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of eye mean graphics

Eye Mean Graphics Celebrates Their 15th Year Anniversary Servicing Nanaimo

Necessity is often the mother of invention. When Eye Mean Graphics started in November 1994, hardly anyone was doing computer graphics and that was what led Kevin (Bud) Marcy and Bill Smith to form Eye Mean Graphics Ltd a decade ago.

Kevin played in night club bands and often doubled as nightclub promoter & publicist, making posters for his clubs he managed. Another project Kevin took on was a fund-raising show on Shaw's community channel, producing it and of course, making the promotional material. That's when Kevin met Bill Smith.

Bill Smith had taken a two-year Applied Graphic Design course at Malaspina University College and added a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a Marketing Major from UBC. He also took a Corporate Desktop Publishing course in Vancouver and had worked for corporations like BC Superpages and was the Art Coordinator for the Fort McMurray Today newspaper. Kevin says "I have always been amazed how he had a knack for working on computers, problem solving and creating works of fine graphic art."

Bill Smith put that knowledge to use helping Kevin with promotional material with cutting edge graphic design. They started a friendship and decided they should start their own graphics company. Their business location started in the back office of Hutzler Press. Eye Mean Graphics serviced their own customers and assisted Hutzler Press with their design needs for their presswork. A year later, due to growth and the need for more space, they moved into their own premises, just around the corner at 49-A Prideaux St. (Their current location is #28 - 1925 Bowen Road), and shared that space with Source Signs. After a couple of years, Source Signs outgrew their space needs and moved their business to a new location.

Marcy chuckles when he describes their start up."We had two little DOS-based computers, before Windows (operating system). "Bill would design the posters on regular paper and then I would wax (glue) them to poster boards," he adds. "We have come such a long way in technology since then, and we always have ensured to be up to date to in the design & print industry" replies Smith. "We now do everything digitally and all our equipment is set to a high quality digital printing standard."

"Business doesn't just walk into your door when you start a new business," he adds. "We went through all the stages when we started up, we took outside jobs just to makes ends meet. "Over the years our one-on-one approach kept building up our customer's. It's more like working with friends than on a business basis," says Smith.

Eye Mean Graphics' focus is on business startup, developing logos, business cards, stationery. They are putting their 15 years experience to good use for startup businesses. "We like to ensure everyone has a consistent image so it is always easily recognized." Says Smith. "Whether it a business card or an billboard on a City Bus." Eye Mean Graphics have serviced clients including McDonald's, 7-Eleven and the City of Nanaimo, among others.

Add to that advertising consulting, test marketing and research development and you have a winning combination. "We could have gone bigger, but we intentionally stayed as a small operation so we can give that personal service. It's always fun to watch clients businesses grow directly from our creative ideas."

When opportunity knocks, the thing to do is open the door, and that's exactly what Marcy and Smith did. A visit from a RCMP Officer had a lasting impression on Eye Mean Graphics. The officer wanted his own custom business card with RCMP graphics. That led to many more Mounties coming in for cards. They launched their own site with the help from Bitewize Development Group, who regularly assists Eye Mean Graphics in many web development projects, and started www.policebusinesscards.com for other police jurisdictions to get personalized cards. Now they are getting orders from as far away as California, Washington and Arizona and other locations across Canada and the U.S. The web site template makes it simple for police to pick the card from their own jurisdiction. Another program that has proven popular is police trading cards that officers give youths in developing a liaison with them.

Kevin Marcy & Bill Smith have always been proud to be a successful part of the Nanaimo business community, "We both love it here, although we are always growing, this is where we want to stay for decades to come."