Out of the box, onto the floor

Something to think about when designing your stage is the fact that all surfaces are an opportunity to make a visual graphic statement and create atmosphere. Case and point – I recently worked on a couple of stages that took advantage of the stage floor to complete the visual graphic package. The more recent one was for Nickelback. Working with the stage designer, we illustrated his vision so that the floor surface worked seamlessly with the custom CNC cut drum and guitar risers, the video graphics, and even the base drum head graphics. The end result created a seamless continuity between horizontal and vertical surfaces and made the overall visual impact, once their fans entered the venue, unforgettable. Obviously the people in the lower and upper tiers were able to enjoy this effort more so than the people on the floor, but those fans are always in greater number in a venue, thus, the effort is well worth it.

Recent project. Retouch and get more mileage out of a piece of art.

Recently I was asked if I could help a band get “more mileage” out of their CD cover art. What do I mean by “more mileage?” In a nutshell, the cover art was a hand painted piece. The band name and title of the CD had been hand painted and integrated into the art as one flat piece. The challenge was, they wanted to use the CD art on a backdrop for their tour. The backdrop was 20′x 30′. As we all know, CD covers are square and, this piece had the title of the cd worked into the artwork so the text had to be extracted from the background and the elements, that you once had to imagine behind the text, had to be painted and “not” look like an afterthought. Using natural brushes and a few other tricks, I was able to extract the letters from the background, digitally hand paint the imagined graphic elements that would have been behind the text, extend the hand painted treatment to the left and right so that the art was now a rectangle and deliver a new digital piece. The band had print ready art for their backdrop within 48 hours, just in time for a video shoot.

Leader of the pack

Digitally Speaking

Creating graphics the size of a building can be an intimidating prospect for some people. I deal with the issues of proper files set up all day. Questions like “should the art be vector or raster, what resolution do I need to provide and so on come up every day. I’ve found, over the last few months, that if you provide your artwork as a .tif file with an end resolution of at least 75 ppi, you should be golden. Most artwork doesn’t need more than that. If you are doing something complex in Illustrator, I find that it’s the file rips and works better if you rasterize your art before you send it to us. In other words, give us a .tif file. For the most part, a .tif is the least complex of digital files from a data standpoint and the simplicity rips and prints much easier. You can call me if you are in doubt but for the most part, this is the case.

Important color

Sometimes getting a particular color is very important. Most people who deal with printing on a regular basis or that are in control of their corporate logo I.D. are familiar with the PMS or Pantone Matching System. What some of you might not know is that Pantone has several books in what I call its ”Bible” to help you dial in just the color you are looking for. The one book I go to on a regular basis is the Pantone to CMYK conversion book.

Some people think just because you assign a Pantone color in Photoshop it will automatically print that Pantone color on press. Actually, if you want to give your logo the best chance of printing correctly, get a conversion book, look up your desired pantone color and dial it in by the numbers based on what pantone conversion book tells you.

Image resolution and quality

It’s the time of year when Holiday shows are ramping up. Sets are being developed, designed and produced. I’ve worked on a couple of shows lately creating winter downtown areas complete with decorations like ribbons, wreaths, decorated trees and the like using supplied photographic assets. The one thing I’ve run into lately that I felt some people needed help with is understanding the importance of starting any design project with the highest quality imagery you can get your hands on. If you’re creating the design in house using photographic assets and assembling them to create a desired look, it will help you in the long run if you either shoot or have shot the desired photos. You can also use a stock photo house that sells royalty free high res images. Some photo houses now allow you to download up to 25 images a day for a nominal cost. Resolution, quality and image size add up to a better quality printed piece from us, and will enhance the production quality of your show.

Original illustration. A great value.

A couple of years ago, we did an original illustration of  Ted Nugent as Uncle Sam for tour backdrop. The advantage of creating an illustration from the ground up in the largest possible usable form is afterward he was able to use the art to extend the value of his investment. That same illustration was used on his tour merchandise as well as the cover of a book he wrote and on promotional materials.

I’ve seen this done a few times. When original digital art has enough data and is built right it can be used in many applications as a tool to promote your business and generate funds for you.

What is Vector Art-(In understandable terms)

If you’ve ever wanted to get your logo reproduced on a backdrop, t shirt or vehicle wrap, chances are the graphic artist that was doing the layout asked you for a “Vector File” of your logo.

I could get into the technical aspects of what a vector file is but in the most understandable terms, think of a vector art file as a “wire frame” file of your logo. A wire frame will not fall apart and has structure, shape a form. That structure is the data that allows your logo to reproduce beautifully without falling apart. The most common file types are .eps and .ai files.

A couple of the best aspects of a vector file are the ability to assign spot or Pantone(tm) colors and the ability to reproduce your logo to any size, even the size of a football field, perfectly.

Is your logo just “Laying there?”

So you’re thinking to yourself, “my logo isn’t doing it for me anymore”. We need a new direction! A new look!
Things to consider when your logo isn’t speaking to you anymore are “Why and What? ”

Why isn’t this working anymore? = Does it feel dated? Does your initial design not look professional? Does your logo reflect where you were, and not where you are or where you’re going?

What are your logo goals? = Start our by benchmarking what your competition is doing? Is there perceived visual presence/value stronger than yours? What sets you apart?
The answers to these questions will get the ball rolling on the creative direction of your new logo design. 

Michelle Branch backdrop

I recently designed the new backdrop for Michelle Branch for her 2011/2012 tour. I was approached by her creative team with the idea of putting together an eclectic stack of vintage amplifiers. The first task was to acquire images of vintage amps so that I could create a believable piece of art. As luck would have it, a music store that carries vintage amps was just ten miles away (Back Stage Music, Lake Orion) and they were willing to let me come a shoot all the pictures I needed.

The backdrop turned out fantastic.  Michelle liked it so much she invited me to her show, when they came through town, just to meet me and thank me for my work. No higher praise in my book.