A Tour at OPA Graphics

Let’s just say there were lots of bullet points I noted in my notepad from my tour at OPA Graphics.

Codey’s and Fund 17 were the cooperative behind connecting small businesses together to learn the benefits that signs & graphics play in enhancing our business presence. I signed up to attend this hour and a half event and arrived eager to learn, because when running your own business, you never stop learning! Every opportunity to engage with other businesses and network is a day well spent.

Dana & Mark led a group of five, whose backgrounds included food, accounting services, medical, and embroidery. We watched the staff work multiple types of equipment both indoors & outdoors to create signage, cutouts, door hangers and several other marketing tools businesses use to show off their brand. It was cool to see so many different types of materials to choose from when selecting the right signage, taking into consideration weather and temperature conditions. It was good to know that OPA is able to accommodate the ever so changing New Orleans weather when designing the right sign

We also learned that OPA does a lot more than signs, like wallpaper, stickers, etched glass art, wrapped vehicles, and pretty much everything except printing paper products.  As the topics and ideas shifted, I took to my pen and paper to jot down ideas of my own. What I love is that the team works with each individual business industry to design the products that work best for them at whatever stage the company is in. For me, venturing into wholesale means they’d be able to create a pop out display to fit perfectly in a space provided given the dimensions. This would save me the cost of shelf bins that just get thrown away each time my Praline Brownies sell out in grocery stores.

Dana & Mark’s expertise comes from years with the company, 4 and 16 years, respectively. You just tell them the industry you’re in and they can most certainly tell you the color patterns it speaks to along with the right design to attract folks to it. I learned how important brand identity is and can’t wait to begin working on projects for KD’s NOLA Treats.