Calgary-based Studio Y Creations (SYC) has been in business for nearly 24 years, designing and manufacturing dimensional displays for themed environments, such as amusement parks and shopping malls. Over the course of the past nine years, however, the company has become better-known for its Imagination Dental Solutions (IDS) brand, which focuses specifically on decorating pediatric dentists' clinics, both to help them stand out in the market and to put young patients at ease.
Inspired by new dimensions
When David Nolan started SYC in 1993 with his business partner Andrew Hulbert, they were inspired in part by Dan Sawatzky's Imagination Corporation in Chilliwack, B.C., which was already building a strong reputation for distinctively styled themed pieces.
“I saw Sawatzky's work at a mall in Calgary, the Chinook Centre, back when I was hand-painting window art for the Stampede,” says Nolan. “It really stayed in my mind. I’ve never met him, but he showed the industry what we could do.”
At first, SYC specialized in hand-painting temporary backdrops and producing foam props—such as columns and arches—for professional photo shoots.
“Given the market, ours were short-term indoor pieces and easily damageable,” Nolan recalls. “We knew we would eventually need to find a way to protect the foam better, so we looked into various materials and ended up using a hardcoat. Then, as we more and more frequently used hardcoated foams for photographers' props, we realized we could also build sculptures for parade floats, museum displays, trade show booths and theme parks.”
With this expanded scope, SYC grew year-over-year, employing a skilled team of designers, marketers, fabricators and installers. Along the way, they adopted digital technologies, including three-dimensional (3-D) modelling and computer numerical control (CNC) routing.
“When the first CNC routers were available for cutting foam, I was against the idea, since I liked the imperfect nature of cutting by hand,” says Nolan, “but now we know there's no way we could do our work as effectively without routers.”
They handled projects for Canada's Cirque du Soleil and WonderWorks attractions in the U.S., among others.
“We worked on many incredible builds,” says Nolan. “Then, in 2008, we went to a trade show for the theme park industry and realized it was going to get hit hard by the Great Recession. Shortly after that show, we created IDS. Dentistry represented an untapped industry where we saw a lot of opportunity.”
Bringing Disneyland to dentists
At the time, it was not uncommon for pediatric dental clinics to feature colourful decals or even simple murals on their walls, but SYC was offering a type and level of creative expression few of them had ever considered. Before launching IDS as a brand, the company had handled one dental office project, to which the client replied, “You've really got something here!”
“The early adopters wanted to stand out,” says Nolan, “and now other dentists believe in the idea too and are all in for it. They recognize investing in this type of unique display work can positively impact their business and help them grow faster.”
Indeed, the company has handled 175 themed offices so far, with most costing their customers between $125,000 and $175,000 U.S. As Nolan explains, pediatric dental clinics have the right amount of money to do this kind of marketing properly. What's more, many dentists have come back to IDS to theme multiple offices after the success of their first.
SYC's market research shows the demand for elaborate and creative displays comes from the nature of the industry. A graduating dental student has to build his/her own practice in a busy market and, in Nolan's words, “put bums in chairs,” which means (a) attracting new patients and
(b) making them feel comfortable, so they'll become repeat visitors.
“One of our clients told us 94 per cent of his new customers were drawn to his clinic by the five big exterior characters we’d built for him,” says Nolan. “Patients hear about him specifically because of his unique signage. We're bringing Disneyland to their offices.”
A custom process
Behind the ‘Disneyland’ effect is a 132-step process, customized for each project. Computer-aided design (CAD) software turns hand-drawn sketches into 3-D models, with cutting paths configured for CNC routing. While the foam is cut, metal frames are welded and inserted as needed to maintain structural stability.
“We CNC our pieces to 65 to 70 per cent of their level of detail and then the rest is done by hand,” Nolan says. “We also hand-paint everything we make, by airbrush.”
Before painting, the aforementioned hardcoat is added to ensure long-term durability, particularly for characters and signs that will be installed outside a clinic.
“What stands out in the market are (a) the creative level we go to and (b) our finished product quality,” says Nolan. “We try to put in a lot of ‘gags’ during the design stage, for example, so people see something new each time they pass by our characters.”
This creative and labour-heavy approach was particularly evident in a recent self-promotional display SYC created for a trade show, which won in the Unique Signs category of Sign Media Canada's 2016 National Sign Competition and was even named Best in Show. Among other stacked elements, it featured a pig with a scarf, a goose wearing pilot's goggles and a bluebird gripping the bars of its cage.
“Some of our dentists aren't specifically focused on young children, so they don't necessarily want the kiddy stuff,” says Nolan. “For those customers, we create more sophisticated, graphic-based and realistic pieces. To provide an idea of everything we can do, we annually publish a hardcover book, showcasing all of our favourite projects of the past year. That has become one of the best marketing tools we have.”
Expressing adaptability
In addition to its higher-end displays, SYC also has some clients with smaller budgets paying closer to $50,000 U.S. for IDS environments.
“We know some of our customers are walking past our storefront based on price alone and that's okay for now,” says Nolan, “but down the line, we want to bring them in by launching a lower-cost ‘express’ spinoff line of products.”
The express concept, still in early development, is to combine predesigned dimensional pieces with digitally printed murals. In addition to making IDS’s services more affordable for smaller clinics, this would help SYC provide modular pieces for multi-location clients, e.g. car dealerships seeking to keep bored kids entertained while their parents are shopping for a vehicle.
“It's still a new idea, but it represents a way to duplicate our expertise,” Nolan says.
SYC now operates two locations, including its 2,230-m2 (24,000-sf) head office in Calgary and another 1,858-m2 (20,000-sf) production facility in Pompano Beach, Fla. Between them, they have many projects on the go at the same time, totalling about 40 per year.
“SYC still serves shopping centres and theme parks, but IDS is the focus of this company's future, as it's the biggest growth opportunity,” says Nolan. “The dental industry accounts for 90 per cent of the work SYC does. It's a niche market, but a significant one that's large enough for us. And we would also like to do projects for hospitals and other pediatric facilities.”
Technology is continuing to change the nature of SYC's activities. The company has worked with the Oculus Rift virtual reality (VR) headset, for example, to allow dentists to test out different concepts in simulated spaces well before production. And some IDS printed murals now integrate augmented reality (AR) features.
“We don't sit around on our hands!” Nolan laughs. |
