Some signs, for one reason or another, will be small. But they can still build big impressions.
因为客户的不同需求等原因，虽然都是一些小型的标识，但是他们总是能够给人留下深刻的印象。
Meri Weber and her husband, Adam, started their business 12 years ago in Indianapolis. Design 27 develops a wide range of technology and acoustics solutions for a variety of clients in a number of industries.
梅丽·韦伯和她的丈夫，亚当，12年前在印第安纳波利斯开始做生意。Design 27帮各个行业的客户提供了大范围的技术和效果解决方案。
Only this past year have they been able to invest in a sign. That's because, like many small businesses, they started out working from home then hopped around in various rented spaces that suited their modest needs. Eventually, they grew. And the prospect of owning their own space became more of a necessity than a distant goal. An opportunity finally presented itself, they jumped on it, purchased the real estate, moved their business into it, and then realized they would also need a sign.
就在去年，他们已经投资一个标识项目了。起初，他们也是从小生意慢慢积累发展到今天的，开始离开家，四处寻求发展的平台与机遇。后来随着时间的推移，他们拥有一个自己可以长远发展的平台。并且购买了属于自己的办公室，在里面经营他们的生意，随着公司不断的发展壮大，他们越发的意识到他们很需要一整套的企业标识系统。
"Once we moved into our small converted bungalow office, we were often told how wonderful the place looked," says Meri of their new office space. "But at the same time we heard comments about our lack of signage."
梅丽是这样描述她的办公室的：“我们搬进了小小的平房改装的办公室，经常会有人说这个地方特别好，但是与此同时，大家也建议我们需要制作一整套关于企业的标识系统。”
Although their clients and potential clients come from a slim spectrum of places, they were growing. Just as it is with any growing business, the need to build a brand and create top-of-mind awareness in a specific field of expertise is important. A new sign would help. In Meri's words, "It had to get done."
尽管他们的客户和潜在客户来自小地方，但是他们也一直在成长。就是因为他们的生意一直在扩大，所以在特定的专业领域，要建立一个品牌，做到最好的这种意识的需求就显得极为重要了。有一个新的标识会好很多的。在梅丽看来，“这件事必须要着手做。”
With a logo developed that resonated well with customers and potential clients, Meri and Adam were ready to tackle the sign. They had a general idea of how they wanted the sign to look but didn't know how to get things moving. They tried to work with some local sign shops but were told they really were not that all that interested in assisting with such a small sign job. Then I entered into the project.
随着对于企业标识的需求日益迫切，我们经过沟通，相互之间达成了共识，梅丽和亚当准备开始着手标识的制作。关于标识的外观他们有一个大概的构思，但是不知道具体怎么开始操作。他们想和一些当地的标识商家合作，但是他们说对这么小的一项标识项目或许商家不感兴趣。于是计划自己开始操作这个项目。
Through a network of history and connections, I was introduced to Meri and her vision for a new sign. I knew instantly that although the sign itself was not going to be anything too complicated or large, it would be artistic, dimensional and present the sort of image they wanted. Meri's good taste for aesthetics with my design and fabrication input would merge well to make an impression-building small sign.
通过网上的一个搜索和联系，梅丽就找到了我，帮助她制作新标识。我立刻了解到，尽管标识本身不是什么特别复杂的工艺，或者比较大的标识，但是需要具备艺术性、立体感，能够呈现出他们想要的效果。梅丽在对设计和制作上天生的审美能力，将会促进我们创造出醒目美观的小型建筑标识。
With a little due diligence, I was able to determine the ordinance guidelines for their address and zoning. As is often the case with properties located close to residential districts but are zoned for small office business operations, the ordinances were quite restrictive in terms of size, setback and illumination. Even the process itself for securing the necessary permit was going to require quite an effort for a sign no larger than 12 square feet and no taller than four feet from grade to top. Additionally, their office building is small. So a sign too big would not have looked right in context to the size of their business office or front yard.
经过全面调查后，我能帮助他们判断他们的区域的相关法律和方针。这种情况也是常有的事，一个产品是靠近居民区的，但是行政划分上是归为商业区的范围，这样的话条例是大有不同的，在规格、发光度、面积不能大于12英寸，从底部到顶部不能高于4英寸，甚至要获得必要的许可证，也是要花费很大的功夫的。另外，他们的办公楼比较小，所以标识太大的话就会和他们的办公楼或门面看起来不协调。
"I want to use our logo with wood and layered metal," Meri told me.
梅丽告诉我：“我想要用木头和分层的金属来制作标识logo。”
From there I immediately began generating renderings to capture her vision. A few revisions in and we arrived upon the perfect design for her and her business's brand, image and impression.
经过一番讨论，我马上产生了如何去做会更加美观的一些的想法。很快，这些构想接近比较完美的标识制作了，在她和她的业务品牌形象，印象上都会很快达成一致。
From there, and after securing the permit, we went to production with the sign using a rich looking stained cedar for the backer panel with various thicknesses of routed acrylic components to be installed in layers to the front surface. The acrylic components were coated with metallic Matthews paints. The support structure to hold the sign up was custom fabricated from steel tubing and painted to match the dark trim of the building.
我们从拿到许可证以后，就开始着手开始制作标识，用一块比较好看的已经染色的雪松木板做背景底板，然后用各种各样的厚度的处理好的亚克力板分层安装，放在标识的前面。这些亚克力板都是用金属色的Matthews油漆漆过的。支撑整个标识的支架是标准配置的钢管，上过油漆，这样能让建筑上的黑色看起来协调一点。
The sign turned out exactly as Meri had hoped and it portrays the excellence and professionalism that their business provides to their clients. The dimensional features with the choice of materials and colors gives this small sign the sort of qualities that make it unique, elegant and artistic while not sacrificing effectiveness or functionality.
最后出来的标识正如梅丽希望的那样，它诠释出了他们的业务提供给客户的完美和专业。通过材料和颜色的选择，空间立体感十足的标识外观，让整个标识看上去既优质高档，更显独一无二的，具有优雅、艺术感，又不会浪费效率和功能。
The point is that small signs don't have to be cheap, flat, boring or be produced from standard "sign" materials. In fact, the more creativity and custom craftiness you can put into the small sign, the more impact it will have and the more appreciated it will be.
关键是小标识也不一定便宜，无论是平面的，或者是由一些标配的材料做成的。事实上，制作标识时，投入的创意越多，技巧越熟练，得到的效果往往也就会更好。
All sign types are part of the package when running a sign shop—even the small ones. You can turn them down, like those who did with Design 27, but often there is a good opportunity within the smaller sign project if you're willing to try and get your customer to buy in to higher-class ideas.
即使经营一家特别小标识店铺，，所有的标识种类都可能成为你的业务来源。或许你会觉得一部分标识不值得你去关注，但是如果你愿意去尝试让你的客户获得一个更优质的创意时，在一些小的标识工程上也许你会得到很好的发现。
Small Sign Spotlight
小型标识聚光灯
Bobby Taylor started his family-owned sign business, Signs by Gina, in 1997. They are located in Owensboro, Kentucky. Like most sign shop owners, he's seen just about every type of branding project come through his doors. And he's done his share of small signs. At the same time, he understands the value of making the small sign special in order to make bigger impressions. Bobby and his son Larry share the details of a recent small sign project and how they made it a building impression.
Bobby Taylor 于1997年开始家庭式的标识生意，Signs by Gina。他们是在欧文斯伯勒，肯塔基州。像大部分标识制作商一样，他几乎经历过所有制作出来的标识标牌。而且他还做过小型标识。与此同时，他也知道制作一些特别的小标识能够产生更大的效果。Bobby和他的儿子给我们分享了最近做的一项小型标识项目的细节部分，还有他们怎么能够让标识在建筑上醒目美观。
Project Overview
项目概况
"We were recently approached by an upcoming store called Bushay's Men's Boutique & Home Decor. Ms. Hauser, the store owner, brought us an image of a sign created for an architect firm out of state. By looking at the image, we could determine what material was used and how it was made."
“我们最近接到一家即将开业的店铺标识订单，bushay男士精品家居装饰店。店铺老板娘Ms. Hauser 给我们提供了一家建筑公司标识设计图。一看到这张图，我们就想到了应该用哪种材料，以及怎么制作。”
Sign Concept
标识概念
"Silver standoffs, composite metal with a stainless steel finish, and acrylic lettering. The standoff sign photo they showed us, like most, was fairly small. We were asked if it was possible to create their sign to be similar but at a specific size of 3ft tall by 6ft wide. We chose to use custom 2"wide stainless steel standoffs that we had special made for this project."
“银的压铆螺母柱，不锈钢的复合金属，还有亚克力字。他们给我们看的压铆螺母柱标识图片，就和大多数的一样，非常小。还问我们我是否能制作出类似的标识，尺寸要是3英尺高，6英尺宽。我们选择用定制的2"不锈钢压铆螺母柱，这是我们之前专门为这个项目制作的。”
Sign Design Process
标识设计过程
"We started with design where we mocked up different logo designs and presented them to our client. Ms. Hauser confirmed that she was most interested in a modern minimalist design. We used a more modern font for the name, and a thin all caps sub-wording that describes what the store offers. A thin font is not usually best for most signage especially when viewed from a distance, but for the sake of keeping the branding of the store consistent, we kept it as is. Then we went to production."
“在做了不同的实体logo模型，并给我们的客户看过之后，我们开始了最终的设计。Ms.Hauser 确定，她最感兴趣的还是现代化的迷你标识设计。我们用了现代化的字体做名字部分，用细窄一点的，全部大写的字体来描述这家店铺的经营范围。细窄一点的字体也不是用在大多数标识上都是最好的，尤其是从远处看的时候，但是为了保持店铺品牌外观的一致性，我们还是坚持这样做。接着我们就继续开始制作标识。”
Sign Production and Materials
标识制作和材料
"We used 25" white gloss acrylic for the logo. The logo was laser cut in-house by our laser. We installed the logo by laser cutting a cardboard template for correct placement and measurements. We then placed each acrylic letter carefully into the slots with high tack automotive double sided tape. The sub wording was installed in white Oracal 651 vinyl below the name. The sign material was composite metal, coated with a stainless steel finish."
“我们用25"白色亚克力板做logo.这个logo是用激光机从内部切割的。在安装的时候我们是用激光机切割一个硬纸板logo模型,测试下正确的安装位置和尺寸。然后再把一个个亚克力字小心翼翼的放到插槽里面，用双面胶和大头钉固定住。名字下面是用白色甲骨文651乙烯基安装的副标题。标识材料也是复合型金属，表面镀了不锈钢漆。”
Final Sign Result
最终的标识
"The sign turned out great and the customer loved it. In fact, during the sign making process Ms. Hauser consistently reached out to us for more printing and branding applications that would be used for other store needs that included various decals and graphics, displays, custom made tags for the clothing and merchandise, and their business cards."
“最后出来的标识很好看，客户也很喜欢。事实上，在标识制作过程中，Ms.Hauser 一如既往的试图和我们打听，有没有关于更多的打印和品牌方面的应用，包括其他一些商店店铺可能需要的，包括各种各样的贴纸和图像，展览展具，服装和货物上定制的标签，以及商业化的卡片。”
Last Words
结语
"Dreams don't work unless you do," says Larry Taylor when sharing with me about his experience of growing up within and helping in the sign business.
在和我分享他在标识生意上的一些成长和帮助的经历时，Larry Taylor说到，“不努力就不会成功。”
"I couldn't be happier with the great privilege I have to be a part of providing branding solutions that build those impressions you talk about for our customers—even with the small signs."
“没有比这更高兴的了,我感到很荣幸，能够成为为客户提供标识标牌设计方案的一员，即使是在小型标识项目上， 不要去局限于自己的业务范畴，其实你可以承揽一切有关商业店铺的标识业务，从大的发光标识，到小的铭牌标识，广告贴纸，展示画面打印等。”
