Suttle-Straus' Top Five Creative Inspirations of 2016

This article was originally published by Christine Edgren, senior graphic designer and social media specialist at Suttle-Straus in Waunakee, Wis., on the Suttle-Straus blog.

If you’ve been following Suttle-Straus on LinkedIn, you may recall seeing some of our inspiration posts. Each week, we post a creative project that has come through our facility and provide the design and production details. In case you missed them, here’s our countdown of the top five creative inspiration posts of 2016 from LinkedIn, based on those with the highest engagement.

5. Dimensional Hallway Wall
Number five on our list is an internal display here at Suttle-Straus. A simple white hallway got a huge pop of color and personality. The wallpaper was designed by our Creative team and featured employee photos to celebrate our company culture. It was finished with acrylic standoffs and PVC panels to highlight our Best Workplace in the Americas awards, which can be easily updated for additional awards. This wall is part of a larger collection that won an ADDY award from the American Advertising Federation - Madison.

4. Tabbed Brochure
This creative inspiration post had a unique way to present a large amount of information in an easy-to-read format. The trifold brochure was designed by our Creative team and printed digitally with an 8-page stitched-in booklet. To create faux tabs, the booklet pages were staggered, eliminating a need for a die and making the brochure budget friendly. Since being originally posted on LinkedIn, this piece has been featured by Fold Factory on their Super-Cool Fold of the Week.

To see other budget friendly folds like this one, you may be interested in this blog article, "Folds: Making an Impact on a Budget...No Die Required!"

3. Elevator Graphic
It’s no surprise this next project made our top five list. Believe it or not, this impressive work of art is an elevator cab — if you look close you can see the handrails. Printed on both transparent vinyl flooring and polycarbonate, the graphics were engineered and produced in-house. The unique design and mix of materials gives the illusion of looking down through a staircase.

If you think this elevator graphic is great, click here to see more unique elevator cabs.

2. Holiday Cards
This next fun piece was part of our annual holiday giving campaign in 2015. The holiday card took on a winter snowflake theme and incorporated a unique fold and die-cut design. Printed 2-color, including 1 metallic ink, it was also featured on the Fold Factory’s Super-Cool Fold of the Week and was an award winner in the 2016 Graphics Excellence Awards (GEA) competition.

To see other original holiday ideas like this one, read the blog article, "Be Inspired this Holiday Season with Unique Ideas from Suttle-Straus."

1. Shadow Box Display
Number one on our list is a dimensional project that many may not realize is within our capabilities. This custom shadowbox display was designed and engineered by our Creative team and produced in our Wide Format Department. It measures 9 inches deep and is constructed entirely of PVC and acrylic. The interior also incorporates contour-cut PVC accents and cut adhesive vinyl lettering.

If you like what you see in this post, connect with us on LinkedIn for more creative ideas, industry news, company updates and more.

About the Author
Christine is a Senior Graphic Designer and Social Media Specialist at Suttle-Straus with over ten years of design experience, nine of those years with Suttle-Straus. Her background includes agency and in-house environments working on everything from brand development to painting a life-size cow for CowParade Wisconsin. Christine enjoys collaborating with clients on a variety of projects, seeing them through from concept to completion. Her passion for typography, design and unique papers led her to also teach aspiring designers at Madison College. Aside from her love of design, she enjoys being outdoors all year round with her husband, 3-year-old daughter and border collie mix rescue.