Worth a look: Maker Spaces!
Maker Spaces, Art Labs, and Creator Spaces dot cities across the United States. Those are just a few of the names for facilities… Read More
Author Archives: Mike Jackson
Wall signs were once a part of every cityscape
In early days, buildings in many of the large cities were made of bricks. Much like the brick house in the children’s story… Read More
Those fine old “ghost signs” are disappearing by the minute
A photographer with a sign background probably sees the world differently than an average photographer. That’s especially true if the photographer likes vintage… Read More
George Seelander’s classic hand drawn sketches
George Seelander prepared hand drawn and tempera painted layouts long before people were even dreaming of using computers for their design work. Sketches… Read More
Accessing a font’s alternate characters
Christopher Latham Sholes invented the first practical typewriter in the late 1860s. While slightly different, today’s computer keyboards were modeled after that same… Read More
Don’t let poor kerning wreck your layout
Select the Text tool, click somewhere on the page to set to location, then type away. Resize the type to fit the space… Read More
Avoid these 10 common sign layout pitfalls
Designers and sign makers who have been in the business long enough can easily recognize work done by newcomers. Why? Either the newbies… Read More
Step-by-step: Complex sign with a tight deadline
This project contains a mixture of basic skills and tools, along with a little help from another sign company and some of today’s… Read More
What’s it cost to make this 24-sq.-ft. sign?
Materials (excluding markup) 4-by-8-ft-by-3⁄4-in. overlaid plywood: $80 Five foam roller covers: $5 Edge sealer: $2 Latex paint for back: $8 Block-out primer: $15… Read More
Video: Using Photoshop to level and crop your sign photos
You want great-looking photos of your great-looking signs on your website, social media and online portfolio, right? In this quick video, Mike Jackson… Read More
The magic of three-tier pricing
Over three decades ago, Mike Jackson wrote an article, “Price your work on three levels for easier sales”, for SignCraft. Those two pages… Read More
Add value or plan to sell on price alone
“Value is determined not by what you pay for something, but by what you get for what you pay.” Darn, that’s a great… Read More
Video: Straighten images with Photoshop’s Perspective Crop tool
Ever get an angled photo from a client that you want to add your proposed drawing of their sign to? Or want to… Read More
Working with glyphs and special characters in Photoshop
In this first video feature on SignCraft.com, Mike Jackson takes you step-by-step through the process of using Photoshop functions that let you use… Read More
Put Photoshop’s scrubby sliders to work
There is seldom a day I use Photoshop that I don’t take advantage of the many “Scrubby sliders” scattered throughout the program. They… Read More
Get the letter spacing right
Computer fonts are typically designed with a generous number of “kerning pairs”. Kerning refers to the spacing between any two letters in a… Read More
Essential tools: Pounce wheels and perforated patterns
For decades, sign makers used a simple tool called a pounce wheel to make perforated patterns. Those patterns were used to help with… Read More
Using Layer Effects and Layer Styles in Photoshop
Layer Effects are always at your fingertips. They are some of Photoshop’s most powerful, fun and creative tools. Layer Effects are easy to… Read More
Windows 7 to Windows 10: Upgrade or buy a new computer?
Last fall, Windows sent an email and added alerts letting users know they would cease support for Windows 7 in mid-January. Ouch! If… Read More
Step up your photo game!
After all of the effort it takes to design, sell, fabricate and install a “sign masterpiece”, you would think most sign shops would… Read More
