Detail Design and Fabrication (DD&F) has been busy designing and fabricating exhibit and trade show booths all summer. The favorite one so far among the designers was the booth created for Barrett Jackson, the Scottsdale-based collector car auction company, for their new line of signature car care products. For this project the design team decided to go big, creating a booth that displayed the new product line in a fun and exciting way.

The project began with brainstorming sessions with our client and designers to review their current packaging and decide what elements needed to be in the final design. Renderings were created of a cash register desk, product display kiosk, and a jumbo product display in the form of larger than life bottles. Once the designs were approved, DD&F began the fabrication process, first with the creation of the molded plastic jumbo product bottles. Each bottle was created to look identical to the product bottles themselves, complete with printed labels. In addition to the bottles, DD&F fabricated a cash register desk and a product display kiosk that incorporated car-themed graphics and the Barrett Jackson logo. Walls for the booth were also constructed and showcased the product with text and images. A variety of materials were used to build the booth and bright colors inspired by the product packaging were applied to the make the booth stand-out. The booth made its debut on in June at Barrett Jackson’s Orange County Auto Auction, and it will also be traveling to Las Vegas this fall for the next auto auction.

Check out the video to see the project go from concept to creation.

Among DD&F’s impressive array of work at Chase Field, there is one contribution DD&F has made to the ballpark that is destined to be the most beloved: The Sandlot. DD&F can proudly take credit for working from the conceptual layout, to design and build-out of a dynamic interactive play area for young fans, including Future’s Field. Complete with baseball diamond and windows in its outfield that open and close using computer automation, this miniature version of Chase Field gives aspiring ball players a chance to see what it feels like to hit one out of the park themselves.

DD&F implemented environmental graphics, a distinct entry statement and custom picket fence border, to infuse the area with a sense of continuity and kid-friendly atmosphere. DD&F also created valuable sponsorship opportunities throughout The Sandlot, which features a full playground and toddler play area and is joined by a variety of other kid-friendly attractions such as a stage for D-backs mascot, Baxter the Bobcat. Located on the third level, overlooking left field, The Sandlot was developed for partner St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. Through DD&F efforts, the play area was ready in time for its 2008 unveiling.

This year, DD&F helped update Baxter the Bobcat’s clubhouse by incorporating some new and fun elements into the photo opportunity and stage area. DD&F designed a new facade for the existing stage taking young fans away from the ballpark to Baxter’s porch. Complete with a refrigerator of snacks, a scratching post, and D-Backs branding, young fans can now visit Baxter in an exciting new space. We especially like the white paw prints that cover the roof!

DD&F loves creating interactive children’s environments that take a young fan’s experience from an ordinary trip to the ballpark to a magical and memorable day with their favorite team.

Check out some of the videos of these cool creations in the making. http://www.youtube.com/user/DDandF

DD&F was very happy to meet Mark and Karen Vojtek, owners of Culinary Solutions, back in November. “Once we met them and listened to their story, we could really identify with their struggle. Being a business owner in this down economy, a husband and wife duo trying to run a business and also manage family life at the same time…their story really touched us,” says Sandy Bruce. 

Mark and Karen had been through a rough couple of years with their restaurant through the recession, and had voiced their concerns about moving forward with their business. They were facing serious financial hardship and did not know how long they could maintain their seven year old business. “We did not think twice when we were approached to be part of a renovation to the café to boost morale and keep it alive. We knew right away that our area of expertise could really help make a difference and the Mark’s Cafe project got very exciting in a short amount of time,” said  Bruce.

Before we knew it, there were at least six businesses on board, and board meetings began titling the project “Saving Mark’s Café.” DD&F was on the team, and was responsible for rebranding, designing and fabricating a fabulous new interior, to match the inside of the cafe with the quality and caliber of the food that comes out of Mark’s kitchen.

BEFORE PHOTOS OF CULINARY SOLUTIONS:

Other businesses involved in the “Saving Mark’s Café” project include Farnham Design; a designer in charge of the new logo, menus and rebrand, Bright Bokeh; a team of local videographers,  Chris Loomis Photography; a photographer who was responsible for before/during/after photos, Vanderwall PR, a local PR representative who helped distribute news about the project, Social Media Mad Scientists; a company who helped with our viral videos and facebook page, The Follow Us Agency, the Saving Mark’s Cafe project manager,  Esquared Builders, general contractor responsible for demolition, TR Painting painted the new interior,Dale Cartwright Flooring completed the new floor, and Paul Swek;  a local artist who created the tabletop design overlays.

After many meetings, decisions, and networking, the restaurant demolition began on Monday, May 9^th, with Mother’s Day as their last day operating as Culinary Solutions. The floor installation, and painting followed the same week, and , and on May 16th, DD&F came to the restaurant to install all of the new components, and completely revamp the café.

Here are the original renderings that were presented by DD&F:

 DEMOLITION

DD&F INSTALLATION

Mark’s Café opened the doors for customers for the reveal on May 19th.  AFTER PHOTOS

The café had a “Re-Grand Opening” on May 25^th. Mark’s Café is located on the corner of Rural and Guadalupe at 6340 S. Rural Road, Suite 120 Tempe, Arizona. For information on Mark’s Café, please visit www.markscafeaz.com or you can call 480-839-6455.

Links to news coverage on Mark’s Café:
6/9/2011 – Arizona Republic – http://www.azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/2011/06/09/20110609tempe-culinary-solutions-cafe-tempe-gets-makeover-new-name-marks-cafe.html?source=nletter-news

5/25/2011 – ABC 15 – http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_southeast_valley/tempe/tempe-restaurant-saved-by-community

5/17/2011 – East Valley Tribune – http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/the_valley/ahwatukee/article_e51153d0-a09a-500f-9ae9-36a824c378f5.html

5/17/2011 – Ahwatukee Foothills News – http://www.ahwatukee.com/news/article_5b76a9d8-8012-11e0-83ec-001cc4c002e0.html

5/16/2011 – Mouth X Southwest – http://mouthbysouthwest.com/2011/05/16/customers-help-turn-culinary-solutions-cafe-into-marks-cafe/

5/13/2011 – Arizona Republic – http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/dining/articles/2011/05/13/20110513culinary-solutions-cafe-tempe-changes-name-marks-cafe.html

5/10/2011 – Phoenix New Times – http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bella/2011/05/struggling_tempe_cafe_gets_sav.php#more

5/9/2011 – Fox 10 – http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/business/hurting-cafe-in-tempe-gets-free-renovation-5-9-2011

Spring Training is always such a fun time here in the Valley! DD&F  has had the opportunity the past couple years to update the branded environment out at the San Francisco Giants Baseball Club in Scottsdale. 

Some of the project specifics include incorporating the San Francisco skyline into the wall of the Sports and Medicine training room and updating the San Francisco Giant gym with other minor league logos. DD&F spruced up the lobby and baseball club entry with frosted window graphics and a vinyl “Champions” logo on entry glass. Various logos, signage and quotes were also placed throughout the weight room, pool room and meeting rooms. 

DD&F also updated the gate signs, an exterior monument sign and a brushed aluminum sign panel with dimensional elements and updated their current signage to reflect their “world champion” status!

 For more information on the San Francisco Giants visit their main page at http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com or their spring training page at http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/stadium.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Nissan LEAF (Leading, Environmentally friendly, Affordable, Family car) is the newest electric vehicle to hit the market. Unlike the Prius, which is a hybrid vehicle utilizing both electric and an internal combustion engine, the Nissan LEAF is fully electric. It has zero emissions – which means no tail pipe is necessary and produces no harmful greenhouse gases. But it’s more than just a missing tailpipe that is raising some eyebrows.  Here are some common questions and misconceptions he has been getting regarding his new ride:

• How do you charge it? The Nissan LEAF is “fueled” through a home charging dock where you simply plug-in your car and re-charge the battery just as you would a cell phone, laptop or ipod. The LEAF can go from a 0% battery charge to 80% in 30 minutes!
• How fast can it go? The LEAF handles like a V6 and can go 90 mph. It has 100% torque right when you step on the pedal.
• How far can it go and will you run out of charge? The LEAF can run for up to 100 miles on a single charge. The car is equipped to warn you when the battery is getting low and will direct you to the nearest charging station. Ideally, in the future there will be charging similar to gas stations, where you could re-charge and go.
• Does it make noise? The LEAF will make a soft humming noise, but it is relatively quiet compared to a normal car.  
• How big is it? The LEAF has seating for 5 passengers and you can even fit your golf clubs in the trunk!
• Did you know…The LEAF can be remotely connected through a smart phone via the CARWINGS app. You can control climate, monitor battery, and start vehicle charging.
• To fully charge a LEAF the EPA estimates it will cost you ≈$2.75. That is less than a tank of gas! Add it up and the EPA estimates you will spend $561 annually to keep the LEAF charged where as gas at roughly $40 per fill up for a year could cost $2080!
• 60% of the plastic on the LEAF’s interior is already recycled material.

To find out more information please visit:

http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/index#/leaf-electric-car/index

https://www.facebook.com/nissanleaf

If you are thinking to yourself, why I haven’t I heard of this spot yet…the hip, new restuarant just offically opened it’s doors on Monday, May 9th.

First of all, let us tell you, Betty’s Nosh is like no other!  Check out the inside of this place!

When you arrive to grub on the “nosh”, you can take your seat one of the Zen or Parson’s tables. The tables are square or round, and were created in various sizes, with distressed alder tops, deep expresso stains and alder legs and steel bases.

You won’t have any trouble finding the restrooms with these fun and funky signage plates for the “burts” and ”betty’s”. The plates are brushed aluminum with painted acrylic, incorporated with fabric from the restaurant”s interior, with customized symbols for each.  The restroom signs were a lot of fun to create and play with the incorporating fabric.

A few othere notables around the restaurant include the Betty’s Nosh blackboard, which DD&F framed with a distressed frame, in a deep espresso stain and clear epoxy finish to match the tables.

We also designed kitchen screens that gives the kitchen a little privacy from the restaurant which are made out of aluminum construction.

Last but not least, we can’t forget all of the signage inside and outside the restaurant. For the mushroom bar signage we designed 3D white and red letters.  The double-sided sign hung above the entrace of Betty’s Nosh, is a painted panel with dimensional letters, with metal patina. On the glass windows surrounding the private dining room, we enhanced the space with decorative, translucent imaging with the Betty’s Nosh logo.

For the exterior sign, we used illuminated pan channel letters with neon illumination.

For more information on Betty’s Nosh, you can visit http://www.bettysnosh.com/ or join them on facebook.

Did the Jawa sponsorship catch your attention at the Phoenix Open this year? We hope so!

We joined forces with JAWA to design a branded environment that was produced and installed for their sponsorship at the Waste Management Open in February.

DD&F created a custom, interactive exhibit that was 800-square-feet. The JAWA exhibit was complete with an overhead sign, four touch screen towers, four interactive kiosks, triangular millwork center structure  and a free-form millwork focal point.

Our turnaround for this specific project was 10 days for design and 15 days for complete fabrication. We designed the functional exhibit with several different pieces that could be moved around and arranged for additional show configurations. We feel the clients brand really stood out at the Waste Management Open. If you saw the booth, share your thoughts!

More about Jawa: Jawa was founded in 2005, with a desire to create an environment where innovation and breakthrough ideas were fostered and realized through a diversified workforce full of exceptionally talented and motivated employees. This foundational idea has grown Jawa into a fast-growing, dynamic company where we are redefining how consumers access, receive, and share information and media.

Upon completeing the initial assignment, we were thrilled to hear that they were interested in expanding the project by having us provide complete, turnkey services at the new sales centers located in Chandler, Good Year and Marana.

We utilized our turnkey services in fabrication, millwork, signage and value engineering to bring this concept to life. Project details included fabricating and installing a complete interior for the sales center and signage for both the salescenter and the model. The interior contained custom wall build-outs, which contained dynamic lifestyle images and phrases. The custom millwork was a combination of specialty wood veneer, and a custom lacquer, high gloss finish. The bright, bold colors mixed with crisp whites will provide an energetic atmosphere for prospective buyers. Some stand-out features inside include a translucent, double-sided aerial photo of the community, window imaging, and various decorative and text imaging on the walls.

A few multimedia features include an interactive touch-screen topographic map, allowing agents a better opportunity to give prospective buyers a more in-depth look at the community and surrounding areas and a custom welcome kiosk featuring a sign-in station. We also created a marketing trailer which the builder will use for freeway recognition. For more information about Maracay Homes please visit their website at www.maracayhomes.com.

We LOVE to re-use and re-purpose in our projects!  With creative juices flowing, we bought a used electric utility cart for us to use to drive between our two facilities and onsite at installations.  We decided that the all white cart needed some color, and decided to design it as a custom vehicle for DD&F. 

As you can see, the staff was inspired to give the cart a ”military look,”  and they had a blast coming up with more ideas. The cart was painted silver with a faux finish to make it look older and worn. We used custom graphics, aircraft stencils, and custom buttons on the dash, bumpers, side rails and steering wheel and we printed the canvas seat.  As you can see, there is even some hidden branding for DD&F  in many of the elements.  Below are some great photos of finished product!