Reflections from a photo shoot

Here is a fun shot from one of our corporate portrait photography projects.  If you know corn you should be able to even tell what time of year this was shot.

Our Corporate Portrait Photography will take us just about anywhere and to just about any situation or climate.  The problem with going just about anywhere is getting out of photo-mode while in transit - almost impossible.  Quite often we see something that just can't be passed up, leaving us to pull over and shoot. This is why we always allow plenty of time from point A to point B.

In this case we could not pass up on some interesting scenery. I believe this was point A5 on this particular excursion.  Stay tuned for what was actually shot by the photographer. 

Step and Repeat Banner Solutions

Pictured here is another one of our Step and Repeat backdrop banners.  What you don't see is the portable frame system that we also provided. 

This system is really pretty cool.  The banner frame system works on tension to expand the frame up to 10 wide and 8' tall, yet it all collapses into a nice carrying bag.  The banner is a light weight material that is specially designed and manufactured to work with this type of support.  Heavy vinyl banners are destine for failure under this particular display application.

This particular project was completed for our friends at Brewer Sports International.  The step and repeat banner and frame show here was used at the Wellness 10k™ Launch Party Hosted by E.J. Henderson & Sidney Rice.

More info on banner possibilities at: http://www.bigideasign.com/banners.html

Our Latest Website Client

Paula Elert Photography.

Pictured here is a screen shot of her new website home page.

We began working with Paul this past spring developing a logo and working on an outline for her online marketing plans, much of which focuses on her website and online social networking.

Her new website consists of several custom designed link pages that her clients can easily navigate.  It also also includes the "behind the screen" effective keywords and website data critical to search engine discovery.   Today we will be submitting her website to all theh quality search engines and online directories to further improve her online search ranking.

Honoring a Veteran

I hope you found time in your busy day to reflect on the importance of this honorable day.  We sure did and we are thankful for all who have served this blessed country of ours.

Over the years I have meet many who have not known anyone who has served this country through one of our military branches.  I have also meet many who have never walked up to thank a solder or veteran for the service they gave or our giving.

With so many great heroes out there I thought it would be appropriate to share with you one Medal of Honor recipients citation, this one from a not so popular war.  His name is Ed Freeman. 

Not only has Captain Freeman received a Medal of Honor for his valiant acts of heroism in Vietnam but he also lived to receive it.  Captain Freeman also fought in WWII and in Korea, most notably at the horrific battle of Porkchop Hill where he was 1 of  the 14 of 256 soldiers who survived the first stage of that battle.

Here is how Captain Ed Freeman's official Medal of  Honor Citation reads:. 

"Captain Ed W. Freeman, United States Army, distinguished himself by numerous acts of conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary intrepidity on 14 November 1965 while serving with Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). As a flight leader and second in command of a 16-helicopter lift unit, he supported a heavily engaged American infantry battalion at Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley, Republic of Vietnam. The unit was almost out of ammunition after taking some of the heaviest casualties of the war, fighting off a relentless attack from a highly motivated, heavily armed enemy force. When the infantry commander closed the helicopter landing zone due to intense direct enemy fire, Captain Freeman risked his own life by flying his unarmed helicopter through a gauntlet of enemy fire time after time, delivering critically needed ammunition, water and medical supplies to the besieged battalion. His flights had a direct impact on the battle's outcome by providing the engaged units with timely supplies of ammunition critical to their survival, without which they would almost surely have gone down, with much greater loss of life. After medical evacuation helicopters refused to fly into the area due to intense enemy fire, Captain Freeman flew 14 separate rescue missions, providing life-saving evacuation of an estimated 30 seriously wounded soldiers -- some of whom would not have survived had he not acted. All flights were made into a small emergency landing zone within 100 to 200 meters of the defensive perimeter where heavily committed units were perilously holding off the attacking elements. Captain Freeman's selfless acts of great valor, extraordinary perseverance and intrepidity were far above and beyond the call of duty or mission and set a superb example of leadership and courage for all of his peers. Captain Freeman's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army."

May Captain Freeman and all who have served this great country be eternally blessed.

Large format Banners

This picture gives you a bit of reference to the size of banners we are capable of. Yes, that guy breathing fire in the background is printed on our indoor smooth banner material
This particular banner was one of two produced for the Eye Believe fundraising Production held in Florida.  The fire and ice (not shown) were a whopping 8'wide x 10'tall.  They were installed using banner poles at the top and bottom of the banner, allowing each to freely suspend.
 
What we are particularly proud of is the continued quality of the detail in our printing capabilities.  Note too that it always helps when you start off with a good high-resolution photograph.

Retail Counter Wraps

Retailers have generally overlooked one of the key locations for marketing - the counter face.

Sure we have all seen the easel-backed signs and acrylic displays that accompany most retail checkout counters,  but what about the counter face?

Displayed in this picture are great examples of counter-face marketing pieces.  These graphic displays are at each checkout and are clearly visible to every customer that walks in the door.

The nuts and bolts behind this project are pretty basic.  We utilized an adhesive-backed 3M comply vinyl that has been digitally printed on a high resolution printer.  Upon printing, we applied a clear laminate to the printed image.  This added laminate not only helps in the installation process, but also acts as a protective coating, giving this marketing piece a few extra years of life if needed.

You are welcomed to visit our friends at Great Harvest Bread to get an up close view of this project.  Warning:  it smells pretty darn good in this bakery.

Step and Repeat backdrop Banner

Here is a picture from the Minnesota Monthly Annual BEST of the Twin Cities Celebration Party held at the W in Minneapolis a couple weeks ago.

 What you see is another example of our popular step and repeat backdrop banners being displayed behind some lovely ladies.  This particular project came complete with the designed display banner, custom hem work and an elegant display frame system.  Models not included...

we invite you to check back in Mid October as we are working on a really cool large Backdrop banner campaign for the EYE Believe Benefit being held Oct. 15th in Dania Beach, FL.

This will be a great representation of the quality of our photo reproduction capabilities on a grand format scale.

More info on all our banners can be found at: http://www.bigideasign.com/banners.html

Light the Town Pink Posters

Here is a picture of a poster project we recently completed.  The posters were printed on both a photographic poster paper, single and double sided, as well  as 12pt card stock (pictured here).  The quality on the print process is really something else.... you really have to see the poster to appreciate.

The posters are being used at retail point of purchase (POP) displays to help Promote the "Light the town Pink", a campaign to remind of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

You can find our handy print work at your local ACE hardware stores as Superman did today.

You can find more information on this campaign from our friends at WCCO Radio

Backlit Signage

Pictured here is a project in the works, somewhat of a before and after I guess you could call it.  To be more specific, I am referring to the white space on the lower half of the sign.  The top half is a project completed several years ago for a long time client, Greater Frogtown CDC.

What you are looking at in this picture is a translucent white pan style sign face that is secured in a cabinet frame.  What you do not see are the ballasts and fluorescent tube lighting that will illuminate this sign during the low light and evening hours.

Back in the day these graphics would have been either screen printed or painted on the sign surface.  Today, or I should say 6 years ago in the case of the graphics shown, we use a specialty translucent vinyl film to create the graphics and lettering.  Most of the films we use are made by 3M but there are a few other manufactures that produce a similar product.   As you can see from the photo, the colors are rich and vibrant.  In this case the colors are also spot on with logo color matching.

We are currently working with a new client that will be using the white space for their business logo.  We will help our client develop a layout that obviously fits the space but also displays their corporate identity in a clear easy to read format.  Stay tuned to see how we go about adding the new graphics to this sign.

If the current sign has you curious about what Greater Frogtown is all about you can find more on our client and their Gala in the Garden event on Sept. 16 in St. Paul, MN by clicking the links.

Window Identity - part 2

Here is another interesting piece of window identity we produced.  This was an interior display project at the KARE 11 studio.  The overall size of this glass structure is approx. 4' x 8'

Window Identity - part 1

Illustrated here is some of our custom interior window identity.  We have created everything from simple company logo awareness to elaborate designs and imagery.

Stay tuned as we bring you more pictures of some of the creative solutions we have produced.

Photo of the Week

an interesting picture from a client photo shoot this spring.

© copyright ~ Big Idea

Banners that workout!

Here is a shot of a banner that works for two.

With the never ending need to watch spending, a business owner and building owner combined their efforts to cover up a sore spot, advertise a summer special, and market some available office space.

The old Boulevard Theater recently had a need to remove some prior tenant signage. This signage involved back lit channel lettering that had been place on the marquee face. removing these will most likely leave a real eye sore to the surface. Our goal hear was not only to provide an effective advertisements and marketing solution but to also cover up some unsightly sign wounds.

After determining what the individuals needed to display we put our heads together and came up with the clever solution to combine the two messages into one banner. The trick though was not to confuse people into thinking that Anytime fitness was leasing space. This might alarm people into thinking Anytime was going away.

As you can see from the picture we came up with a simple solution involving two contrasting color fields, giving the illusion that there are two separate banners on the marquee. Combining these two message on one banner not only saved on print cost it also saved on the installation time and expense.

Sand blasted signs

With more an more people turning to digitally produced signage these days it is no surprise that the uniqueness factor of this technology may soon start to fade.

One such sign process is still going strong and has not lost its classic and elegant look. Pictured here is a sand-blasted sign we recently produced. Notice how nice it looks compared to a steel sign with red text and outline. This not only is a very effective sign but it looks good with the landscaped architecture as well.

We have all see our share of vehicle wraps, full color parade banners, and large banner murals at stadiums. Though there is a place for the digital, there is also a place for the sand-blasted look.

Sand-blasted, or sometimes referred to as routered signs, fit several identity needs.

• First - they flat out will out-live a digitally printed sign. the paint with fade in time, as does the finish on your car, but the sign can easily be repainted. Digital cannot.

• Second - the cedar, redwood or foam we use is ideal for exterior use - all weather.

• Third - We call it elegant dimension. It is the only sign type that can give you a natural single or double sided dimensional sign. With the raised or recessed letters and graphics, sand-blasted signs give you an eye catching effect that the standard 2D signs cannot.

We have all seen these signs around. Next time you see one take a close look at the detail and if you get a chance, ask the owner how effective it has been in presenting a positive identity. I bet you will be replied with a smile.