Sign Critique required

[Bob Eustace]

Appreciate any tips on layout etc. on this our second large sign. Still has to have seal coats. Made from timber salvaged from the 2009 bushfires in Victoria. Sorry the pic is upside down - very weak 3g area.

[steve_g]

Bob
Viewing your work upside down is a technique often used by graphic artists… it lets you see balance and “trapped” spaces without being distracted by the verbiage! I like the “outline” technique on your letters, it makes them crisp and easy to read!
SG

[supertigre]

The detail has good contrast and the chosen fonts are easy to read and the sign is fairly "open". The only issue I can see is a wee bit of kerning could be done between the "u" and "e", and the "a" and "r" as the spacing between these letters is not consistent with the spacing in the rest of the sign.

[gene]

I thought maybe he was in Australia :eek:

[Bob Eustace]

Thanks guys - much appreciated. Can really recommend working for a winery - delightfull lunches!

[Mayo]

A great book on sign layout is one written by Mike Stevens, called Mastering Layout, On the Art of Eye Appeal.

It explains why certain amounts of space for various elements in the sign results in an effective or pleasing layout.

If you don't have it, it's still available on Amazon.com

In looking at your sign right side up, my suggestion would be (on future signs similar to this) to have less empty space in the middle because that is drawing the eye to it almost as much as the name of the Vineyard. Moving the vineyard name a little lower and the owners name a little higher would help them relate to each other more. In general you want the elements within the sign to be closer to each other than to the border or the edge of the sign.

Over all I would say your sign layout and color scheme succeeds in getting the message across quickly and easily. However, since you asked for criticism, in my opinion the sign doesn't necessarily suggest Vineyard except for seeing it in the name. It could just as easily be for any other kind of business. Take out the word Vineyard and put in Cottages or Camping and it's the same. Some grapes or grape leaves or a wine press or a bottle and couple of wine glasses or a more "flowery" looking font could have suggested "vineyard" more visually.

Perhaps the customer dictated how they wanted the sign to look?
When that happens I would usually present the customer with two designs - one exactly how they suggested it and another how I interpreted it. This can result in more dollars in your pocket.

I like how there are no visible fasteners. And I like the natural shape of the wood that defines the edge of the sign panel.
Did you brace the back to prevent the boards from separating?

[Chuck Keysor]

Bob, lots of good and valid comments so far. The letters and execution look to be really clean which I admire. But echoing Mayo's comment about something to suggest a winery, I had wondered what the duck/goose had to do with anything? Grapes or wine bottles would have been logical and helpful.

One thing that as a matter of personal taste that left me feeling like there was room for improvement (going from good to better), would have been something to unify the composition. Right now, all of the design elements feel like they are just applied to a big board, and floating there. Perhaps some vines (again echoing Mayo's comments) twining through the design, or a background texture of some kind or some sense of unity in the color design would address this feeling of unsatisfying disconnectedness that I have when I look at the design in its present state.

While I am sure of my over-all feeling that the design would benefit from being modified to make it appear to have a sense of unity, not being an artist, I am not sure of how to best affect the cure. That is the hard part, the most artistic part. I would think a request for Joe Crumley to give his certified artistic input would be more helpful!

Thanks, Chuck

[bleeth]

Bob:
You've had some good comments regarding layout there. I'd like to add that the modern look of the font and the plain solid color of the letters looks too modern on the fabulous rustic field. If you take a stroll through Joe Crumleys website you will see many examples of pine board signs that will show you what I mean. (www.normansignco.com (http://www.normansignco.com))

[myxpykalix]

Bob,
I think the sign looks great however, next time you mount a sign i's suggest you don't mount it upside down...makes it hard to read:rolleyes:

[Simops]

Hey Bob well done and echo all that is said above......in life every thing we do can be improved, question is when do you draw the line??? I guess if the customer is happy so should you but of course the customer may not know better so the above suggestion about having a few alternative designs, especially with more of a vineyard theme is a good one.

Anyhow damn good effort for a Buddy.......I know this is not what you asked for but wondering that I guess you cut out the letters individually on the Buddy and then glued them to the Board? What have you done to ensure the letters stay on in our 110 F heat waves we are getting lately?!?!

Cheers

[Bob Eustace]

Yes Mike it only just fitted on the Buddy! Letters are screwed with no glue. Lots of precautions on the bag to arrest splitting tooooooooo! Anyway this job has landed us the task of doing the main entrance signs to Kinglake - huge cedar slabs. Just did the Tolangi Men's Shed 48 x 48 but stuck the apostrophe after the s! Bugga! Picked up by the journo taking the pics for the local rag!

[Simops]

but stuck the apostrophe after the s! Bugga! Picked up by the journo taking the pics for the local rag!

Don't you just hate that! :p.

Good on ya.....

Cheers

[myxpykalix]

but stuck the apostrophe after the s! Bugga! Picked up by the journo taking the pics for the local rag!
ever hear of "spellcheck"? :rolleyes:Chrissy would have never made that mistake!:D
I made the same kind of mistake on a slide in a video production where at the end of a sentence i had it punctuated like this...(blah, blah advancement.)
When it should have been (blah, blah advancement).
And i had to go back and reedit half the tape (this was in the days of analog video editing and this was a production for an english professor at the university so there was no making excuses)...but if you didn't glue it down that should be an easy fix for you.
Good job....and see how that lead to another job:D

[Bob Eustace]

Hi guys

Chrissy here ... The designer and painter in most cases. The owners of the vineyard have a colour scheme of white, black, burgundy and their logo is a goose (stylised) with the brand Goose Paddock Wines. They wanted the same font as their labels. Sometimes we can offer alternatives but other times we have to go with what the customer wants. I did get a bit of gold for the property number but thank goodness they didnt want the street name as well .... Healesville-Kinglake Road. Main requirement was to be visible for traffic on bendy road.

The aluminium brackets were made out of lengths purchased to frame an airconditioner waiting to be installed in my office....oh well just means more sweltering over this summer of 100 degree F days till we get more materials.

Appreciate all your comments - we never stop learning and improving. Our early efforts are a bit like that first quilt I started years ago - never see the light of day but cant bear to throw out as it shows how far we've come. No doubt this will be another milestone in 10 years time.

Now on to the next job 20 large - 18 vcarve breadboard trophies needed for April.

Thinking of you all freezing while we swelter

[gerryv]

but stuck the apostrophe after the s! Bugga! Picked up by the journo taking the pics for the local rag!
ever hear of "spellcheck"? :rolleyes:Chrissy would have never made that mistake!:D
I made the same kind of mistake on a slide in a video production where at the end of a sentence i had it punctuated like this...(blah, blah advancement.)
When it should have been (blah, blah advancement).
And i had to go back and reedit half the tape (this was in the days of analog video editing and this was a production for an english professor at the university so there was no making excuses)...but if you didn't glue it down that should be an easy fix for you.
Good job....and see how that lead to another job:D

Actually, periods and commas do belong inside the quotation marks, unlike exclamation marks and such. Better go back to the professor and tell him he owes you for all that time.:eek:

[bleeth]

If the word is a plural (such as men) and gets an "S" to designate possessive, such as "men's room". the the apostrophe comes before the "S". If the plural ends in "S", such as guys, then the apostrophe for possessive, like "the guys' room" comes after the "S".

[Bob Eustace]

Dave the bummer with this one was we did the Men's Shed signs for Whittlesea and Lockhart and got it right both times. With the wrong one which of course was needed same day, we just copied what the convenor wrote on a scrap of paper. Doing another one for Wagga next month but bet we dont get it wrong!

[joe]

Bob,

Here are a couple of suggestions. First of all congratulations on your expanding business. Just think, without a CNC where would we be.

Let me begin by saying Vineyard signs are one of the most Design Intense of the signs you'll make. Here's a challenge for you. Visit your local liquor store and go to the wine section. It's like going to an art gallery free of charge. Most of the label are designed by expert craftsmen. The colors and letter styles are amazing. You can go to school on this artwork. I always take a few extra minutes looking at the beautiful artwork on wine bottles.

Another quality of Vineyard signs is they are in a class all to themselves. It might be said they're kind of upper class. Beer, for example, is so different. You couldn't sell a beer label with a Foo Foo label like wine. Wine stands along with regard to artwork.

I'd suggest giving thought what's been done before. No matter if it's Farm Implements to Home Brewers it's good know as much about their graphic history as possible.

Just imagine if you'd carved vines from one side of your panel to the other. That alone could take it to another level. Graphics can add lots of quality to a sign.