Pranil Chandra February 18, 2020
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Next Printing had the privilege of creating various design materials for Bombay Sapphire’s Canvas Bar at the Liveworks Festival of Experimental Art in Sydney.
Commissioned by the awesome team at Ian Kanik Design the Canvas Bar was set to be the heart of the festival: an interactive set of structures and surfaces boasting live imagery and projection mapping.
Here, we’ll explore the challenges that Bombay Sapphire faced in delivering a memorable experience for the attendees of this highly energetic (and highly unpredictable) festival.
Since the mid-1980s, Bombay Sapphire, the world’s most popular gin, has been recognised as a brand ahead of its time. Always on-trend, its well-established identity made it an obvious choice to serve as a focal point of the Liveworks Festival of Experimental Art, through their Canvas Bar.
The Bombay Sapphire Canvas Bar was originally debuted in Toronto in 2018, and has since featured in events in Athens, Brussels, and London. With a wave of liquor brands attempting new methods of connecting with customers, Bombay Sapphire seized a unique opportunity to take centre stage in various celebrations of art and culture — most recently, the Liveworks Festival.
The 11-day festival was billed as a multi-sensory, interactive hub featuring performances, installations, music, workshops, and a late-night pop-up that was part of Bombay Sapphire’s “Stir Creativity” campaign.
The festival also hosted a portion entitled Live Sparks, which featured workshops and discussions by eclectic and progressive artists such as Vicki Van Hout, Betty Grumble, Jo Lloyd, Joel Bray, John Vea, and Th3 Order.
We were asked to help build a uniquely creative space for visitors to socialise and engage while pushing the boundaries of art and sound. The project sought to play upon the notion of a “canvas”, and demanded a set of surfaces and designs meant to visually represent a fusion between art and mixology
From a design perspective, this meant making sure that any and all printed materials captured the brand’s vision as seamlessly as possible. A combination of technology and experience was needed to maintain colour accuracy — which was certainly an important goal for a brand with the word “sapphire” in its name.
To keep the event’s decor intact throughout the festival, the printed materials featured throughout the pop-up also had to match the highest standards for durability without compromising design. This was especially challenging given the nature of the event: a high-energy, interactive space of light and sound — and most prominently, alcohol. Our designs had to withstand being touched, leaned against, spilled-on, and otherwise subjected to over a week of partying.
Our digital print services proved to be more than a match for the demands of the event.
We produced vibrant Photex wall coverings that contributed to the cool, blue atmosphere of the Canvas Bar whilst being able to withstand the expected amount of scuffing and damage from a multi-day party.
In the same vein, we prepared large volumes of printed foam boards to serve as installations around the venue. We used a large-format printer to make sure they were designed according to the client’s specifications—right down to a mesmerising blue glow come sundown, thanks to an interaction with the space’s lighting.
To reinforce Next Printing’s high-quality capabilities, we incorporated visuals into the Canvas Bar for each artist and performer. We captured the “vibes” and personalities of headliners including the electronic two-piece DIN, DJ Sovereign Trax, award-winning composer Alyx Dennison, Brooklyn-based harpist-slash-multi-talented artist ELSZ, and many others. The highly diverse cast of musicians presented an excellent opportunity to demonstrate variety in the design and structure of the bar and its installations.
We worked with Ian Kanik Design and Bombay Sapphire to make the most out of the opportunity to go beyond the limits of traditional design and create a space that offered full immersion at every level of examination — from up close to across the room.
The success of the Bombay Sapphire Canvas Bar has made us more than proud to include it on our list of projects which have allowed us to continue to blaze a trail in sustainable, digital printing and design solutions.
As Australia’s pioneer in sustainable printing, Next Printing is the contractor of choice for high-quality point of sale marketing, large-scale exhibits, pop-ups, and signage. We pride ourselves in being reliable, exceeding expectations, and delivering in record time. Our success in providing clients with versatile, long-lasting, and eco-friendly digital printing solutions carries over into better outcomes for both them and their target audiences.
Contact us today to learn what bold, new directions your company or organisation could take through digital printing. Our team of specialists are ready to consult with you regarding the applications of breakthrough technology like Re-Board® and the current generation of fabric printing.
Images from The Shout
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