Reflective vehicle graphics

Here is a great illustration of how reflective vehicle graphics look in both daylight and while illuminated with directional lighting such as vehicle headlights.

Note here that the red and white portions are much brighter while illuminated. This is due to the reflective glass particles within the vinyl film.  The darker the vinyl color the more that color will change while reflecting light. This brings us to the question we often get about reflective black. While there is a 3M reflective black vinyl available, we rarely use it.

Is black actually a color? Well, this is debatable depending on who you talk to. It sure is a color in a paint, ink or vinyl selection. However, color as light is not a color. With reflective vinyl we are dealing with both color and light.

Since black, as light, is not a color, it cannot reflect any color. So,  getting black to reflect really cannot happen. What you will see when black reflective vinyl gets hit with light is various shades of gray all the way to white. This happens because what is reflecting is actually the glass partials within the film.

Back to our picture. The black you see is simply black. As you can see it works just fine as is. Having it brighter, as with reflecting, would decrease the contrast it gives the white against the red. By the way, both the white and the red are reflecting.

Next time you are have a reflective sign or decal need, run it by a professional. They will be able to assist not only with color options but also with the variety of reflective quality films available.

Event badges

Pictured here is a pile of #eventbadges  / cards / tags or whatever you wish to call them.... we like badges.  This fun project was just completed for the Long Island Bulldog Rescue organization out of New York.

The badges size up at 3" x 4" and are a full color (photographic quality) print on our tough 30mil white PVC.  The black lanyards are made of a nice woven nylon cord, super flexible and comfortable around your neck. What is great about these event badges is that they are affordable even at the small quantities often needed by event producers.

Note too that we offer a huge line of lanyards from the simple to the full color logo imprints and everything in between.  The cards are pretty standard in size, but others sizes are available with the option of printing on just one or both sides.

Here is a neat video featuring one of our clients, Larson • King,  produced by KARE 11.

 This segment was featured on the KARE Sunrise morning show as part of the "Top of the Twin Cities" series. Though we were hoping to see a bit more of our photography work on the conference room walls,  you can see a few of them at the 4.05min mark.

A bit on the photos...

Larson • King  hired us to produce a truly unique creative photography project that involves customized images specific to each of their 8 conference rooms.  Each conference room is uniquely named after a street in St. Paul.  The images within each room have all been taken from interesting perspectives from the street in which they were named - I know, cool idea.  Not only did we take some pretty interesting shots, but the way they are being displayed are pretty interesting too, some framed, others not, and some being produce on large format canvas.

By far this one one of the most creative photo projects we have worked on to date.  Stay tuned for a sneak peek into the L•K Street book.  Yup, we are publishing a coffee table book of  the images on the walls as well of the several other images that did not make the cut for wall space, but are worthy of being displayed.  Oh, and one can be seen below in the previous post from May, 3rd.

On a side note, we also are the guys who produced and installed the 3D logo you see on the front of the KARE Sunrise studio desk.

Creative fine art photography - from Big Idea

The real niche that set Big Idea apart from other creative companies is our photography service... and yes, it is done In-House.

Pictured here is a custom photo (from an Iphone) we installed today.  Iphones do a pretty good job in low light by the way.  Anyway, This is part of a conceptual fine art work in progress that involves a very specific theme designed to decorate a corporate workspace.  Though the subject may seem average the unique perspectives, direction and style are creative and inspiring.

 Sure signs are a big part of what we do as it should be since it is a big part of a company's visual identity, but it shouldn't stop there.  This particular client took the time to listen, not only to the offer of adding refreshing accents to drab wall space, but to the value added idea of customizing there display art to help further convey their foundation, ideals and direction.

What you see is a black and white photo we shot, printed, matted, framed and installed, 1 of over 40  pieces in this collecton that beat out the thousands of runner ups. Yes we do it all. From project conceptualizing to final product, this is what makes Big Idea a truly creative company.

Inexpensive Store Front Identity

Pictured here is a before and after display of a recent store front project we completed.  The client was looking for a simple, inexpensive way to market there business to street traffic.

The space under the current can lights is an obvious location for a sign.  Though the space is small for the proportions of the logo, it looks great illuminated under the lights.  Our alternate, more horizontal, version of the logo had bold and large impact, but was not an option as the client wished to keep logo identity identical in all locations.  We get that.

The added accent color bands on the windows brings a bit of life to the brick building.  It also helps define the space this business holds, giving them notice that they fill this building.  The added bullet points are a key element here in answering the public question of what this business does. This is huge for drive by marketing.  How many times have you driven by a business with some unique name, but had no idea who or what they did?

No question what this business does here.  And, they were able to have this produced and installed for a rate that was a fraction of what that black awning cost.

Photo of the week

Graffiti your mom just might approve.

Photo of the week

Mississippi Reflections

©DavinBrandt - Big Idea

The uniqueness of this image is that it was shot on January, 10th  2012.  In Downtown Saint Paul, MN

Photo of the week

"Busy Evening in Saint Paul"

©copyright - Big Idea

Display Signs - a neat trick for seamless displays

Have you ever had a need for a display sign that exceeds a substrate dimension?

Most sign sheet materials come in 8' or 10' lenghts. The exception of which is rolled lexan. When working with signs that need to be seamless, and over the 10' there are few options. Now, add in that the sign needs to be rigid and you just about ruled out all your senseable options. Sure lexan seams to be the first bet here, but it is not rigid and can bow or flex if not supported on all sides evenly.

Here is a solution we created for the project pictured here. First, produce a rigid sign base substrate. In this case we are using a dibond product.  It is super smooth, rigid, easy to fabricate, and lightweight. We then mount the dibond to the wall surface. In this case we used 3M VHB double sided tape - super strong.

Second, we produced our graphic image onto a vinyl film with a special over laminate designed to keep the vinyl rigid. This vinyl is then applied to the dibond surface. The laminate used is the key that holds this project together. Without the special laminate, you would be able to see the seam between the two dibond pieces. Using this special laminate makes our seam virtually invisible, giving us the illusion of a continuous sign header spanning over 16'!

Trade Show Banners - The simple solution.

Do you have plans to represent your company at a #tradeshowexhibit this winter?  If so, do you have your display in order?  If not, you have several low cost solutions available that can be extremely effective in gaining increased exposure, the most popular of which is a #backdropbanner.

The most important aspect of a trade show booth is getting your business noticed.  many trade show booths have a good start at this.  We all have seen them, big, colorful, lots of cool graphics, lights, and even 3D props.  These can all be effective, but they must be used properly otherwise the most important message is lost - your company name. 

Too often trade show marketing company's fail to keep the focus on the business, rather the focus on the frills.  Keeping a company's name as the main focal point is first on our agenda.  You can have all the bells and whistle you want in your booth, but all promotional attempts are lost if the customer can't easily identify your company and what you do. Stay focused on you!

So, here is what we do - provide clarity on your company name first.  This is often done with some sort of backdrop banner, raised flag banner,  or show headers.  Sometimes it is really simple, like the #banner shown here, other times it can be pretty elaborate, it is all dependent on needs and budget. 

Once we have your company's identity taken care of, we provide simply clarity on the who, what, where. This part usual is a combination of a tag line, bullet points and product samples and props.  The key here is making sure there is balance between name recognition and your visual props and samples.

Banners and signs are only one portion of many options for your next trade show exhibit.  They do however provide a great way to have your company name displayed boldly for all to see.  Click here for more info on banners from Big Idea.

Picture of the week

Moon over Miller

copyright - ©Big Idea, Davin Brandt

Product Photography at Big Idea

One of the more creative things we provide here at Big Idea coincides with most of our product development projects - product photography.  The subject matter we have photographed is really diverse.  We have shot everything from chemotherapy treatment devices to fishing lures, all of which is photographed by Big Idea employees.

Pictured here is one of several image in a series of merchandise items for local brewery, Bank Brewing Co.  To help keep the tone of the product and the brand it represents, we decided our "set" needed to be afield.

This particular shoot was produced entirely on location on the prairie country of South Dakota, tricky stuff if you are familiar with SD weather.  Though the image portrays a nice warm hunting feel as planned, the temperature was a crisp 20f with bone chilling 25mph winds.  Our tough-guy model was quick to put the gloves and fleece beanie on after this series. The up side is he was able to shoot at plenty of Roosters!

Photo of the week

Up on the Roof
©Big Idea - Davin Brandt

An evening in Rice Park

copyright ©BigIdea