Designing Beyond Digital

At Websolutions.ca, we’ve worked on lots of designs intended solely for the digital world (“web” is in our name, afterall). Despite this, our graphic design team has nonetheless built up a fairly extensive portfolio of out-of-home (OOH) projects over the years, including work for the tourism, industrial, and craft brewing industries, just to name a few.

In this blog, we’re taking a look back at some of the exciting graphic design projects we’ve completed that leapt off the screen and into the physical world.

If you’ve ever stopped by 13 Barrels Brewing for a refreshing drink, you’ve likely seen their signature family of flavours dressed up in their stylish, colour-coded cans. These beer can designs were some of the earliest OOH projects we worked on, and to this day they remain one of our all-time favourite projects!

Our first round of designs for 13 Barrels included their signature assortment of flavours: Pabineau Pale Ale, Miss Clara’s Kolsch, Tall Tales IPA, Rendez-Vous Rouge, and Wild Goose Oatmeal Stout. These 5 iconic cans can now be found in liquor stores across Canada and have come to define the 13 Barrels brand as we know it.

Since then, we’ve also helped 13 Barrels design cans for some of their seasonal and experimental flavours, including their Honey Brown Ale, Dog Daze IPA, Sour Power Ale and Gnarly Light Lager. These unique flavours gave us the chance to think (and design) outside of the box, and the result was a series of fun and colourful cans that stand out on the shelf and look as good as they taste!

Creating a design that fits properly onto a can’s cylindrical shape is no simple task and requires a meticulous attention to detail that most OOH designs wouldn’t need to consider – and our team had a keg-load of fun doing it! At Websolutions.ca, we never turn down an opportunity to help out a fellow Downtown Bathurst business achieve their goals and make our region shine that much brighter.

For a deeper dive into our work for 13 Barrels, take a peak at our 13 Barrels Brewing Case Study!

Of all the OOH designs we’ve taken on, vehicle wraps tend to be the most fun – and the most challenging. Similar to beer cans but on a much larger scale, these designs are meant to fit around the various different parts of a vehicle’s exterior, providing a dramatic and brand-adjacent makeover to a company truck, car or bus that functions almost like a moving billboard.

We took on our first vehicle wrap project for Rogers Mechanical (formerly Rogers Electric) almost 10 years ago. Although their design was fairly straightforward – just their logo and some basic contact information – this car wrap nonetheless took many hours of careful planning and execution to get exactly what the client wanted for their fleet of trucks.

With some experience under our belt, we next designed a wrap for the (formerly) Bathurst Titan hockey team that we’re still proud of to this day. Rather than a traditional design, this wrap involved fitting actual photos of players onto the side of a vehicle while maintaining their clarity and integrity. The result ended up being a community rallying cry in support of our awesome hockey team, and we were proud to be along for the ride.

Leveraging our vast experience in the tourism industry, we later designed a car wrap for the folks at Tourism New Brunswick to coincide with their 2022 #ExploreNB campaign. Creating a brand-friendly design for TNB was a no brainer for our team – but making it fit around a vehicle was a different story. Considering the dimensions and specific features of vehicles like doors and windows has a huge impact on the creative process that’s unlike any other OOH project we’ve worked on.

As creators and innovators, we never say no to a challenge. If you’re looking to enhance your brand with a car, truck, or other vehicle wrap design, reach out and let’s get this show on the road!

In-between larger projects, we’ve tried our hand at several smaller OOH designs as well. From brand merchandise to restaurant menus, we’re always willing to take our designs offline in order to meet the needs of our clients.

A great example of how we’ve brought brands to life is the merch we helped create for StudyNB. While designing the StudyNB brand and logo from scratch, we made sure the colours and text would translate well onto real-world signage and merchandise like cups, pens, and bags. Since their launch in 2023, we’ve helped them create hundreds of StudyNB-branded products to give away at events, use for promotional purposes, and to expand their general brand awareness beyond the screen.

Our OOH design portfolio continues to expand every year in other areas as well. We’ve helped the Titans with designs beyond their car wrap, including a bus print as well as their champion banners and display booths, both of which are prominently displayed in the K.C. Irving Centre.

We’ve also designed multiple brochures for clients like Rogers Mechanical and Atlantik Quality Care, menus for Northtaste Flavourings and Cast & Crew Gastro Pub, and a poster-sized illustrated map of the Chaleur Region, which you can find hung up on our office wall! We even made a custom design for the centre ring at the Bathurst Curling Club, a privilege awarded to Websolutions.ca as thanks for Josh’s many years of supporting the club and bolstering their online presence pro bono.

It’s safe to say that we love OOH design projects, and as we head into the new year, we hope to expand our list of successful projects even further! For creatives like us, there’s nothing quite like seeing your hard work go out into the world for others to see and enjoy.

If you’d like to learn more about our graphic design services, check out our website or give us a shout and let’s bring your brand to life! 🪄