Martensen.ca

My brother Ryan recently started his own business, Lake Park Construction Inc, and he asked me if I would design his logo and business cards. Read about my process on my website here: martensen.ca/view.php?cat=blog&post=b170305 Check out their and like their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Lake-Park-Construction-1185599044/... #logodesign #branding #businesscards #designprocess #logowork #logotypes #localbusiness #smallbusiness #ottawasmallbusiness #ottawabusiness #ottawaconstruction #interiorcarpentry #generalcontracting

I’ve just completed a logo and website update for Western Pro Sporting & Supply, who was my first ever freelance client. To tweak the logo, they wanted to remove the banner from the logo, make the infield larger against the text, and add texture to the dirt. I think the final result looks pretty sharp. Compare it to the first version in my graphic projects here: martensen.ca/view.php?cat=g&proj=westernpro The website update includes dozens of new products, including two new c...ategories: fencing and pitching machines. Other new product includes wood bats and authentic MLB game baseballs. Check out the website at www.WesternPro.ca, they sell some legitimately great equipment, a lot of professional grade stuff. James #westernpro #brand #branding #logo #logodesign #website #websitedesign #webdesign #sportsequipment #sportinggoods #baseballequipment #baseballgear

Frosted vinyl is pretty cool stuff, and it’s perfect for a professional look without breaking the bank for real etched glass. Frosted vinyl is flecked in shades of silver and has a slight transparency to it. It is also very thin, so when it’s applied it is indistinguishable from etched glass at almost any distance. You can even print on frosted vinyl, but it is important to note that due to its transparency and silver coatingas opposed to the opaque white of most vinylsyour... colours will be slightly muted. You may have to run a few small test prints and make adjustments to your file to achieve the result you’re after. Johnny Farina’s windows turned out great, we went with one style for their express deli windows and another for their dine-in area windows, tied together by the band than spans the entire width of their restaurant. 360 Centre wanted a full-width band as well, but instead of 12 inches in height they went a full 5 feet, and instead of a cut pattern they printed one. More than half their windows were so big we had to seam two pieces of vinyl because the roll of vinyl itself is 54. Their band at 60 in height meant that any window wider than 54 had to be seamed. You can see the seam in the photos, it is visible enough that you will have to take it into account when designing your artwork. However, you should be able to keep all seams to less than a quarter-inch thickthe size of 360‘s seamwhich if placed properly shouldn‘t break your design. In the 360 Centre photos you also can see how transparent frosted vinyl is. You can see blurry objects and shapes through the vinyl, but it is opaque enough that it’s regularly used as a privacy measure by some businesses. You can block visibility into a kitchen area or meeting room by covering the windows, either partially or completely, with frosted vinyl. Banks and medical clinics are places that commonly use this effect. That wraps up my posts about signage for now, but I’m working on other projects so hopefully I will have more to share shortly. James #sign #signs #signage #vinyl #cutvinyl #frosted #frostedvinyl #etchedglass #outdoorsigns #indoorsigns #windowgraphics #printmaking #print #printed #printedvinyl #windowart

If your business has windows, your business has a canvas on which to promote your business. With window signage you can really get creative to help catch your customer’s attention. Whether you’re announcing a sale, listing store info, directing traffic, or just want to design something cool for your shop, most businesses have windows that can be utilized effectively. In the first example, Flooring Liquidators, the customer went all out. The side of their store has a bank of 2...8 windows that are covered by inventory on the inside, and so they took advantage. Before you completely cover windows like this you have to be aware of the effect it will have on the inside, and whether or not you would like to block incoming light is a good place to start. When you span multiple windows with your design, you also have to take into account the size and location of the mullions (sections of frame between panes of glass) and compensate for them in your design. Typically mullions are big enough to fragment your design, and in those cases your artwork should be designed to include the size of the mullions, and any design that falls in the space occupied by mullions should not be shown when the physical piece is finished. Taking this into account from the start will help avoid situations where integral parts of your design are hidden or broken up by the mullions. The next example is a directional sign for Fersht, who were having trouble with deliveries coming in through the wrong door. The front of their business is entirely windows, so they used one beside the front door to redirect deliveries to the correct location. The last example shown is a nail salon that wanted to display simple business information on their front doors. When doing this with cut vinyl most times white is your best option, it offers the most visibility and legibility on most windows. If your business has blank windows there is probably a way to take advantage of that space, and it can be anything from simple information to a unique art piece. Keep an eye out for my next post, it will be my last post about signage and it will be pretty cool, I promise. James #sign #signs #signage #vinyl #cutvinyl #printed #print #outdoorsigns #windowgraphics #printmaking #printworks #printwork #windowart