the two windows and really let passers by know who you are.

2.  The large postage stamp window decal was already coming away and stuck in the middle of the window didn’t really enhance the space.  So John suggested more of a holographic treatment which screens inside activity at night. Sorry our photo has not provided a good shot of this same image which now fills the window space.  Light issues!

3.  At base of image he created a translucent purple decal (ie: purple printed on clear film for aesthetic and colour translucency) to match the logo colour and overlaid with logo text – web address, and phone no.

This was all done on a budget of $1400.  There are cost effective ways of promoting your business effectively and aesthetically.  Good advice is important.  You be the judge …

Before

After

Don’t know about everyone else but this year has been a bit weird for business, steady with bursts of activity but certainly not going gang busters like the last few years which is a good thing sometimes, because time in between has enabled us to create our very own sign and practice what we preach. The big 3 – street, online and mobile presence. Here’s our street presence: fabricated, stepped signage showing a few different products that all relate to our online presence which is where you are at right now if you are reading this.