Surfaces on Aluminum

This week, Vicky Bowie, our Sales Development Representative, is contributing to the Surfaces on Aluminum blog with some of the reasons in which a finish or pattern is added to a badge or emblem design.

Adding Finish or Pattern to a Nameplate

Selecting a background finish can be difficult.  Each design and project is unique.  Here are some reasons to add a finish or pattern to your nameplate or trim.

Coordinate with the End Product Housing or Finish

   
The finish complements your product for an integrated and complete look.

Create Contrast

   
Use of a metallic color, low gloss or texture as a background finish allows for cost effective grabbing of attention.   Pairing with a transparent tint adds further reason to hold attention. 

Add Interest

   
A pattern can provide that eye-catching aspect to get your product and brand noticed.  Colors, structures, scales can be as ‘in your face’ or as subtle as you require.

Increase Perceived Value

   
Textures add dimension and tactile elements.  Mechanical finishes add movement and depth.  Use these together or as individual aspects to give a premium look and feel to your product.

Differentiate Across Model Designs

   
Common tooling makes it easy to change the look of a nameplate by changing the finish.  This can be subtle with a color or gloss change.  It can be dramatic with a finish structure change.  This allows you to differentiate your brand across product lines, model years, or to a different demographic target.

The beauty is how wide open the possibilities are.  You can pick from an existing finish or customize with your own design.  Thousands of finishes are available for review in the Pattern Library.    

Request a disc collection to begin exploring the variety of finishes available for panels, overlays and decorative trim.

Adding Interest to a Background Finish with Patterns

These finishes all have one thing in common, they all feature a subtle pattern added to enhance the aluminum finish. The subtle look is achieved by either printing a tone on tone or screening a simple gloss change. Using these processes, finishes can be applied selectively on your nameplate or trim piece. Adding these textures creates another dimension to a background finish creating a premium look and feel.

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Request aluminum finish samples to begin exploring the options available to you in surface design.

Crisp precision and repetitive alignment transform ordinary geometric shapes into complex interlocking structures.  Layering of textured and brushed structures creates interactive surfaces with depth.

(from left to right, top to bottom) PAT-3538-A, DES-915-B, PAT-4171-A, PAT-3522-A, PAT-4187-A,PAT-3531-A *patterns not shown to scale

Request a disc collection to begin exploring the variety of finishes available for panels, overlays and decorative trim.

The simplicity of basic dot patterns is counterbalanced with the technical precision of machined metal surfaces creating a laser-etched or perforated effect.

(from left to right, top to bottom) PAT-4312-B, NAS-260-A, PAT-4288-C, DES-610-A, PAT-2748-C, PAT-1623-I *patterns not shown to scale

Request a disc collection to begin exploring the variety of finishes available for panels, overlays and decorative trim.