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Here's a design I have done to market my Truck Lettering designs locally, and Jill is going to help me with it in her area as well. Some of you might remember the Truck Lettering poster I did last year, well I have decided to change it and give it a more Karen Souza look to it.
I will be posting these in truck stops and approaching dealerships to stir it up more locally here, and sending Jill some print outs as well.
I had fun with this one and did alot of experimenting with it. I did put quite a bit of time into it when I could. It's all done in Corel Draw and I even had Jill here with me helping me with the colors.
-------------------- Stevo Design Illustration Logos Sign Design Clip Art www.stevo-design.com Posts: 1680 | From: Edmonton Ab Canada EH! | Registered: May 2001
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Wow, how the hell did you do that in corel!?! That's crazy!
Looks awsome.
-------------------- David Nyman Nyman Signs 100 South 8th Street Escanaba, MI 49829 Posts: 80 | From: Escanaba, Michigan USA | Registered: Nov 2002
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I'm going to go against the grain here and say - while it most definitely is admirable Corel work, it strikes me as muddy. I realize this look is your style, and not that muddy is a bad thing blown up on a computer screen where a viewer's total focus lies with the object at hand, but thinking ahead to when it's printed in CMYK inks and then seen only by passing glance on a bulletin board or truck door - it's going to be hard to make out anything besides a christmas-ish blur of dark maroons and greens with little contrast between them.
I say this in no way knocking your work or ideas, only to give an over the shoulder, real world view of what the final output might look like and how I would envision the potential customer's view of it. I admire your style, particularly your use of Time Tunnel clipart. I've only seen one other guy utilize their stuff with any effect, and he's dead now - so you're it!
The one thing I will critique "IMHO", would be your use of thin and small phone numbers. If they cant readily see the number, it's limited as a calling card or marketing poster. Reason being - truckers especially, spend hours concentrating on long distances and their eyes are usually shot by the time they make it in the truckstop. Something bigger and bolder I think would net you more response.
While my neck is on the chopping block, I'll add that "Genuine" and "Stevo" need to be curved and tweaked a bit more to follow the ribbons. One more minute with the envelope tool and you've nailed it. Small details, but details none the less.
I know not joining in the attaboys makes me a persona non grata, but if people dont tell the truth, exchange ideas and learn here, what's the point?
Posts: 370 | Registered: May 2001
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Robb, Keep in mind that not every customer is going after maximum contrast, legible at 100 yards lettering. Thank God. We would have nothing but Caution Signs out there.
-------------------- Joe Endicott NEXCOM (Navy Exchange Service Command) Signing Programs Specialist Virginia Beach, VA jeendicott@msn.com
"I want to be Stereotyped....I want to be Classified." Posts: 681 | From: Virginia Beach, VA USA | Registered: Mar 1999
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I need to learn more about these other design tools, I do everything in GA, I know I'm limiting myself.
But Robb brings up a really valid point. With all these design capibilities, is it too easy to get carried away with a design, I see more and more designs a little over the top, maybe I'm jealous, that I don't take the time to learn these eye candy tools. But I've often wondered would I get carried away also?
But Steve, it's a really nice design, I love it, I really do.
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
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all opinions accepted, I like it & wish I'd done it! Well done Stevo!
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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Having seen this in person, the design is lighter on Stevo's screen than it looks here. The panel is more of a rich burgundy with a hot spot of soft brick red. The lettering is really a cream, with an orange "backgammon" stripe.
I'm not a huge fan of using red and green together, but it is his design and it is effective. After all, for years, that color scheme has worked well in Christmas designs, and that is why we have such a strong identification with it.
The only clip art he used was from the Vector Art collection (Karen Souza scrolls) that he won right here as a Letterville Resident.
I watched him do all these special effects first hand....he looks like Liberace at the keyboard, hitting "hot" keys. He is fast, so fast that I don't know how the hell he does this.
The only thing I helped him with was the shadow under the lettering, having hand-painted for 20 years, I know where they go. That was all done with fills on a black background.
Here, truckers "go" for the fancy-schmancy stuff. I do agree that he needs to follow the ribbons more, and I told him so. All in all, I think he has done an admirable job. Love.....Jill
Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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Thanks everyone for the compliments and critiques. I do realize that it does need a bit of tweaking here and there.
Robb, I have taken into account how the colors will print out, and yes I was going for that bit of a muddied color look to it to reflect the era. If I need to lighten up the colors abit for print outs then I will. I thought it would look funny with real high impact colors and not really achieve the authentic feel I was going for. I am very inspired by Karen Souza's style and the Letterheads magazine. Have you seen one? I took the approach to design this for print, its not a sign. I feel its eye catching enough to not have a huge phone number on it. In my area here I dont often see anything really that very well done, in fact rarely ever.
Is it over the top?
For my area here it most likely is, but one things for sure is that it is different and way more original than the absolute CRAP I see here in Edmonton. So I wanted to stand out from the norm. I think it does. Thats the sort of attention I want to get from this. The reaction I have got already from "normal folk" is "WOW thats nice!" Thats the reaction I want and its better than "oh okay".
Stevo
-------------------- Stevo Design Illustration Logos Sign Design Clip Art www.stevo-design.com Posts: 1680 | From: Edmonton Ab Canada EH! | Registered: May 2001
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It's beautiful, will make a great poster, or even a post card sized sales tool. I agree with the lower ribbon concern, Stevo Design should flow and not be broken up, or drop the Design part. It would look real cool on a birdseye maple panel with a Cherrywood finish and darkened edges, black leather edging with brass tacks... I like your stuff, keep those design ideas coming.
-------------------- "Are we having fun yet?" Peter Schuttinga DZines Sign Studio 1617 Millstream rd Victoria BC V9B-6G4 Posts: 521 | From: Victoria BC | Registered: Mar 2002
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(for those of you not in the know, Ryan thinks that I resemble his Mom) Stevo also emailed me a tone-on-tone version of this that was really neato. J.
Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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I love the layout and detail. Very classy. The only thing I'm wonderiing about is the phone number. Seems a little thin if you're wanting folks to call.
Phone numbers are design elements. Phone numbers are our friends. Rapid
-------------------- Ray Rheaume Rapidfire Design 543 Brushwood Road North Haverhill, NH 03774 rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com 603-787-6803
I like my paint shaken, not stirred. Posts: 5648 | From: North Haverhill, New Hampshire | Registered: Apr 2003
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Yes Folks, if you've got the vision, the skill, and the time, ... Corel will create masterpieces like this. As with any "tool", it's a matter of whose hands they are in.
Stevo ... top notch!
Nettie
-------------------- "When Love and Skill Work Together ... Expect a Masterpiece"
I am amazed and humbled by your talent! Beautiful work. By the way, one of Karen Souza's designs won first place for vehicle graphics in the USSC Sign Design 2005. Seems to me she's a great designer to take cues from.
Really love your designs.
Thanks, Steve
[ October 29, 2004, 02:07 PM: Message edited by: Steve Racz ]
-------------------- Steve Racz Racz's Handcarved Signs Posts: 1078 | From: New Jersey | Registered: Jan 2004
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