Heart Walk 2010 - Team Logo

We were approached early this week to produce a Heart Walk 2010 team logo for Larson • King, LLP. They have created this team in memory of an Attorney they recently lost, Jennifer DeKarske. The team will be raising money during the American Heart Association Heart Walk in June.

After meeting to discuss the logo T-shirt idea with Larson • King staff, our designer produced the images you see here. We took into account Jennifer's personality, and created this fun logo in honor of her memory. We will be printing the two color graphics on some nice white T-shirts in hopes to really stand out in the crowd. Check back in June to see the final results of this wonderful project.


If any of you wish to learn more about helping with the battle of heart disease through the Heart Walk 2010 click here.

Drum Head Follow up

Pictured here is the same drum head being worked on in the previous post only now it is installed on the drum and ready for action.

Business Identity - not just for the corporate world

Some of the business identity we produce here may not be consider "business" to some but for our clients it sure is.

Pictured here is a great example of a not so mainstream identity project yet a niche we have been known for in the music world- drum head logos. What you see here is a 24" clear bass drum head. We were contacted by it's owner and band member of: we became actors. With a big show coming up there was a need to get the band name noticed. Time was critical on this project. We developed a quick solid logo that would be easy to read yet fit the style of the band and drum kit. What you see here is the final product, a matte finished black vinyl, being applied to the drum head. The whole project took about 48 hours from logo design to final application and just in time for last nights gig.

Just what is Business Identity anyway?

Providing business identity is really the foundation of our business. Most people think that Identity is just coming up with a good logo. Though that is a key component, it is not the only aspect of a company's identity.

I will Use Paula • Elert Photography as an example of what Business Identity entails through Big Idea.

Paula contacted us in need of some business identity for her new Photography business. After some one-on-one consulting we outlined a plan to approach what she felt was an overwhelming task. We started first with creating her image - A logo. The logo, pictured here, displays an elegant professionalism along with a bit of Paula's colorful personality. With a solid logo we were off to a great start. next on the agenda is putting this logo to good use, getting it in front of potential clients. We have developed a business card, envelope & letterhead layout as well as the beginnings of her website for starters.

It doesn't stop here. We have plans to create some vehicle graphics that will add to her visual presence 24/7/365. We also have plans ready for postcard mailers and a brochure. When the time is right and Paula takes part in trade events we will move forward with our booth design complete with back drop banner, easel signs and large format prints of her work.

As you can see, business identity is not really just about a logo, it is a process of creating and producing your professional image in a way that will create curiosity and intrigue in the eye of potential clients. Sometimes it is a logo other times it might be a simple directional sign, office directory or maybe even a product lable. Whatever it may be you can bet we have a Big idea ready to be seen.

Small Business Rewards

Most of our clients here at Big Idea are small businesses. Some of who have been at it for decades and some just starting out. What they all share in common, unlike Washington, is working with tight budgets and keeping expenses under control.

Pictured here is a store front of Forte Drums. The guys at forte are just opening up shop. They came to us in need of some exterior sign face replacement - one of our specialties. Since these guys are handy with tools and ladders they were willing to do a bit of work to help keep the sign project within their budget. They decided to supply their own sign grade polycarbonate sign face and install it themselves, something we had no problem with. What we provided was some design consulting, translucent vinyl lettering and on-sight vinyl application.

After getting to forte, and moving some of their hand made drums, our installer laid the sign face right there on the floor and carefully worked around the shops inventory. Upon completion of the vinyl application and packing up the truck, our installer turned to snap this shot...the guys at Forte Drum had their sign up and working in no time.

By the way this sign came in at less than 50% off the original estimated project cost. This was done simply by being creative and having a Big Idea.

As you can see the end result turned out great!

Fishing with MN Twins #14

Update for the fishing fans out there. Our owner, Davin Brandt, can bee seen fishing on Kent Hrbek Outdoors this week. In fact it airs tonight on the FSNorth network at 7PM.

The show is about fishing the rivers of Minnesota's North Shore of Lake Superior for the elusive Steelhead, a migratory Rainbow trout. Learn more about the fishery at minnesotasteelheader.com

This picture was shot while scouting a few rivers a few days before the filming.

Shop Time

Today we have a picture of a custom sign we recently finished for Heartland Animal Hospital.

This sign is a great illustration of our ability to produce custom shapes to our signs. This particular sign is 13' long and just under 4' in height. The material used is a 4mm Dibond® material. Click here for more info on DiBond®

What is unique about this sign is the combination of print and graphic applications. It would have been real easy to have just printed this sign, cut to shape and send off to our client, but that is not how we work. After conversing with our client we determined that the best fit would combine a digital printed background of beige and a light navy border. The graphic and text was produced utilizing 3M high performance opaque and metallic vinyl films.

The reason we went this route was to improve on the sign life, retain an eye catching appeal with the metallic highlights, and to reduce costs. Doing all this required several mock ups and conversations with our client. In the end we were able to produce an outstanding sign while saving our client a few hundred bucks.

Banners can be a nice alternative...

In today's world businesses are really tightening their marketing budgets, often looking for alternative sign and print options that can produce similar results to the higher-end desired products.

Pictured here are some #signs from the Minnesota State Fair. At a glance the large blue overhead sign appears to be a nice hard sign panel. However, it is not. It is actually a custom sized large format digitally printed banner. With accurate dimensions and our precise printing and finishing, custom banners like this can often substitute a hard sign under light duty exterior situations.

This particular banner has been in use now for approx. 5 years. What keeps this huge banner working so well is that fact that it is only up for 2-3 weeks out of the year thus minimizing the amount of wind stress and harsh elements mother nature dishes out to us here in the Twin Cities.

Another key factor here is proper installation. I will say it again - proper installation. You can produce signs and banners using the finest materials but without a good installation you are sure to witness sign failure. This banner has been screwed directly to the building face. No ropes. No fancy adhesives tapes. With screws you can see just how tight and flat a banner can be installed.

Next time you are in need of some economical exterior signage, consult with a sign professional and ask if a banner can fulfill your needs.

Dimesional Signs

Dimensional signs are really any sign that has a 3D appearance. This could be the individual raised letters that you see above a retail store. The logo on a wall at an office reception area, or even blade signs hanging in front of a boutique.

Dimensional signs come in all kinds of shapes, sizes and materials. We have produced signs in everything from sandblasted cedar wood to etched brass and just about everything in between.

Pictured here is a portion of an exterior building sign we produced late this past fall. It incorporated a custom painted aluminum panface with 1/4" thick custom cut and painted aluminum letters and tenant suite signs. The advantage producing this sign with the raised suite signs is twofold: it adds a bit more visual appeal and allows the building owner to easily replace a sign should a tenant move out or need to update there information.

Not only does this sign look great but it functions creatively well and will allow the building owner, and tenants, to save hundreds of $$$ on future sign replacements.

At Big Idea, you get what you pay for.

Window lettering in the winter

Working in the State with the Northern most point in the lower 48 requires us to deal with winter. In the sign world this can pose some real problems, not so much with hanging signs but more specifically with applying adhesive backed vinyl graphics and lettering outside.

Pictured here is some exterior window lettering we did before Christmas. With the single digit temperatures we had some cold weather obstacles to overcome. The main issue was with the adhesive-back vinyl that we use, it requires temperatures well above freezing before application is recommended. This is obviously a non issue several months out of the year. However, in God's country waiting for warmth in the winter is not always possible. The business shown here needed to have hours and they needed them now.

We have been working with cold weather graphics for nearly 20 years and have developed some tricks to help get graphics like these applied even during the below freezing days of winter. Though we always recommend waiting for the warmth, you can get vinyl like this to stick but there are some steps that the end user must follow in order for the lettering to stay in place. Note too, there is a degree point were the graphics just won't stick, usually around 0° and below.

Feel free to contact us for more information on getting graphics to stick during the winter months.

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.