Gathering ideas

For the next week or so I'm in Disneyland. You can bet we are having the time of our lives sharing it for the first time with our grand daughter Phoebe. It is fun to see a park I love through the wide open eyes of an almost eight year old. Because she spends so much time in our shop, much of what she sees isn't new to her. She even knows how much of it was put together. But like her we are suspending our disbelief for a while and simply taking it all in - thoroughly enjoying the experience.

But you can bet I am also keeping my eyes peeled for inspiration and new ways of doing things. I took note of how digital prints are now often combined with dimensional work - especially on things like menu boards because they need to be changed often. Long gone are the days when everything is hand painted. We've been seeing this kind of work for a few years now. It looks pretty good and is a practical way of doing these kinds of signs - without losing the magic of 3D.

But digital prints are old news these days. More and more I am seeing digital screens for things like menu boards. Changeable in an instant or during different mealtimes in the day I believe they are the way of the future. But they can still retain the MAGIC of 3D - with the addition of a carved surround.  Disney of course ramps it up one more level. The artwork on the digital screen was superb and then they took it one notch higher yet and added animation. 

I of course was busy taking notes - and pictures. Seeing how these ideas could be used tougher effectively put about a thousand ideas into my brain.

Today was only the first of many days here. My brain could well explode before we are done...

-dan