Bosses sometimes...

[SebastienL]

... don't know what they're talkin' bout!

Few months ago, my boss comes up to me with a project: 6-7 frames mounted on the wall for restaurant menu. Customer want something "baroque". He said will just routed on the cnc router on half inch mat'l. I said no way! Will look like crap and will be so expensive, customer will have to sell is restaurant just to pay for the signs. I said go to a used store, flea market, buy 7 frame, paint 'em white (Which is the color the client wants anyway) print the menu, install and done.

Monday, boss comes up to me with the client's layout (see below) and an estimate for 2 hours of design, 2 hours of router!!!!!!!!!!!!??????

So, I revised his estimate with more realistic times... consider I would have to retrace all these fancy scrollworks, generate the 3D, rout, sand paint... and still would look like crap, IMO. (remember 1/2" mat'l)

Anyway, I took it upon myself to contact the customer to try and steer her clear of the custom routed frame and go with the store baught, painted frame. I even did a quick layout to back-up my point (see below). She agrees with me, but like me, she is a designer working for a boss, and this is a design joint, so they are working for a customer also.

My boss, after seeing my estimate, agrees that the store baught frames is the way to go. I'm just hoping her boss and customer will agree to that.

What do you guys think? Custom or store baught?

 

[Gino]

Yep.

 

[Rick]

What does the interior of the restaurant look like?

Restaurants are generally not cheap to build out/open. Having designed the environments of a few myself and working with architects and interior designers, I can say some things are not worth the cost... somethings have to be designed to give the place atmosphere or carry a theme... some things, like a menu, are actually read by the customers. So cheaping out by using stock frame is not always the correct thing.

There may be more cost effective ways of doing it than the 2 drastic options without losing the intent of the design.

 

[ucmj22]

eh, just do it Pro-bono

 

[SebastienL]

Rick, I have no clue as to what the restaurant looks like...

I understand that there are many thing we could do.. but my client's client want something dimensional. My thought is the frames on the back will lay flat on the wall on the ones on the foreground mounted on riser block. I understand opening a restaurant is expensive and most of the time, bank will not even lend you money for this. I think my solution would look better and be cheaper. A win/win solution for the customer, I think...

Here's a pick of a frame me and my girlfriend salvaged from a garbage bin. Took the crapy masonite mounted/canvas textured lamed landscape print out, put in a mirror and painted white. My point is I could never achieve anything close to this on a router... well not on the budget we have.

 

[Locals Find!]

you could achieve that look cheap and easy with some molds and some plaster of paris. Then seal it. Go to a craft store they sell molds to do just that.

No router necessary.

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

Was that you that I saw diving into the dumpster?

 

[NEGD]

My point is I could never achieve anything close to this on a router... well not on the budget we have.

I think you are right on with this... plus, depending on the decor of the place, mismatching frames may add character.

I love your idea.

 

[SebastienL]

Was that you that I saw diving into the dumpster?

Hey, designers' got to eat too!

 

[signswi]

I've always found that anytime you try to reduce the complexity of something for a customer just because you think it'll be too expensive for them is a potential mistake. Reducing complexity for other reasons is more valid but you shouldn't be afraid of a lot of hard work if they're willing to deal with the price.

You could probably find stock vector frames with that much complexity and just pull the shapes up/smooth out in whatever CNC software you use, take a while but it's not INSANE.

That said modifying some pre-bought frames could also work just fine properly handled. Like Rick said environmental design for restaurants isn't a cheap thing.