Our goal is to create Environmental & Architectural Signage with beautiful design and amazing typography.

When I saw this Ad for Apple’s new “Designed by Apple in California” campaign I literally stopped what I was doing and read it. That’s how much I love this Ad. I like well designed Ad’s all the time and this isn’t the first Ad to stop me or completely grab my attention. No, this was different and it has nothing to do with me being a Apple-Fanboy. No, this was different in a way that it spoke to me – A Designer. The pride and heartbreak and confusion of this profession summed up in a few short paragraphs.

Most people take a designers job for granted. They assume that the product, sign or website was just “that way from the beginning” but the truth is. It’s a bitch. I know from personal experience that this profession is hard. And I don’t mean physically (though sometimes my installs are just that…. hard.) No, what I’m talking about is personally and mentally, hard. A designer has to come up with an idea. See it to life and protect it. And turn around and squeeze their brain for more creativity. For every project coming to an end, another is starting to boil. This is of course just the path to the finish. And let me tell you the finish is the best utopia you can have without the use of drugs. My goal is and will forever be not about the bottom line, but rather the finished product. Seeing a design go from a late night idea to a sketch pad and then to Illustrator and on to reality. This is why I do what I do. That feeling that I’m making this world a better place visually. This is why I do what I do.

So when I saw that new Ad and opening sequence for Apple’s WWDC 2013. It absolutely stopped me in my tracks. Because this is the best description for what I value in my life and my work.

Pride.

It’s been a while since a van project came our way. To be quite honest vehicle graphics are an entire beast in themselves. I like “lettering” a vehicle. Now don’t get that mistaken for “wrapping” a vehicle. Those are two completely different products and services. Lettering is clean and simple. Our type of design. Wraps can be clean and simple but then your defeating the purpose of getting a wrap. Now yes, I do realize that wraps can be clean and simple in the design. I’m not saying they can’t be. I’m saying Lettering is not the same as wrapping a vehicle. Simple design and layout always win over crazy flashy designs. Flashy designs may get noticed, but simple designs are remembered.

So when Holeshot was commissioned to provide graphics for a new van for Kulacz & Sons Heating & Cooling, we discussed options and budget to give them the best exposure for the dollar. Working with a designers artwork that the owners had created I reworked the concept to be recognizable for them on a work van. Work vans like these are rolling billboards and are still the best and most economical form of business advertising.

Thanks again to Melissa and Jake for the opportunity!

What if Daniel Burnham and John Root had Sketchup when they were feverishly developing the Great Chicago Worlds Fair? Would it have made the impossible deadline of the fair easier? Would having a Sketchup model have helped silence the critics of Mr. Ferris when he was relentlessly pitching his great wheel?

What if, right?

Think about that next time you’re up against the wall with a deadline. Be thankful for the “tools” you have. Because the heroes of the past made it happen with much less.

No Excuses.

Custom Vinyl Lettering for trailer graphics.

Client: Len Roberts Construction

From our Family to yours, Have a Great Thanksgiving. Especially THANK YOU to all my clients for the opportunity to produce the best work I can possibly imagine. And for helping me keep my lights on!

A great article about how the art of neon bending for signs and other uses isn’t dead.

Link

Welcome to the all new Holeshot website. We threw everything about the previous design out and started over. Changed our whole approach the site and how we wanted Holeshot to be presented. We realized that our work is what made us stand out from the other companies. So we got rid of the dark background, the blog style site was replaced with a simple clean landing page. Created a clean and simple way for clients to view our previous work as well as a link to a current works blog. All of this to put more emphasis on the what were most proud of, our work.

But with any new site there will be bugs and the occasional “test post” to streamline our marketing of this site and our services.

Holeshot is much more than this website, it’s an experiment in signage design and execution. We hope you enjoy the results of our hard work as much as we do.

This is only the beginning.

Chris.