Made of a mesh material to allow wind to blow through it, instead of against it, the banner is 12′ across and about 30′ tall.  It took two guys on a lift truck to bolt it to the side of the school building. Banners can be small or very large, cover a few feet or occupy an entire wall. Banners can be used in many business ventures, marketing to their potential audience. Banners can be printed in enormous formats, with a full range of rich colors.

Awnings have come a long way since they were first introduced by the ancient Egyptians. They were described as “woven mats” that shaded market stalls and homes. Awnings became a common feature in the years after the Civil War. Iron plumbing pipe was a natural material for awning frames, easily bent and threaded together to make a range of different shapes and sizes. An awning industry developed offering an array of frame and fabric options adaptable to both storefronts and windows. Awnings serve a dual purpose as protection from the weather and a sign to display your business and address.

One of the easiest things to do, as well as one of the least expensive is lettering your vehicles. Even if all you have is one car, you can turn it into a marketing machine for your business.

Keep in mind… People form opinions of you and your business not only by what you are saying, but how you look while you are saying it. So before you go looking for the cheapest guy in town, you may want consider the reputation you want for your business. Most of the time the cheapest guy in town does work reflecting his ability level. If you believe your business is a good value, why would you not look for someone with a skill level equal to the image you want to project? Not everyone who owns a sign making computer knows anything about design. Do your homework. Find a good designer. It will make a difference in the impression you make.

The earlier trucks had “Old School” painted on lettering and graphics done by someone who obviously knew what he was doing. Very creative use of lines and color. The way things were before computers enabled just about anyone with the funds to buy one. They flooded the market with Helvetica Medium stretched to all proportions and forced into spaces that hurt even the untrained eye to look at.

One of the main drawbacks to paint, is that when the vehicle is traded in, it needs to be re-painted to be re-sold. That means the owner has to take a pretty big hit at trade in time. Vinyl allows the graphics and lettering to be pulled off, making it much more cost effective at trade in.  Bobby wanted the custom look of paint with the removable features of vinyl.

I was able to duplicate the custom airbrush signature logo along with some airbrush look graphics on several of his newer trucks. There were a few  attempts at being creative by a couple of other vinyl printers with some predictable outcomes. Owning a printer doesn’t  mean you know anything about graphic design, but it seems there is no shortage of people who believe it does. After being disgusted with the latest “graphics people” he asked me to fire up a couple new trucks he added to his fleet. This is some Photoshop fire ripping through the sides of a couple tow rigs.

I always enjoy when I get to do something a little more on the creative side, like this sandblasted entrance way sign for Chaney Enterprises. It is not all that large,  just kinda nice, and unobtrusive, setting off to the side at the entrance to one of their locations on the eastern shore in Maryland.

Sandblasting is not a popular as it once was, but still gives a nice dimensional look to a simple design.

is one of the coolest ways to grab attention, no matter what business you are in.

You can be anything from a custom motorcycle shop, to a carpet installer,
to a NASCAR driver, or anything else in-between and have a vehicle wrapped to fit what you do.

Carbon Fiber

is really catching on for wrapping vehicle hoods, roofs, gas caps and other body parts.

We decided to do a small graphics application on some motorcycle parts. Instead of covering the entire bike, or even the entire tank, we decided to do some graphic panels on the tank and side panels. Black carbon fiber against shiny black paint makes for a nice subtle contrast. We wanted to pre-cut the shapes so there are no knife marks in the paint, and even though we could have cut this with a computer, we chose to do it by hand to illustrate how simple it is to do a one of a kind install. Carbon fiber graphics on a motorcycle… Cool and easy!  Check out our video.

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