Traffic Signs from Big Idea

Traffic and directional signs may not be the fanciest signs out there but they do have a very important role.

Here we are pictured in our shop assembling several large traffic signs. The primary material we use here at Big Idea is a thick, highway-grade aluminum. The surface is coated with a prismatic reflective yellow vinyl for added visibility. The lettering and borders are designed from client specifications.

When creating traffic or direction signs it is important to understand the viewing audience. Signs viewed at 70 mph use a different design concept from those signs used in a parking lot. Likewise signs for fowl weather viewing should incorporate different design elements than signs for an interior parking ramp.

Nearly all of the exterior traffic and directional signs we produce have three similar elements. A strong, lightweight, non-corrosive substrate, a reflective background, and high contrasting san-serif text and graphics. With these 3 elements, and a good designer, you are sure to find signs that are easy to see and quick to read.

Photo Shoot

Here is a shot of one of our friends, Eric Olson. Eric is an established professional Walleye angler. You can find more about Eric here.

Pictured here is Eric modeling some sponsorship gear. This shot was taken by our owner Davin, good friends with Eric, on the Friday after Thanksgiving. "25°f and 64 mph on the open Mississippi River is wind chill"!

Our shoot consisted of some technical Evinrude shots, tackle & lures, sponsor gear, and of course fish. Though it was a cold challenging day for a shoot, the 24+ Walleye/Sauger day made it all worthwhile.

Photo Shoot

Part of our day here at Big Idea was spent on a product photo shoot. The subject was the EZ Gripper vinyl installation tool.

Here you can see this tool in action, gripping a large format digital print. Notice how taught the vinyl is. This tool is a rather unique device that really helps a person installing large vinyl graphics, keeping the graphics tight and straight for an easier application.

We had a lot of fun on this shoot and a special thanks to our hand model, Ben for helping out.

Billboard worth sharing

This billboard was not produced by Big Idea though we felt it was worthy of sharing with our audience.

Store Front Identity

Here we are spotted putting the finishing touches on a sign cabinet installation we completed last week in the Highland park area of St. Paul.

This sign cabinet is a custom made light-box that was designed to match our clients logo colors. With the nice paint job and translucent vinyl logo and lettering, this sign will surely be noticed illuminated or not.

Budget Sign Deja vu

What a great picture!
Do you recognize who is in this picture? Let me give you a clue, they use to work together... still don't know?

Pictured here is the owner of Big Idea Signs, Davin Brandt, and former owner and founder of Budget Sign in St. Paul, MN, Wayne Blossey. Davin Worked as general manager for Wayne and subsequent owners of #Budgetsignshop in #stpaul, MN for nearly 16 years. Today was a sort of reunion in the field.

This picture was taken today after a couple of site signs were installed for Wayne's Church, Arlington Hills Lutheran Church. "Big Idea signs sure gave us great designs." The signs serve as a community notice for a Christmas tree lighting event held Dec. 5th.

"It was sure great to see Wayne again, it reminded me of the good old days we had together installing signs all over the #twincities." Davin was pretty excited about this project and is anxious to see Arlington's awesome tree lighting this year.

Construction Site Signs

Pictured here is a unique construction site sign we installed today in the Frogtown area of St. Paul, MN. just prior to Mayor Chris Colman's address to the crowd and media.

What you see here, at this ground breaking ceremony, is an example of our direct, full color MDO sign board. This install utilizes our metal post and bracket above ground sign system. This system enables the construction site crew to maneuver the sign to different locations as needed during the construction project. It is also the installation method of choice during the winter months due to deep frost in the ground.

This sign is currently facing North during this ground breaking but will soon face south, toward the intersection of dale & University. Feel free to visit the site to see for yourself the high quality print process we are so often complimented on.

Step and Repeat Backdrop banners

Pictured here is a backdrop banner we recently produced for a Red Carpet event. This type of banner is what we call a step and repeat banner. The idea here is to repeat a logo or series of logos so that during photo or video coverage a logo is always visible somewhere around the subject in the foreground.

This particular project was approximately 8' x 8' in size and digirally printed on matte finish vinyl banner stock. It was produced for Dr. James Beranek of Beranek Optometry in Hollywood, FL. He is the producer of a pretty neat annual event: Eye Believe - a benefit for The Children's Diagnostic and Treatment Center.


More info on step and repeat banners can be found at: http://www.bigideasign.com/banners.html

Helping Joseph's Coat

Here is a picture that our owner, Davin Brandt, takes great pride in. This was a project he coordinated with Joseph's Coat to help increase the curb side exposure and appeal. Being a non-profit organization, the cost for this needed to be fine tuned. He was able to exceed there expectations and came way under budget for them.

What you see here is the Joseph's Coat logo created using colored 3M translucent vinyl film. This adhesive-backed film was applied on site, by Davin, one color at a time. The result is a wonderful work of art that has a stained glass look on bright sunny days. What you don't see here are the two-toned accent stripes that are on the remaining 5 windows as well as another identical window logo.

Joseph's Coat is one of the local St. Paul charities we support here at #Bigideasigns. Their main objective is to dispense donated clothing, household items and hygiene products to those less fortunate than most of us. They do this for free. The staff of only 3 is supported by about 100 volunteers whose main purpose is to sort through the donated goods each Tuesday and Thursday. At the time of this post, Joseph's Coat is helping approximately 500 adults and 80 children each shopping day ( Monday and Wednesday). That is nearly 1200 people each week. Did we mention that these individuals and families get to shop at Joseph's Coat for free? We invite you to visit their website at: www.josephscoatmn.org for more information.

Table banners

Here we show you an example of a banner table wrap we recently produced. The banner served two functions. One, was to hide and secure the property that was shelved under the table. Secondly, it provided a great way to help brand the business space.

Table banners offer a great option for inexpensive branding of your business or products and services. this example was used in a restaurant environment, but can work equally effective for events, trade shows, radio broadcasts, festivals and fairs and so on.

With standard reinforced sides and grommets as our standard finishing, our banners come ready to install making life a bit easier on your next project.

Photo of the Week

©copyright - ninemile images

Awesome window lettering

Pictured here is a great example of exterior window lettering.

The vinyl lettering used here was produced using a high performance 3M® translucent film. Our owner here at Big Idea has been working with Dr. Bierbrauer, of Bier+Brauer Chiropractic, to help his business develop a little more "curb appeal". With eye catching lettering and graphics like this it appears that our window lettering goal has been meet.

Photo of the Week

©copyright - Big Idea signs,llc

Interior Office Signs

Here is a sample of an interior reception desk logo sign recently created and installed.

The sign is made from a custom fabricated piece of acrylic. The graphics on the face have been created using adhesive-backed high performance vinyl films. On the back side of the acrylic is a flood coat of our dusted crystal film, giving the illusion of an etched glass look. Note too the mounting system. We used our standard barrel and puck mount system to secure the sign approximately 2" from the wall surface.

This stand-off acrylic sign system is a great option for business looking for a more visually creative way to present their image. Not only is the dimensional shape stylish but the design and mounting combinations are endless.