Hackl has four full-time employees at The Sign Cellar, including Jonathan ‘Steinner’ Steinkampf, the shop’s production manager.
“It’s nice having the ability to give something back,” he says. “These opportunities seem to come to us organically through our connections in the community.”
Graphic design for the win
While Hackl has always been the sole designer at The Sign Cellar, he is now training one of his employees to assist in this department.
“The design work is really the face of the client’s business,” he says. “The quality of this work is what defines us and keeps us from being just another sign shop.”
Hackl also notes the ways in which clients’ expectations of graphic design have grown since his shop opened, and how this evolution has changed his business.
“Customers see a photo and want it blown up to the size of a bus,” he says. “It’s challenging, but is also driving graphics to a better place with more impactful and dynamic designs.”
He cites a recent job, which involved wrapping a boat to make it resemble an old, wooden Chris-Craft vessel.
“The project serves as a great example of design that holds up when enlarged,” says Hackl. “The colours and grain details came out really well. It’s a really convincing effect.”
