Never Stop Learning!

This past week was a great week here at Synergy. I travelled to East Texas, PA to visit Smooth-On with my friends Derek & Sarah. We spent two days learning casting and mold making techniques with their products. Some of these new skills will undoubtedly end up in our signs.

It is amazing to see how to accomplish the same thing from many different angles. You remember the told saying “There is more than one way to skin a cat”. While I don’t advocate killing your pet cat, I do plan on learning every way to “skin” one.

Here are some awesome samples we were shown at the seminar.

class pic

Another thing I was able to accomplish while at Smooth-On was to demo their wide range of epoxy clays. They have thick, thin, light-weight, and fire proof iterations of the product. We have been looking for a replacement for our current clay for a long time, and this stuff looks very promising.

While I don’t think you will see me on Face-Off anytime soon, the visit to Smooth-On was well worth the trip! I can’t wait to share what we create with all of you!

-Jim

Published with permission from Synergy Sign & Graphics. Source.

Golf Fore Autism

This past weekend, I had a lady tell me that we do great work and she really appreciates what we do for the community. I proceeded to tell her we were just doing our part like any business should when they have been blessed as much as we have. She went on to say that we should tell more people and promote ourselves more when we give back. I though to myself for a minute and told her we were just paying it forward and really didn’t need all the recognition. ‘

I’m telling you this story to qualify this point. I’m not posting this to tell anyone how great we are, but to help raise awareness and show people out there what great things can be access polished when people put their heart and soul into something.

Autism is a very real problem in this country. Research has been under funded for years and it is one of the biggest problems we face today. A few months ago, my friend Dave Hartline brought Joe King into my life. They were just setting up a golf outing for fund a cause near and dear to Joe’s heart. Golf Fore Autism. They approached us with a request for some hole sponsor signs, but like usual, if we set our minds to something, there is no way we aren’t going all out.

In the end, we donated 250 decals, 2- 4′ x 8′ banners, a custom printed table, 20 hole sponsor signs and stakes, and 12 contest / thank you plaques.

Why you ask? Paying it forward. Joe needed help, we had what it took to help him, and it is near and dear to our hearts.

Melinda Shroyer has been working for us here at Synergy for over 4 years and her youngest son Colin was diagnosed a while back. I get to see first hand how a mothers love can overcome anything. I also get to see how hard these families have to work just to keep things somewhat normal.  In the end, there isn’t a lot we can do to help, but this little sign shop in Strasburg can at least work to raise awareness and support the people on the front lines that fight the fight every day.

I leave you with some pictures of the stuff we just finished and some facts about Autism.

Thanks!

Jim

autism

• Autism now affects 1 in 68 children (1 in 42 boys). – www.AutismSpeaks.org
• Autism is the fastest growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.A. – www.AutismSpeaks.org
• Typical ASD behaviors include stereotyped actions such as hand flapping, body rocking, insisting on sameness, resistance to change and, in some cases,
aggression or self-injury. www.autismsciencefoundation.org
• Although there is no specific cause for Autism, Scientists have determined it is a genetically based condition. – www.autismsciencefoundation.org
• Autism costs a family $60,000.00 a year on average – www.AutismSpeaks.org
• Boys are nearly 5 times more likely to have Autism (1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls). – www.AutismSpeaks.org
• Although it’s unsure if the environment may trigger Autism, beliefs that vaccines may cause Autism have since been disproven. – www.autismsciencefoundation.org
• Autism was first described by Dr. Leo Kanner in 1943 in children who showed a marked lack of interest in other people, but a highly unusual interest in the
inanimate environment. – www.autismsciencefoundation.org
• No two people with Autism are alike – www.nationalautismassociation.org
• About 40% of children with Autism do not speak. Others might speak but not until later in childhood. – www.nationalautismassociation.org
• Autism is a bio-neurological developmental disability that generally appears before the age of 3. www.nationalautismassociation.org
• Autism itself does not affect life expectancy, but the mortality risk is twice as high as the general population, due to drowning and other accidents. –
www.nationalautismassociation.org
• People with Autism also suffer from other medical conditions such as: Allergies, Asthma, Epilepsy, Digestive Disorders, Sleeping Disorders, Etc. –
www.nationalautismassociation.org
• Some children with ASD speak only single words or repeat certain phrases over & over (echolalia) – Nation Institute Of Mental Health
• Children with ASD may: dislike touch or feel of clothing, experience pain from sounds, or have no reaction to intense cold or pain – www.nimh.nih.gov
• Approximately 10% of people with ASD have special “savant” skills, such as Dustin Hoffman in the film “Rain Man” – www.helpguide.org
• The most effective treatments are applied behavioral analysis (ABA) and occupational speech and physical therapy – www.autismsciencefoundation.org
• All children with Autism can benefit from early intervention and some may gain skills to be able to attend a mainstream school – www.autismsciencefoundation.org

Published with permission from Synergy Sign & Graphics. Source.

More drawing the old fashioned way

I thought I might show another project’s development in sketches. These were done in my sketchbook on a plane ride as I traveled home on a business trip. The drawings were quick and I filled there pages of my sketchbook in about half an hour or less. You can see the drawings were far from perfect. The client would never see them as they were just to guide our building of the feature. The first drawing was a quick sketch of the robot router. The ideas were pretty well formed at this point.

The next sketch was the top and side views. At this point I wanted to work out the scale of the piece and positioning of the gantry.  We ended up going a little wider as we built it but the bulk of the measurements went ahead as planned.

The last sketch in this series was for the metal framework. From this quick drawing I was able to work out a material list. Take note of the simplicity of the sketch and lack of angles or exact measurements. We build by eye for the most part and the drawings I do are simply a guide. Just the same they are a valuable tool to work things out, thereby enabling a quicker build of the finished feature.

Published with permission from precisionboard.blogspot.com. Source.

Exploring ideas with pen and paper

One of the keys to coming up with a great and original designs is to learn to draw. While many may say they simply can’t draw I believe it is a skill we can develop to a great degree. The key is to practice, practice practice. I buy inexpensive blank hard bound books (Staples) and fill them with ideas. I keep them handy and stashed wherever I might need one. Rather than work on loose paper I prefer to keep a record of my drawings for later reference. There’s one by my bedside, one in the truck, in my briefcase and another by my recliner. More reside on my desk and all handy for when inspiration strikes or when I need to work out an idea.  I’ve filled more than fifty with another ten on the way to being filled.

So many designers go straight to the computer when they design. Rather than work out the rough or basic ideas they go straight to the details and in the process are limited. Let’s look at a project I designed a while back to show my process of design. 
My client wanted a sign/entrance to a large development that was by the ocean. The proposed name was ‘Lighthouse Village’. I opened one of my sketchbooks and began work. I wasn’t concerned about fonts, nor colors. We were only exploring ideas in the broadest sense. I started with some sign ideas.
By the second page I was refining things a little 

Then I used that same idea in a different shape
Once I was a little satisfied it was time to veer off to explore some new ideas. This was a little simpler, perhaps a little more modern. 

This idea morphed into the beginnings of a monument sign. It had some potential.
Before I went further I decided to explore what the welcome/information center might look like. I explored these ideas for some time before deciding they were far too predictable and common. In my next meeting with the client I showed them these sketches but also some new ideas which were much more fun and interesting.

 So where did we end up when the drawing was done?
  

Published with permission from precisionboard.blogspot.com. Source.

Head back to Las Vegas

Every year right around this time, the International Sign Show rolls around. This year it is in Las Vegas and I’m on my way there as we speak. Usually, I’m looking for new equipment and demonstrations, but this year is a little different. We’ll be hanging out in the Coastal Enterprises booth answering questions about our signs that have been getting a lot of attention. We also have meetings scheduled with quite a few of our vendors including Laird Plastics, Multicam, and Onsrud.

Continue Reading:
Head back to Las Vegas