Once in a while, I get a chance to design something REALLY special. Sometimes, even a design that has been created and approved by the client may change after it leaves my hands.
Sometimes I’ll visit the site or confer with the client directly; sometimes I’ll do the work through a contractor.


In the case of a local elementary school, I was in contact with the principal of the school to find out what he wanted. From there, I researched the companies that physically make the acrylic signs he needed for this project.
To do that, I had to know dimensions, create the designs and keep the colors PMS (Pantone Matching System colors) so it would translate from screen to print without much difference; I had to work with the supplier and figure out the quote and time frame for the project.
Once the items came in, it was up to me to review the items created by the supplier and verify that everything was correct (it WASN’T, and I recall at the time I had to send out for some items to be fixed/replaced).
I designed and laid out, cut, weeded and masked the vinyl, and prepped it all for the installer to take with him and apply to the wall, as shown in the photo. That was definitely a labor of love.