Napkin plans

Not every drawing we do is detailed or beautiful. As we work out ideas Peter and I draw a host of quick scribbles. We both communicate best with a pencil or pen in our hand. The drawings don't have to be in scale nor pretty. Their requirement is simply to assist us as we work out everything prior to doing the final engineered plans.

Today we were working out how best to break the Viking ship frames into sections. They first need to be in small pieces in order to fit into the galvanizing vats. Then they need to be bolted (not welded) into larger assemblies, still small enough to fit into the shipping containers, but without wasting a lot of space. Plumbing, ramps, bracing and other requirements have to be allowed for.  Lift and tie down points for shipping need to be located as well. We'll add the theme work at this stage and then stuff the massive pieces into the containers. 

Once the pieces arrive in Dubai they will be assembled one last time - without us there to direct the operation. It's one of our biggest challenges to date - but a whole lot of fun to work out. Here's one of those dozens of scribbles...

Viking beauty

After two weeks away from the studio gathering inspiration we hit the ground running this morning. Peter had finished the sculpt of the half model of the Viking ship and he and Hailey had polished off the base coats of paint. With the important meeting client scheduled for this afternoon we had no time to waste. We made great progress and when we broke for lunch the half model was colourful and beautifully aged, the sail on and everything was ready to go. At forty inches long the model is impressive. The big version will be twelve times the size and will sport even more detail. The client meeting went well.

Locked in

Another great place for extremely creative sign ideas is Universal Studios in Orlando. Awesome signs abound through both of the parks. The new Harry Potter areas are out of this world. But my favourite signs and architecture are found in the entry area of Islands of Adventure. This area speaks to me as a designer and builder of creative environments and signs. It is visual story telling at it's very best. I tease you with one small sign as an example... for the lockers just inside the main gate.