HOW SNOWBOARD GRAPHICS GET CREATED

Author:  Julia Carlson, Burton Snowboards' Hardwoods Department   

    Important point to remember: A SNOWBOARD IS A LOT MORE THAN GRAPHICS.  We get a lot of calls regarding board graphic design, so the people involved have done this outline to let you know what the process is like.   The process of coming up with the best raw materials, shape and technological advancements to go into a snowboard is where Burton spends most of our energy.  If we tried to write a story about that process, it would be a book.  There are companies who focus their efforts on how the boards looks -- Burton stands behind the fact that functions is the most important reason to buy and like a snowboard.

PART ONE: IDEAS TO PICTURES

    It all starts with Burton Team Riders, who think of ideas, collect pictures and drawings and send in stuff made by their friends.   Once in a while they have a whole graphic in mind: subject matter, placement, colors, type, detail, everything.  Others times it's just the color of a CD jacket that catches someone's eye, or maybe the symbol from a street sign in Austria, and they send it along as an idea.

    Either way, all the new ideas get funneled back to the graphics  crew at the factory.  This happens any number of ways:   Sometimes it's in person, when a rider happens to cruise through or the whole Team comes to Burlington for a pow-wow.  Sometimes it's by phone, fax, mail or E-mail, when the riders have a few precious days at home and get organized enough to send the latest batch.  Once in a while it's on the hill, like when a great idea hits on the chair lift, gets scribbled on the back of a napkin from the lodge, and stuffed in a back pocket until an envelope and a mailbox can be found.

    That's when designers kick in.  Once they get a feel for what the riders want, they head into the studio, where they put all those ideas into snowboard shape.  This means putting together all the right subjects, sizes, colors, typefaces, textures, drawings and more.  It also means keeping in constant contact with the riders along the way.  Several times a year this means flying all over the world, sitting face to face, looking at what's developed so far and setting the direction for revisions.  It takes a while, but eventually everything gels.  By the end of the process, the designers have a whole pile of mini snowboard graphics, on paper, in full color.  These are called comprehensives.

PART TWO:  PICTURES TO SNOWBOARDS

    When the comps are ready, the riders get together to pick the winners, and we put them on snowboards.  The process gets pretty technical, but basically it goes like this:  The designer blows the graphic up into a mechanical, or a picture of the graphic that is exactly the same size and shape as the board it needs to fit on.  Then come the films, which separate the picture into layers of color.  Finally, the films get made into silkscreens, which is how the graphics are applied to the boards.

    The actual screening process varies, but all the graphics are silkscreened by hand, in a climate controlled, dust-free room, using inks and epoxies that are custom built for maximum visual effect and bonding strength.   Each color is allowed to dry completely before the next coat is applied, which is why lots of colors take lots of time, and cost more.  Finally, all the graphics are available in different colorways, which have to be done separately, with new screens and inks.

    It's a time-consuming process, but that's how you get so many fresh graphics to choose from when it's time to get out and ride.

For additional information, please contact: Burton Snowboards (802) 862-4500.