January Featured Graphics: Chesmar Homes Frosted Vinyl

Chesmar Homes reached out to us for a solution for their new office space. They wanted to create privacy for the conference room and offices but also increase visibility of the glass walls.

To achieve this we printed frosted vinyl stripes for the larger walls and doors, as well as solid frosted panels for lower window panels. In addition, we printed frosted glass logos for Chesmar Homes’ local partners, CLM Mortgage and N Title, to add to the door to their office.

More and more companies are using glass partitions to create separate rooms without blocking light and visibility. This gives the feeling of one communal space, but allows individuals their own space and privacy for meetings, phone calls, etc. 
 
As the use of glass walls has increased, so have the requests for vinyl applications by our team. We want to help with your space if you also have a need for improved visibility of glass walls. Many customers add their logo, mission statement, company motto, or decorative designs to their partitions to add visual interest and to personalize the wall or door.

Chesmar Homes Website

If you would like to get started on a project with our graphics team, reach out to a team member at CSSR@MillerIDS.com or CSSR@@MillerIDS.com or CSSR7@MillerIDS.com.

Featured Graphics: SMPS City Limits Event Signage

SMPS Austin hosted a welcome party to kick of the 2023 Amplify AEC National SMPS conference. The party was “ACL” themed and highlighted all things Austin culture with BBQ, live music, cocktails, and networking.

They welcomed a crowd from across the country and we were happy to provide support to our local Austin chapter who hosted the national conference this year.

In support of SMPS Austin, we printed a variety of signage and branded materials for the event. We produced foamboard welcome signs, menus, stir stick stickers for drinks, table tents, and retractable banners. We also printed window clings, raffle cards, a-frame signage, a mural banner, and even pedicab signage!

Keep us in mind if you need printed materials for your event!

If you would like to get started on a project with our graphics team, reach out to Sydney Donelson at CSSR@MillerIDS.com.

Featured Graphics: Encotech Vinyl Wall Mural

Encotech Engineering Consultants is a central Texas engineering firm with offices in Austin and San Antonio. This mural was created for their new office location in San Antonio. The mural was an in-house job designed and produced in Adobe Illustrator by Juan Arango, Encotech’s Director of Marketing and Business Development. The communication goal is to showcase Encotech’s core values while celebrating the rich and diverse culture of San Antonio through some of its iconic imagery.  

For the Encotech San Antonio office, we were tasked with matching a specific blue hue that the client had requested; Sherwin Williams – Adriatic Sea. The client had already painted a number of the walls in the office this color, and they were hoping for a near exact color match to keep all installed office graphics cohesive and within brand guidelines. They’ve had issues with color matching on previous office graphics installed, so getting it right the first time was key. Color matching was only possible by obtaining a swatch from the client of the paint color used on the wall. We then compared that swatch to our book of Pantone colors and found the closest three visual matches. Our production team then printed samples of the color options with the exact material and laminate specifications that the installed vinyl would have. The final color was selected from the sample, which ensures that the final color selection would still be the best match when viewed with the laminate and vinyl material we specifically chose.

Since the wall we installed the graphics on was already the correct shade of blue, you may be asking, why not just cut the design out of white vinyl and apply that way? We opted for full-coverage vinyl panels to ensure the intricate design the client had proposed looked as sharp as possible, maintaining its crisp angles and sharp lines that the design called for. The client felt more comfortable executing the design in this way as it saved time, money, and eliminated the need for the design to be intricately cut out by our iEcho machine. The client’s design was printed directly to our 3M 40C vinyl and sealed with a 3M matte laminate to protect the finished surface from scratches and damage. The project was installed in under 3 hours and was completed in time to meet a deadline the client had set.

Contact Encotech:
Website: encotechengineering.com
Instagram: @encotech_ec
Facebook: Encotech Engineering Consultants
LinkedIn: Encotech Engineering Consultants, Inc.

If you would like to get started on a project with our graphics team, reach out to Sydney Donelson at CSSR@MillerIDS.com.

Graphics Feature: Westlake High School Baseball

Westlake High School wanted to pump up their players by refreshing their baseball locker room and dugout (who isn’t inspired by beautiful surroundings!). We teamed up with a graphic designer who could accomplish their motivational and design goals, then handled the printing and installation of the project.

We printed their graphics on large format adhesive vinyl, similar to a peel and stick wallpaper. This allowed our installers to put the graphics up in panels with the fewest number of seams possible. We recommended the proper vinyl that would adhere to the textured walls, in this case cinderblock. This material is able to stretch slightly to be smoothed over any texture.

Vinyl panels work for both indoor and outdoor use and are very easy to maintain. Because the vinyl has a smooth surface and is laminated, it can be wiped down if it starts looking dirty or dull, which is great for outdoor areas or spaces that are exposed to the elements.

Vinyl wall graphics are one of our favorite ways to brand a space because they really pack a punch. The process is fairly simple once the designs are created, making it one of the easiest ways to make a big visual difference pretty quickly.

We would love to help with your next graphics project whether that be with large-scale adhesive vinyl or something else!

Quick personal notes: Ralph Yznaga was the designer for these graphics. Ralph has designed other projects inside the locker rooms of Westlake and has worked with Miller in various capacities for years. He designed our current website! Alongside that, he is the Editor and Co-Owner of Edible Magazine! Our thanks goes out to Coach JT Blair at WHS; we helped him with the initial “rebrand” of the locker room about seven years ago and he called on us again to help this go-around. Thanks Coach!

If you would like to get started on a project with our graphics team, reach out to Sydney Donelson at CSSR@MillerIDS.com.

Graphics Feature: San Antonio Spurs Lamp Post Flags

The San Antonio Spurs hosted “Spurs Week” in Austin earlier this month, featuring events around Austin to kick off their games played at the Moody Center. The games were coined as the “I-35 Series” and marked the first regular season NBA games ever to be played in Austin. To advertise the exciting events, we printed lamp post signage to be installed around town.

The signs were installed around the South Congress area, including on the South Congress bridge, along both sides of the shopping district on South Congress, and around the Long Center and Auditorium Shores.

Lamp post signage is basically a two sided banner with pole pockets sewn into the top and bottom. We are on the approved vendor list for the City of Austin and can help with your flagpole project, too. This same concept of pole pockets is also used for trade show backdrops – we want to help you on those projects as well!

If you would like to get started on a project with our graphics team, reach out to Sydney Donelson at CSSR@MillerIDS.com.

Graphics Feature: Urbanspace Sales Center

Since 2000, Urbanspace has served as Austin’s first and only full-service urban core living solutions company, providing real estate development, sales, and marketing expertise — amplified by our in-house interior design studio + modern furniture showroom — with an intense passion for living the urban lifestyle. We are an organization committed to Austin’s growth and development, with an emphasis on architectural design, sustainable development, urban communities and modern design products from around the globe.

Urbanspace put their stamp on the Austin skyline with The Modern Austin Residences, a 56 story condo tower entirely developed, marketed, and sold by Urbanspace. To create an immersive sales center experience for their buyers, they worked with us to take advantage of the vertical space on the walls and windows, with displays that included a panoramic aerial view from the tower, a map of the vibrant neighborhood surrounding The Modern, and a timeline of Urbanspace’s major milestones.

“The sales center turned out even better than we hoped, and a lot of the credit goes to the Miller IDS team. We were impressed by their professionalism and the quality of the work. They made the process of moving from conceptual designs to reality a breeze. We had a great experience working with Miller!” – Robbie Polk

For more information on Urbanspace: 
Main website: www.urbanspacelifestyle.com 
The Modern website:  www.modernaustinresidences.com 
Instagram (Real Estate): @urbanspacerealtors
Instagram (Interiors): @urbanspaceinteriors
Instagram (Design Studio): @urbanspacedesignstudio

To get started on your own graphics project, contact Sydney at CSSR@MillerIDS.com.

Graphics Feature: Aquila Commercial Alto Jobsite Signage

We are getting a new neighbor at our downtown location! Aquila Commercial is building a 110,000-sf office development called Alto at 924 East 7th Street, which will plenty of office space as well as luxurious amenities and scenic views of East Austin, Downtown, and the State Capitol.

Our graphics account manager, Josh Meza, worked with Alta to produce construction banners for their jobsite. Our mesh banners are perfect for construction sites because they are durable and the mesh allows wind to flow through without damaging the banner or jobsite itself, as traditional vinyl banners can act like sails and rip fencing down when caught in strong winds. The mesh banners also reduce the loud flapping noise that the wind can cause in other vinyl banners. We sometimes see signage at jobsites that have slits cut into them to prevent wind damage, but with mesh banners there is no need to do this!

If you would like more information on the Alta office space, visit Aquila Commercial’s website and follow them on Instagram at @aquilaaustin.

If you would like to order any jobsite signage or get started on any other graphics order, contact Sydney at CSSR@MillerIDS.com.

August 2022 Featured Graphics: SMPS Axe Throwing Tournament Signage

SMPS Austin asked us to print event signage for their Second Annual Axe Throwing Tournament. Some of the signage we did were vinyl banners, retractable banners, a step and repeat photo backdrop, floor graphics, decals, and table tents.

Signage is a great way to brand an event whether it be a corporate event or personal. Through the signage, SMPS was able to display sponsors across the entire venue. They also had us print removeable vinyl decals to go on the fridge, which featured the beer and wine sponsors for the event.

All the signage we printed and installed was temporary, meaning the clean up was easy and there was no damage done to the event space. Floor vinyl and decals are some of our most popular event signage because they pack a punch while still being easy to remove.

Our team of four employees also had a blast participating this year! Thank you SMPS for putting on such a fun networking event!


If you would like more information on event signage or anything else graphics related, please reach out to Sydney, at CSSR@MillerIDS.com

July 2022 Featured Graphics: Algorand Event Branding

Algorand hosted a ping pong tournament at Smash ATX to kick off the Consensus conference. They wanted attendees to have the opportunity to compete for special NFTs that were designed specifically for this event. 

The goal of this project was to integrate Algorand’s brand identity seamlessly into the existing venue, as though the design was naturally part of the venue’s architecture.
 
Trott Studio, who planned the event, reached out to us to help make this goal happen. We printed many different cut vinyl pices to be applied to different surfaces including an oversized die cut graphic to apply to the outside of the venue, branding it with Algorand’s name. We also applied green vinyl strips with their name along the edges of the bar, and a large white vinyl logo to be applied over a tile wall in the venue.

Thank you to Algorand and Trott Studios for coming to us for this project and allowing us to be a small part of it!

Algorand’s Website: www.algorand.com 
Algorand’s Instagram: @algorand
Trott Studio’s (Event Creative Direction) Instagram: @trott.studios

To get started on your own graphics project, contact Sydney at CSSR@MillerIDS.com.

April 2022 Featured Graphics: PIA MidAmerica 2022 GraphEx Awards

Printing & Imaging of America (PIA) hosts annual Graphic Excellence Awards (GraphEx Awards) which recognize our industry’s outstanding technical achievements in innovation and print production. Earlier this month at the regional awards (MidAmerica) we received advanced notice of 10 awards on entries our talented customers allowed us to enter.

Best of Category:
Art reproductions digital- Tetris Austin by Mila Sketch
Calendars, booklet digital- Arielle Austin Calendars
Posters digital- Sara by Janis Fowler
Wide format (40” or more) display graphics digital- Fluence BioEngineering
Wide or grand format, interior/exterior scapes- Blue Sushi
Wide or grand format, special installation- Plank Seafood Provisions

Award of Recognition:
Announcements & invitations digital- Open Door Preschools Fall Fete Invitations- designed by Buie&Co
Art reproductions digital- Aeons by Jona Burkhalter
Calendars, flat digital- Miller IDS 2022 Artists’ Calendar
Menus digital- Angie’s Mexican Food Restaurant Menu
  
At the regional award event in Dallas we were surprised with an additional 3 awards that are listed below. While these pieces won Best of Category in their specific area, the following awards are open to all “best of category” award winners, so the competition for them is much more intense.

Regional Awards
-Division II (companies with 26-75 employees): Silver award for Tetris Austin by Mila Sketch (art reproduction)
-Best of Central Texas: Platinum award for Plank Seafood Provisions (environmental graphics originally submitted for “wide or grand format, special installation”)
-Best of Digital Printing: Bronze award for Sara by Janis Fowler (art reproduction).

The environmental graphics installation at Plank Seafood Provisions in the Domain has been submitted for national judging and we hope that the praise for this creative design and installation will continue! Thank you to our amazing customers for trusting us with your projects and visions and to those who allowed us to enter their work into the GraphEx contest!

Congrats to all who won!

If you would like to get started on a project with our graphics team, reach out to Sydney Donelson at CSSR@MillerIDS.com.