Creating a commercial sign for vinyl cutting

Vallentin Vassileff

Conceptualizing the piece

Before beginning a design, I establish the guidelines that will frame the concept for the
piece. In this case, I am designing a sign for a golf supply store, and I think that any one
of the following concepts will work well:
• Old West — This concept uses fonts and elements that emulate the flavor of the
Old West. A sign created in the Old West style conveys a sense of tradition,
freedom, and perpetuity.
• Classic hand-painted — This concept uses exquisite, handwritten text and
beautiful, decorative elements. A sign created in the classic style conveys a sense of
tradition and commitment to quality and service.
• Modern — This concept uses simple elements and plain fonts. A sign created in
the modern style conveys innovation, advanced technology, and dynamic service.

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In this case, I will use the classic, hand-painted style because it best communicates the
company’s business. However, I will be using the vinyl-cutting technology instead of
painting by hand.

Creating the company logo

The logo will include the first letter of each word in the company’s name and a graphic
that visually communicates the nature of the company’s business. The company
supplies golf equipment, so the graphic will have a golf theme.
First, I create the text for the logo. It is important to choose a font that communicates
stability, quality, and progress. The font must be a good weight — not too thin or too
bold. I choose a font with clean, sharp lines and slight italic incline that communicates
movement and progress. In this case, I use a font called Splash, but you can use one of
default fonts in CorelDRAW with a similar style.

Next, I convert the text to curves (Ctrl + Q) and use the Shape tool to remove some of
the nodes and perfect the lines. The guiding principle here is that fewer nodes create
more exquisite lines. A slight change in the shape is acceptable. In the image below, you
can see that the number of nodes along the edge of the letters has been reduced
significantly.

I am ready to add a simple, yet effective, graphic. First, I use the Bézier tool to create
the basic outline of a golf player in midswing. Next, I combine the Bézier lines, select
the new object, and press “I” to select the Artistic Media tool. Now, I can choose the
brush width I need to achieve the desired result.

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I choose Arrange ` Break Artistic Media Group Apart (Ctrl + K), delete the center line,
and apply black to the object. Because I want the graphic to be bolder, I increase the
width of the lines with the Shape tool (F10).

Now, I want to integrate the graphic and the text so that they appear to flow together.
I add emphasis to the golf club (which represents the golf equipment that the company
supplies) by applying a different color to it. I also use the Shape tool (F10) to modify the
letter G to flow with the curve of the golf club.

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Designing the sign shape
The shape of the sign should not be too complex or elaborate. I use a combination of
basic shapes (an ellipse and a rectangle) to create the sign shape.

The ellipse and the rectangle are welded, and small circles are used for trimming the
edges. I use the Shape tool to modify the shape, and I increase the width of the outline.
I will add two ellipses — one for the logo and one for the year in which the company
was established. I create the inner portion of each shape with the Contour tool.

Designing the text

For this concept, I want to include the full company name in the center of the shape I
just created. In this case, I want an exquisite, handwritten font. I use A&S Graceland,
but you can use any of the default fonts that has the right style.

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Now, I want to add depth and dimension to the company name by embossing the font.
Because the logo must be ready for vinyl cutting, I cannot use an automatic embossing
or extruding function. I emboss the font by using the following method: First, I convert
the text to curves (Ctrl + Q) and choose Arrange ` Break Curve Apart. I click the Weld
button on the property bar to weld the letters together. Next, I select the Interactive
Contour tool, apply a contour to the outside, and then choose Arrange ` Break Contour
Group Apart. At this point, I apply contrasting colors to the contour and the text, so I
can see them clearly. Then, I apply a contour to the inside and break the contour group
apart. I apply a highlight color to the inside contour, and I displace the outside and
inside contours to visualize volume. As a last step, I group the objects.

The black outside contour adds contrast, and the yellow inside contour
creates highlights and volume.

Applying decorative elements to the logo

You can create your own decorative elements, or you can use professionally made,
vinyl-ready ornamental elements that are available from the CorelDRAW Graphics
Suite clipart collection or sites such as www.Clipart-deSIGN.com. In this case, I will
show you how to create your own complex decorations by drawing them with the Bézier
tool.
First, I use the Bézier tool to draw a few simple designs. It is important to perfect the
detail and the exquisiteness of the lines. Once I have the designs I want, the possibilities
are endless: I can combine, resize, rotate, distort, trim, and weld the basic elements into

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complex shapes. With only five simple shapes, I have created all the decorative elements
I need for the sign.

Finalizing the layout

Now is the time to assemble into one layout all of the elements I have created.
Remember that you should not use too many fonts in a design. With the two fonts I
have already chosen, I create the company’s year of establishment on the bottom.
I also center all of the elements and leave sufficient space between them and the frame,
so that the design can “breathe.”

Before I can apply the final colors to the design, I must prepare the graphic for vinyl
cutting. All objects that do not require an outline must have their outline set to 0, and
all outlines that are part of the design must be converted to objects (Ctrl + Shift + Q),
with the center line deleted. The result of these two steps is shown in the following
image.

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I’ve applied different colors to the elements so that I can easily explain the next steps.
1 Break apart (Ctrl + K) all of the outward shapes (colored in blue) that have been
created by the “Break Contour Group Apart” operation.
2 Hold down the Alt key, and click on the inside of the main frame to select the inner
outline that is hidden behind the outer object. Press Ctrl + PgUp once to bring the
object upward. Apply white color to this object. Do the same with the two ellipses
on the top and bottom.

3 Weld the blue ellipse on the top with the yellow ornament, and then combine
(Arrange ` Combine) the green shape with the white frame beneath.
4 Trim the blue frame with the yellow object by clicking the Trim button on the
property bar, and then combine the black ornament and the black “Golf Supply
Co.” outline with the white frame beneath. Weld the yellow object with the blue
frame beneath.
5 Trim the white frame beneath the green ellipse with the green ellipse, and then
weld the ellipse with the blue background. Break apart the two orange ellipse
shapes.

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6 Combine the outward orange ellipses with the white ellipses beneath, both at the
top and at the bottom.
7 Trim the letter G that contains the golf club, and then combine the black parts of
the logo with the orange ellipse beneath it. Weld the “est. 1972” text together, and
then combine it with the orange object beneath it.
8 With the Shape tool, select at least one node from the shapes to which you want to
apply a different color (shown with black arrows in the image below), and click the
Extract Subpath button on the property bar to separate these shapes from the main
frame. Now you can apply a different color to them.

Now that the graphic is ready for vinyl cutting, I proceed to applying colors.

Selecting colors that match a specific vinyl brand

CorelDRAW lets you import custom palettes. The good news for the sign-making
community is that you can download color palettes in the CPL file format from
vinyl-making companies such as Avery Dennison and Oracal. Copy the palette you
want into the C:\Program Files\Corel\Corel Graphics 13\Languages\EN\Custom
Data\Palettes folder.
Open the Color Palette Browser (Window ` Color Palettes ` Color Palette Browser),
and click the Open Palette button in the upper-right corner. Select the color palette that

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matches the brand of vinyl you want to work with. The color palette you select appears
next to the existing color palette on the right.
Apply four different vinyl colors, keeping in mind that the more contrasting colors you
use in a design, the greater impact the design will have. Explore different color
combinations. In this case, I use the Oracal® 751 Premium Plus vinyl palette.

1: Cobalt Blue, Ice Blue, Pastel Orange, and Brimstone Yellow.

2: Dark Green, Lime Tree Green, Pastel Orange, and Brimstone Yellow.
3: Black, Foliage Green, Golden Yellow, and Brimstone Yellow.
4: For best results, you can combine vinyl from different brands to achieve
higher-contrast combinations.
Once you choose a vinyl combination, you can compare the vinyl colors by putting
together little pieces of real vinyl to see how they look in daylight. Never trust your
monitor too much when working with vinyl colors.
To increase the speed of the vinyl cutter and make the output smooth and pleasing to
the eye, I perform one more operation. CorelDRAW X3 comes with a new
node-reduction function that lets you select all the nodes and apply node reduction with
just one click.

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Achieving superior weeding
CorelDRAW X3 now comes with the great new Fillet/Scallop/Chamfer docker that,
among other things, allows me to round all of the little sharp corners of my graphic,
which will make the weeding of the vinyl easier and smoother. In addition, the vinyl
design will look much more slick and exquisite.
To open the docker, go to Window ` Dockers ` Fillet/Scallop/Chamfer. Then, apply an
appropriate radius value.

Using an easy color separation technique

Many sign makers avoid doing multilayer vinyl jobs. I will demonstrate a simple, yet
very effective, trick that lets you easily create a multilayered design.

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Place four squares at the four corners of the design, and then combine them into one
object, centered against the shape of the sign.

Select the objects filled with the first color together with the squares, and drag them
aside. Right-click before you release the left mouse button. This action creates a copy of
both the selected color and the squares. Change the color of the original squares, and
repeat this operation for each of the four colors in the design.

Your four colors in the design are now ready for vinyl cutting. Send them to the vinyl
cutter, together with the squares. When you apply the colored vinyl layers, make sure
that you position them precisely by matching up the squares.

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About the author
Vallentin Vassileff owned a small but successful
sign shop in Varna, Bulgaria, before he became
founder and president of Clipart deSIGN
International (www.clipart-design.com), one of
the fastest-growing companies that produce
professional clipart for the graphics industries.
Each graphic is prepared with extraordinary
attention to detail and technical perfection.
Clipart deSIGN has produced the largest
product line of vinyl-ready graphics for vehicle
decorations, the largest-ever single package
with sports graphics for screen printing, and
the widest selection of vector icons for flash
animation and Web design.

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