by Kirby Lindsay, posted 12 July 2013
On Friday, June 21st, while Fremont swarmed with vendors, art car-tists, traffic controllers, and delivery vans of varied shapes, sizes and stuff sent for the Fremont Fair, Michèle Savelle and a crew from Ballard Outdoor were out and about sprucing up six iconic Hysterical Markers scattered around Fremont.
Have you seen them yet?
‘The Markers Look(ed) Bad’
The Fremont Chamber of Commerce took over managing the Markers from Jon Hegeman, who originally installed the metal kiosks as stops on a humorous yet informational self-guided tour of our community. The Markers also provide distribution points for the Walking Guide to Fremont’s Best Places, which Hegeman also originally created, and the Chamber currently publishes.
Earlier this year, when Savelle conducted an inventory of the Markers, “I thought the concept was brilliant,” she recalled of her reaction to them. “I could see that they were pretty badly neglected,” she said, “and I could see that they must have been super, in their salad days.”
Since assuming responsibility for the Markers several years ago, the Chamber has struggled to fund and implement much needed improvements. Since March, Savelle has conducted an inventory, consulted with several people about content, updated six Markers with new information, graphics, top and back panels, and installed ads for area businesses as sold by the Chamber to pay for the project.
Yet Savelle, owner of Michele Savelle GIS & Graphic Design, plays down her role in the transformation. She gives credit, deservedly, to Fremont Chamber Executive Director Jessica Vets, who pushed the project. According to Savelle, Vets kept her motivated with directives about how the updates were needed, ‘It’s a priority for the [Chamber] Board, because [the Markers] look bad!”
A Mixed History Of The Markers
Savelle does not claim refurbishing the six Markers has been easy, particularly as she still has updates she’d like done on three more Markers by the end of the year, (maybe even before the next Fremont Oktoberfest.)
When she began this odyssey, “I did not know about the history, the personalities,” she explained. After her inventory, Savelle gave the Chamber a bid to refurbish the Markers, based on her previous experiences on projects she thought were similar. Now she realizes she underbid.
When given the job, “Jessica gave me a list of people that had been involved before,” Savelle explained. She contacted them, and heard back from some. (Full disclosure: This author did consult with Vets and Savelle on this project, and did submit some text.)
As other Fremonsters shared with her, Savelle heard, “so many stories, that involved so many people.” She, and her husband, relocated to Fremont two years ago, and this project gave her a crash course on the dynamics of this community, and the history of the Markers. She also heard plenty of conflicting suggestions on how to fix the Markers, and whose advice to heed. “It’s like a community,” she observed about working here, “it’s like a family,” with its varied opinions, anecdotes, and views of history.
Unlike previous attempts to update the Markers, though, Savelle took all the different input in and actually turned out a product she submitted to Vets. “The end product is better,” Savelle stated, “coming from a wide variety of people.”
In her business, Savelle often works with creative clients – doing book designs, logos, websites, publications, maps, etc. – and must convert someone’s vision into a finished product. She acknowledged that with the Markers, the sheer number of authors/creators involved created a serious challenge. She also observed, “I always love to help people solve their communication needs. That always brings me a lot of pleasure!”
How To Build A New Marker
The finished Markers will bring a lot of people a lot of pleasure – including jaded Fremonsters used to turning a blind eye to the bedraggled, and outdated, kiosks. Today, they can stop and see six with bright, shiny new faces, eye-catching back panels, and a top panel with a web address to far more information.
When Savelle first volunteered with the Chamber, she helped update Fremont.com “When we worked on the website,” Savelle explained, “we came up with some conventions.” They selected fonts, colors, layout details, etc. that would be standard – and designing new graphics for the Markers, she carried these over. “The idea for using really large headings came with Jon [Hegeman,]” Savelle explained, “His second set of eyes was very useful.”
The idea for the back panels also originated with Hegeman, many years ago. They help tourists, or anyone seeking these landmarks, find them. The original idea for the top panel had a QR code, to allow SmartPhone users direct access to further info. When word spread that QR code users may be charged a fee per use, the Chamber abandoned that idea. Instead, they installed appropriate website addresses.
Hegeman introduced Savelle to Ballard Outdoor, a company she has found to be, “very knowledgeable.” According to her, they brought this project 30 years of experience in display and printing, and very helpful suggestions on materials and installation. Ballard Outdoor created the finished vinyl art, using UV inks, then attached it to DiBond boards which were placed, with fasteners and adhesives, onto the metal kiosks.
A Handmade, Hysterical Heritage For Fremont
If given another opportunity to work on this project, “there are things I would do differently,” Savelle admitted. “The markers are all-handmade,” she has learned, “and all are slightly different.” She ordered the graphics made to a size she thought standard, and then the installers, in order to make them fit, had to shave off more of the graphics than she expected. She plans to allow more room for these shavings in the future.
“The wrap up,” to the project, Savelle explained, “would be to provide some kind of manual – a template – in case Jessica Vets and I are gone.” A template might help a future volunteer clean up the Markers, but it is unlikely to tame all the different personalities quite like Savelle did.
In all its many discussions about the need to refurbish the Markers, the Fremont Chamber Board has agreed, vociferously, on the need for neater, clearer and equally colorful information for visitors. The Board also acknowledged that, among locals, the Hysterical Markers often get overlooked.
With their shiny new art and text, Fremonsters should consider giving them at least a glance. This is, after all, our history…even if it is just the slightest bit hysterical!
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©2013 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.