What do you do when the customer doesn’t have the budget for a masterpiece?
by Tom McIltrot
Readers often assume that since we get to see so much work here at SignCraft that what inspires us most is extravagant (or expensive) signs. But actually, the thing that impresses us most is a well-done, effective “everyday job” with extra appeal—an ordinary sign job done in an extraordinary way. I really like a good-looking knockout job.
We’re talking about the signs done for everyday customers with everyday budgets—and yesterday deadlines. But somehow, a creative sign person, with a good layout
Erik Dickson, Erik Designs, Rumford, ME
Dave Correll, Brushwork, Fairbault, MN
and a little stroke of creative genius, takes a job like this and turns it into an everyday masterpiece: a sign that does its job without looking mundane or generic.
Quite often the budget isn’t there to warrant using several colors—or even two colors. When you pare down to one color, the designer is working without a net. If
David Showalter, David Design, Bryan, OH
the layout isn’t right, the design falls apart because there’s nothing else to lean on—no colors, no outlines, no blends or special effects.
We’ve been saving some of the effective one-color jobs we’ve seen—especially the black-on-white jobs. We’d like to see yours, too! E-mail them to us at signcraft@signcraft.com, or drop them in the mail to SignCraft, P.O. Box 60031, Fort Myers, FL 33906.
Click here to view the complete article as a PDF: One Color Signs that Sizzle from the May/June 2001 issue of SignCraft
Mike Author, Denver, CO
Lane Walker, Solo Signs, Reno, NV