Ford and 3M: New Commercial Graphics Tool

1. Detroit │ Ford’s new Commercial Graphics tool, in partnership with 3M, allows owners to design a custom vinyl wrap for the Transit Connect, Transit van, E-Series, and F-Series Super Duty. The redesign to Ford’s commercial graphics site (www.fordcommercialgraphics.com) lets users upload personal images or choose from a library of five million Getty Images stock photos. Once the design is finalized, a certified Ford dealer or specially trained installation company applies the wrap.

2. Texas│The Prada Marfa “shop,” a permanently installed sculpture by British-based Scandinavian artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset that was erected eight years ago, may be facing closure after being classified as an “illegal outdoor advertising sign” by the Texas Department of Transportation. Federal law says it’s a “no-no” because it displays the Prada logo on a highway without permission. Owner Miuccia Prada did approve of the use of the logo.

3. London │For London Fashion Week, fashion designer Henry Holland integrated wide-format printing and a giant angled mirror to create the illusion that models at the show were walking on clouds. The sky and clouds graphics were printed via a Canon Océ Arizona UV flatbed printer by London-based Displayways (www.displayways.co.uk). This is the first time wide-format print and mirrors have been used together at a fashion show, the print shop reports.

4. Philippines │The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and outdoor advertisers signed a “Magna Carta” with new guidelines for the construction, installation, and display of billboards and outdoor signs on roads and open spaces in Manila, Philippines. Outdoor signs and structures must be limited to 2325 square feet and “30 percent of the total area of the billboard shall be allotted for a landscape or vertical garden, while two full-grown sustainable trees shall be planted and maintained within the setback areas of billboard structures.”

5. Hong Kong│3D prints of Vincent Van Gogh’s work are now being made thanks to Fujifilm Belgium. Relievo, the name of the premium 3D replica of Van Gogh’s masterpieces, comes from Fujilfim and the Van Gogh Museum’s Reliefography, a reproduction process that uses 3D scanning, digital imaging, and printing technology, the companies report. The front of the artwork, including the painted brushstrokes, and the back, with labels, is scanned and printed. The debut of the 3D prints will be in Hong Kong.