Barbie at Grill'd | Case Study

The Brief 

To coincide with the launch of the Barbie Movie in July 2023, Bastion Experience contacted Next Printing in April 2023 with an extensive brief to comprehensively re-fit Grill’d The Galeries’ Sydney location as Barbie’s Dreamburger Diner. Essentially, burger lovers would be immersed in a pink dreamworld, where they could sit and enjoy pink burgers whilst being surrounded by fun Barbie-inspired ‘instagrammable’ décor.  

From the outset Bastion suggested Reboard® displays as a primary component. As an engineered paperboard with the strength of MDF, it was a smart choice for a temporary fit-out that would need to withstand 5-weeks in a high-traffic restaurant environment. Along with Reboard®, Next would be utilising a range of other print materials to further transform windows, floors, tables and columns inside the space. 

The Challenge

Initial site checks revealed many of the existing timber booth structures destined to be clad with Reboard® were not perfectly square, a major consideration during the industrial design process. In addition, the number of high-profile stakeholders involved meant that a considerable approval process was required over a very short timeframe. Finally, the entire re-fit would need to be completed in one night (from closing time on Monday 10^th July to opening on Tuesday 11^th July.  

The Solution

For production purposes, Next broke the project into 10 jobs that corresponded with the main areas to be updated within Grill’d. These areas included: The Façade, Bar, Cabana, Movie Wall/Column, Hedge, Drive Thru Diner, Dreamhouse, Bathrooms, Backwall/George Street Windows and Photo Frames/Lightbox Prints. Treating these as individual mini projects, allowed for quicker approvals and movement through production. The items were then packed by area for speedy allocation and unpacking on-site.  

The Execution

Utilising a team of 6 experienced installers and approximately 90 Sheets of Reboard® along with other substrates, Next Printing assembled and built a variety of custom structures on site. Some items (for example the main Dreamburger entry feature) were pre-built prior to installation and transported to site to expedite the build. The entire installation was completed on time with the team from Bastion adding their own finishing touch with props and lighting.  

The Takeaway 

The before and after shots of Grill’d The Galeries really must be seen to be believed. All designated spaces were completely transformed into the ‘Dreamburger Diner – a place where everyone feels pretty in pink’*. The fit-out has generated a considerable buzz on Grill’d Burgers’ Instagram page with posts such as ‘It is AMAZING! Can I confirm that I want to live there! Was so lucky to visit’, ‘it was decked out on the inside! So cool!’ and ‘Biggest slay’ being the general consensus amongst Grill’d’s many patrons.  

The Photo Gallery 

*https://lp.grilld.com.au/barbiemovie 

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