Hello, readers!

Welcome back to Meet the Makers, a series that takes a playful, engaging approach to showcasing the personalities and expertise of sign pros while staying rooted in the signage industry.

This week, we’re stepping into a world where “ordinary” isn’t an option, as we feature Dan Sawatzky, founder and creative force behind Imagination Corporation, based in Chilliwack, B.C.

Imagination Corporation specializes in the design and construction of custom architecture, immersive photo ops, and one-of-a-kind dimensional signs. Blending state-of-the-art tools with old-world craftsmanship—and a healthy dose of imagination—the team creates environments designed to spark delight, wonder, and more than a few double-takes.

Sawatzky is best described as a visual storyteller extraordinaire. With an art career spanning more than 50 years, his passion lies in designing and building imaginative signs and worlds that transport people from the everyday into something magical.

From sculptural signage to fully realized themed environments, his work blurs the line between signmaking, art, and experience design.

Here are his responses to our five offbeat questions:

What’s your sign superpower?

I believe that my superpower is how I define a sign. For most sign people (and the world in general), a sign is a flat substrate with letters on it. That is limiting, especially in the highly regulated world we are a part of. I instead define a sign as anything that attracts attention to our customers’ product, service, or business. That allows for a whole lot of creativity and means we operate far out of the box. While rules and trends rigidly define most sign projects, I instead use creativity to get around them and, in the process, make our “signs” stand out.

What’s the most challenging project you’ve worked on?

One of the most challenging projects we have worked on was the Galaxyland in West Edmonton Mall in the late 1990s. The project was massive, taking almost five years. It was done as we were rapidly learning and growing our business. We were working on the project while the park was open. I had so much to learn, and it was challenging to remain super creative and still manage a crew of more than 20 hard-working people on a project that was a thousand kilometres from home.

At the same time, we were also doing other creative projects in both British Columbia and Alberta. We were having a lot of fun, and the crew was awesome, but it was also very stressful, and I had a big machine to feed to keep everyone productive. It was during this period that I realized it was important to be careful of what I wished for.

As we finished the project at West Edmonton Mall and moved back to B.C., we purposefully downsized our company and learned to say no to all but the most creative projects. From that point on, we were not driven by sales but by how creative we could be.

What’s a favourite sign or sign system you’ve created?

My favourite project is always the next one. It is the one that will top what we managed to accomplish yesterday. Looking back over more than 50 years of signs, there are so many great memories of crazy projects, wonderful customers, and awesome people who helped me pull it off. But if I had to pick a favourite from our past and current projects, it would have to be the Hazelnut Inn. Because it is a passion project, every single piece is over the top, and there are no limits to the details we have built into it. We are self-funding the project and fitting it in between our customers’ work, and so it has taken nine years from concept to finish. The result is breathtaking and unlike anything else in the world.

If signage could talk, what’s the funniest thing a sign has ever ‘said’ to you?

The average viewing time of a sign is measured in seconds that you can count on one hand. That’s a fact. Most signs merely inform or direct. That’s not what I desire to do. I believe signs should also entertain and be art while still doing their “day job.” By adding small, fun details and often hiding easter eggs, I reward those who take the time to study my work. I consider myself a visual storyteller. Good storytellers draw from their lived experience to effectively engage the viewer and deliver a message. I often sneak in small details to make the projects more fun and engaging.

This sign was created for the Sign Invitational competition a few years ago and was for a fictional pub. It was a bit of a visual, biographical piece done with a little self-deprecating humour. Looking at the sign, it is obvious that it was done on a day I was perhaps feeling my age. The “since 1954” tells my birth year, and there are lots of wrinkles, bumps, and warts.

What’s the one piece of signage advice you wish everyone knew?

Most sign professionals get into this business because they are creative. However, most successful sign business owners seldom do what drew them to this industry in the first place, with standard projects and the management side of things taking the bulk of their time. We’ve taken a wildly different track. We concentrate on the creative and say no to the humdrum signs, and have been doing so from the very start, decades ago. As a result, we are the go-to studio for off-the-wall creative work. In today’s connected world, I believe it is easier than ever!

We have five questions we need YES answers to before we take on a new customer. When we interview a customer, we don’t ask the questions directly but instead get a feel for them. The questions are as follows:

Will the job be FUN? I’m not driven by money but rather by the creative challenge a project offers. Will the project get me out of bed each morning and make me excited to go to work?

Is the project good for us? Will the project take us closer to our long-term goals? Is it something we will proudly sign our name to? Is this work of the type we want to do in the future? Today’s projects will determine what we get to do tomorrow.

Does the customer trust us? I’ve worked for decades to hone my craft and become a master of what we do. There are more than 60 industry awards on the wall to prove it. Our customers need to trust us. While we must carefully listen to their needs, the customer does not get to pick the colours, fonts, or other details. That’s our job.

Is there enough time? We don’t work overtime in our shop. If the customer is in a rush, we pass on the project. We purposely schedule our projects to allow time for us to do the project to our standards. Equipment can break, people get sick, and a hundred other things can crunch our timeline. We allow for that and more when we plan our projects. This allows us to deliver as promised and still have a life too.

Is there enough money? Most of the sign projects we’ve done through the years have taken longer than we anticipated. Often, we get better ideas partway through that beg to be included to make the project the best it can be because we are constantly pushing the standard and raising our bar, which makes for a lot of unknowns. Sometimes things go horribly wrong, and we have to do parts over. All of this is normal in our shop and needs to be priced in from the start. We offer guaranteed pricing, and so we do our best to price these factors in from the beginning. While we do not get many of the projects we bid, we do get all of the good ones!

Follow Dan Sawatzky:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/67imagine8

Website: www.dansawatzky.com

Website: www.imaginationcorporation.com

Email: dan@imaginationcorporation.com