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This article is part of a series of articles from my co-workers on their favorite nameplates. Billie Theobald, our guest blogger this week, is very familiar with the wide variety of nameplates manufactured by Northern Engraving, specializing in the cosmetics industry.
Something so small but says it all.
IPC provides customizable intelligent trading stations to the world’s financial trading floors. The intuitive stations are referred to as turrets or dealer boards. This important piece of communication equipment provides on the spot contact to brokers, exchanges and hedge funds across the globe. One very small logo holds the brand all by itself.
The piece measures a mere .750”X.500” and is designed with a powerful embossed logo on low gloss brushed aluminum reversed out of black. The decoration is simplistic, but the intent emulates the strength of the product it embraces.
Request a Nameplate Materials and Processes Guide to begin exploring the options available to you in creating product branding that differentiates your product. Custom color matches, texture and assembly are only some of the options in creating your nameplate.
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A couple months ago we showcased a list of options in black and silver nameplates to show how this combination is a really good choice when it comes to nameplate design. The list explored a few of the possibilities in bringing together black and silver in your product branding. This nameplate takes that attention-getting combination one step further bringing a brushed grey background to the mix.
In addition to being an attractive design, the one thing that caught my attention when I picked up this nameplate was the texture in the matte black area. I love the contrast of this with the brushed and bright aluminum.
There are a couple of additional interesting points about this design. First of all, there is a locating notch on the bottom edge of the part which assures proper alignment when assembled. Second, the adhesive is die cut with a tear tab and assembled to the part. The tear tab is used to easily remove the adhesive liner for final assembly.
Request a Nameplate Materials and Processes Guide to begin exploring the options available to you in creating your product identification.
The ultra-slim MoGo Talk is a Bluetooth headset that from a design perspective is a beauty. The stainless steel trim piece is designed to blend in almost seemlessly into the headset blurring the boundary between nameplate and trim. Graphics are printed on a brushed background. Embossing adds dimension while a rolled edge finishes the part.
The stainless steel part goes beyond a typical nameplate application integrating product branding into a decorative trim piece. Processes and materials used in nameplate manufacturing are often used to create authentic metal trim pieces for consumer products. Integrating product branding into the trim is an attraction option on many levels. Aesthetically the product identification does not look like an afterthought when manufactured as part of the trim. Combining branding and trim into one piece minimizes the number of components for assembly on the final product.
Six Options for Integrating a Nameplate into Trim
Request a Nameplate Materials and Processes Guide to begin exploring the options available to you in creating your product branding.
The Zenith nameplates are a classic example of the use of the diamond cut process on a nameplate. The outer edge of the nameplate is contoured to follow the logo minimizing the black background while allowing the logo to stand out.
The diamond cut process continues to be popular on nameplates for consumer electronics. The crisp graphics create a look of precision for product branding. The bright silver finish coordinates across a wide variety of products.
What type of product do you think would be a good fit for a diamond cut nameplates? Why?
Request samples of diamond cut nameplates to see additional examples of the diamond cut process.
One of the key facets of a great brand is that it delivers on consistency. The manifestation of the brand or the way in which the promise and values are communicated occurs in many ways. Product branding with nameplates and labels is one of the vehicles for delivering a brand's message. This can become complicated when the brand covers a wide variety of products designed and manufactured throughout the world. HP meets the challenge with consistent aluminum badging for its consumer products ranging from printers and laptops to cameras and TVs.
A consistent image is represented with one logo available in multiple sizes to be used on the line of HP products. This logo uses the singular ID process to precisely align individual metal elements in the HP graphic. The aluminum is decorated with an engine stripe to enhance natural highlights and shadows in the metal. The silver nameplate coordinates with and is easily integrated into products in any color. A further economy with this approach to branding is the reduction in the total amount of part numbers. This in turn increases total volume by part number. Tooling and inventory costs are minimized while allowing price breaks for the higher volumes.
Request samples of this series or other nameplates in multiple sizes to see how a logo can be translated across multiple sizes consistently.
This simple aluminum nameplate continues to catch attention among all the nameplate samples we have. The clean design relies on a multi-level emboss to add dimension and define the graphics. The background is selectively embossed leaving an accent of bright aluminum. The finished nameplate reflects the premium image of the high performance speakers. This nameplate is an excellent example of less is sometimes more. A simple clean design that relies on authentic material to stand out.
The same tool updated with interchangeable embossing is used for the Bullet and Boston nameplates. The Bullet nameplate features debossed bright aluminum graphics against a brushed background. Debossed graphics are also used on the Boston nameplate. In this case, they are printed black creating an etched look. This series of speaker nameplates relies on the interchangeable emboss as a cost effective option for creating distinct nameplates.
The aluminum nameplate is assembled to a molded plastic backer. The backplate includes posts with snap fit features for assembly and alignment to the speakers.
What other product would be a good fit for the classic nameplate processes used in these nameplates?
Request a samples of these nameplates to begin exploring the options available to you in product branding.
The Kyocera cell phone trim integrates a decorative trim piece and product branding into one. The Kyocera graphic is embossed and diamond cut against a brushed background. A transparent grey tint of color is printed on the brushing to increase contrast while a bright border is embossed. This design makes use of the aluminum as more than a nameplate. It takes advantage of the authentic material integrating it into the product as decorative trim.
Coordinating aluminum overlays designed for the inside of the cell phone use the same brushed finish. A protective high gloss topcoat is roll coated on all three pieces of aluminum trim to protect them from scratching. A heat activated adhesive is applied to the both inside trim pieces while the faceplate uses a pressure sensitive adhesive for assembly to the cell phone.
What type of finishes would you use when designing a trim piece for a cell phone? Would movement be important? Would you want to add texture?
Request samples of brushed and diamond cut nameplates and trim to see the look of precision created when these processes are combined.
The Inter-Tel phone overlay is a fusion of injection molding and a screen printed overlay. The molded display is decorated with all printing sealed between film and resin. The large clear window demands optical clarity which manufacturing and quality control work together to achieve.
Overlay decoration can combine LCD display areas whether colored or clear, LED areas including light diffusing treatment, text and graphics. This overlay features a selective texture. Careful alignment of the graphics is key to the success of an overlay project. Printing developments are used to compensate for distortion occurring during the molding of the part. Basically some of the graphics are printed on an angle and during the forming process pulled into alignment.
How would you integrate an injection molded overlay into a product? What details need to be taken into consideration? Would you add a pattern or texture?
A common question that arises during the design phase of a nameplate is: how can I hide the raw edge of aluminum on my nameplate? This is especially a concern when the nameplate is a very dark color and is being applied to a dark colored substrate. In this case, the exposed silver edge of the aluminum is objectionable. There are several options to consider:
Hiding the aluminum colored edge of the nameplate was a challenge during the design of the new Dell Adamo nameplate. The solution involved a combination of approaches. First, there was a slight recess in the product where the nameplate was placed. However, space was limited and the depth of the recess was limited. The next step involved putting a slight rolled edge on the part. The silver edge was turned back slightly to help minimize the visible aluminum edge. A third step involved making the overall transparent tint of color slightly lighter. The original design called for a near black tint of color. The laptop is also brushed black. The two black areas highlighted any silver edge. The final design direction used a dark grey tint of color for the nameplate. This helped visually to minimize the appearance of silver.
A second version of the aluminum nameplate was created using the same tools. This was an economical option for differentiating the product in the marketplace. This version featured the same mechanical processes for the decoration of the nameplate. The Dell logo is highlighted with an emboss and spin. The spin is a circular brush which adds visual movement to the logo. The background is brushed. Both nameplates created a premium look for the brand.
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