Carver Brewing Co., Durango Space, Brown’s Shoe Fit Co., Zia Taqueria and Animas Chocolate Co.

You may not know him, but Kraig Yaseen’s handiwork is on prominent display at all of these local businesses.

Yaseen Design Studio specializes in sign art – from high-impact graphics to hand-crafted fixtures and signage drawing customers into stores and businesses.

Yaseen has been in business for nearly 30 years – all of them in Durango – but he admits his trade isn’t what it used to be, thanks to new technology.

In the past, he said, a level of artistic quality and crafts skills were essential because projects were hand-painted and carved.

“Back when I started, what mattered were your skills,” he said.

He fears that an entire generation of skilled workers will be lost because of the new-age ability to generate graphics using computer software. He does admit, though, that the new technology is a lot faster when it comes to productivity.

In his three decades in the design business, he’s seen the good, the bad and the ugly as the local economy has fluctuated, he said.

“Every five to seven years, I see a hiccup,” he said.

But, Yaseen is used to the ebb and flow of business cycles.

Yaseen has also seen several businesses come and go since he began.

“The composition of the community has changed radically since I’ve been here,” he said. “I look at the businesses downtown, and 98 percent of them weren’t even there when I started my company.”

Since the start of the Great Recession, computer- and laser-printed logos and signs, which he refers to as “glorified stickers,” have grown more popular among some businesses because they are less costly.

Yaseen admits his signs may be more expensive, but they also last longer. Many of Yaseen’s custom-made signs have been around for 20 years or more, including signs at the Strater Hotel and other long-time Durango businesses.

Yaseen, who said he draws his inspiration from murals, airbrushed pieces of art and the psychedelic album covers of the 1970s, likes to interview his clients to understand their product, so he can pair their needs with their customers’ own needs.

The price of his services varies. A simple high-impact graphic can cost anywhere from $30 to $75.

Larger projects cost more. The company once designed several signs for a large, upscale, out-of-state hotel. It’s the biggest project the company has ever had, Yaseen said. Though he would not disclose details about his profits, he chuckled and said, “It was big.”

Yaseen Design’s success did not come easy. The owner said even though the technology he uses has changed, his business practices have not. He said it is important to know and understand the fundamentals of branding, marketing and advertising in order to have a successful design business. Also, signage is more about quality than quantity.

“Just because you have a printer, it doesn’t make you an artist,” he said.

Yaseen also credits his success to being creative and willing to work with his customers.

“I have always stuck with doing what I’ve always done,” he said. “I un-sell just as many jobs as I sell.” He has had customers who think a new sign or logo will bring in more customers, when they just need to spruce up the building’s exterior by moving an unsightly Dumpster or repair the outside of an old building, he said.

Working with his clients can also mean not always getting the chance to work in areas he truly loves, such as gold-leaf lettering.

That style of graphics design – like the one formerly above the Diamond Belle Saloon’s door, is seldom seen anymore, but Yaseen Design is one of the few design places able to do it.

The studio has launched a website to showcase its work, and Yaseen says his business often takes on simpler graphic design projects.

“It’s all about the creativity of the mind. Great design impacts our culture in so many ways,” Yaseen said. “Every thing that you see is designed by someone.”

Still, the long-time businessman is the first to tell customers, “Not all signs are created equal.”

vguthrie@durangoherald.com

An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Yaseen Design Studio created the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory sign. In fact, Yaseen Design Studio created the sign for Animas Chocolate Co.