Students Trey Ramsey Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, 2019 Project Description My EPICS project consisted of designing a bar sign featuring the logo and name of my…
Trey Ramsey
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, 2019
Project Description
My EPICS project consisted of designing a bar sign featuring the logo and name of my drink of choice, Jack Daniel’s. Jack Daniel’s is a brand of Tennessee whiskey and is the top-selling American whiskey in the world. Known for its square bottles and “Old No. 7” black labeling, Jack Daniel’s is one of the most recognizable brands in the alcohol industry. Thus, I wanted to create a bar sign that would boast the unique font and logo of Jack Daniel’s. The goal of the design was to produce a sleek and professional look with a rustic wood feel, while also allowing for a little extra “spice” by adding LED lights to the back of the sign. The sign is light and easy to mount to a wall and will fit perfectly into any kitchen or bar.
One of the most important components of my project was the use of the Silhouette Cameo machine to create stencils of the “Jack Daniel’s” lettering. This was an absolutely essential step because drawing the font freehand would have been extremely difficult and creating a Jack Daniel’s bar sign without the true Jack Daniel’s font would’ve failed to maximize the effect of the brand. The Silhouette Cameo is an example of what is known as a die cutting machine. Die cutting machines are designed to cut materials such as paper, cloth/fabric, or metal into a specific shape. There are two types of die cutting machines – manual and digital. Manual die cutters use a motor or hand crank to feed the material through a slot, where it is then cut into a specific shape. The Silhouette Cameo, however, is a digital die cutter. Digital die cutters function similarly to 3D printers – a design is drawn and simulated on a computer before being sent to the machine to be cut. The software on the Silhouette Cameo is incredibly easy to use and offers a wide range of capabilities. Digital die cutters allow you to create whatever design you want (within the size range) and cut it out in a matter of minutes. For my project, the die cutter was used to create stencils, but these machines can also produce magnets, stickers, decals, and fabric cutouts.
“10 Best Die Cut Machines of 2019.” SmartHome.Guide, July 12, 2018. https://www.smarthome.guide/best-die-cut-machines/.
“Introduction to Die Cutting.” Personal Die Cutting. https://personaldiecutting.com/introduction-to-die-cutting/.
The sign features two separate pieces: a wooden case and a logo plaque. The case is made out of birch wood and measures 24 inches x 14 inches. It features a simple rectangular design and is intended to create a backdrop for the logo plaque as well as serving as a place to mount the LED lights without them being seen. First, two 14-inch pieces were measured and then cut with a jigsaw to create the sides of the case, followed by the same process for two 24-inch pieces to create the bottom and top. A roughly 24 x 14-inch board was cut to make the back piece that closes the back of the box. These were screwed together using a drill to create the framework that makes up the wooden case. The case was originally going to be black, but I decided to make it a lighter brown/grey color so that it wasn’t quite as dark. Multiple layers of spray paint were used to color the case. Fortunately, I was still able to achieve my original goal of creating a rustic look by accenting the logo plaque by using a darker color on the case.
The logo plaque is also made of birch wood, and is a simple rectangular shape as well, scaled down to fit within the wooden case. It measures 19 x 9-inches and was cut into its rectangular shape using a jigsaw. When deciding which part of the board to cut down to size and use for the logo plaque, I intentionally picked a part of the board that had a few nots in the wood, which I thought would give it a more natural feel. Unlike the wooden case, which was painted, the logo plaque was stained multiple times with a very light and natural grey hue. In order to accurately recreate the Jack Daniel’s logo, which uses a very particular and famous font, I used the Silhouette Cameo machine to draw and then cut out stencils of the logo. The stencils were then taped down into place in the center of the logo plaque and traced to create an outline of the logo. I actually ended up painting the logo with the stencils still attached because certain parts of the letters were so small that it was difficult to do freehand. Once the paint dried, I un-taped and removed the stencils from the board, and the black logo was all that remained, bringing the logo plaque to completion.
In order to attach the two pieces, I created a very small rectangular framework of 2×4’s and drilled them into the case. The size of the 2×4’s allowed me to place the logo plaque on top of them and have it sit only slightly lower than the height of the case, which was about 2.5 inches. The logo plaque was attached to the 2×4’s (and therefore, the case) by using wood glue. This was the only part of the project that was not drilled together – I didn’t want it to be apparent how the logo plaque was attached to the case, and screws going through the front of the logo plaque would’ve failed to achieve this (as well as looked tacky). Finally, strips of LED lights were wrapped around the rectangular framework that holds up the logo plaque. By creating a case with depth, I was able to hide all evidence of the LED lights as well as the logo plaque’s connection to the case. Wall mounts were drilled into the back of the case so that it can be easily hung up in a kitchen or bar area. The finished product was intentionally made to be very light so as to allow for easy mounting.
