By Melissa Donovan
Part 3 of 4
Continuing our series on winners from this year’s Application of the year awards, we focus on third place winner Brush Stroke Sign Design (BSSD) of Lawrence, MA. The company began in 2009 as a part-time job for Sophia Cormier, owner/president/designer, and blossomed into a full-time position in 2012. Today two staff members work out of a 5,000 square foot location offering a full range of services from banners to channel letters.
Cormier won third place with her job for local retailer, Byron’s Sporting Goods. A first time customer of BSSD’s the job was secured thanks to some guerilla marketing on Cormier’s part. “I went into the store to make a purchase and ended up talking to the owner about signage. He had just moved into the space and I explained to him the various graphics he could use to promote the store,” she says.
The conversation resulted in a design and print job. Cormier worked closely with the owner to create a logo that would eventually be used as a window graphic on the main door of the shop. Goals included incorporating a shield of some sort with both swords and guns, combining an old and new feel—as the shop sells both medieval and modern day weapons. The result was something similar to a family crest.
Pleased with the design, the owner gave Cormier his blessing to go ahead with the printing. Using a Roland DGA Corporation VersaCAMM VS-540 with eco-solvent ink and General Formulations window media the permanent sign was completed quickly. Both Roland and General Formulations are go-to vendors for this print provider. According to Cormier, she’s always enjoyed working with Roland printers and General Formulations’ media is a reasonable price for the quality of the product.
BSSD regularly partakes in the installs of all of its printing jobs and this one for Byron’s Sporting Goods was no exception. Cormier says the General Formulations window media is easy to install and the perforations are great because they provide no room for air to get trapped, creating unsightly bubbles.
In total, the job took roughly two weeks from the day Cormier walked into the shop. The owner is thrilled with the final outcome and has since worked with BSSD on additional jobs for his store. Cormier is proud of the work as a whole, specifically that she was able to take a customer’s vision and follow it through to completion.
The final part in our Application of the Year awards series spotlights Mister Print Productions of Saskatoon, SK, Canada. Its work for LB Distillers earned them an honorable mention.
Click here to read part one of this exclusive online series, Swift Print Communications.
Click here to read part two of this exclusive online series, Agio Imaging.
Click on the link above to get more information on the vendors mentioned in this article.
Aug2016, Digital Output DOAOY1608
