These are ‘big statement’ pieces designed to convey a mood, a look or a message. They are a wonderful way to integrate art into an event space or interior. The options are limitless.
These can come in the form of designed lighting projections, bold wall murals and detailed illustrations. They are powerful because of their uniqueness and quirkiness and most importantly ‘colour cleverness’ (it’s now an official term I made up then). Just as much importance is placed in choice of colour for these creations as the overall design.
They are perfect for custom event spaces, great with organic additions, and translate well into many themes including ‘Street Party’ which is still going strong. To be honest, they are great for any type of event or space needing a designed focal point.
Photo walls are still in high demand for event spaces. And for as long as we have social media and camera phones then they will continue to have a purpose. Entire industries have been built and developed around creative event spaces to connect people to social media and brands. Brand Marketing, Visual Merchandising and Activations are not going away. Our ability to design and imagine sophisticated ways to bring brands and themes to life using graphic design, creativity and art is not to be underestimated.
The new ‘Feature Wall’
The classic feature wall is no longer just a bold single colour. It is art. Feature walls are an extension of furniture. Think of them as an amplification of the entire room, by allowing elements to spill from a single inspiration point.
Additionally, it is fine to be sparse with the other elements allowing the feature wall to take centre stage. Patterns are a great point of interest, especially geometric. Feature walls are super popular for adding extra dimension to sporting event marquees especially for Spring Racing Carnival here in Melbourne.
One of our suppliers Pickawall has a great Instagram page of inspiration from Event spaces and interiors all over Australia. I’m proud to say that even li’l ol’ JAK Creative made it in there too! Have a look.
https://www.instagram.com/pickawall/
Incorporating brand
Large scale graphics are great for pop up spaces and brand activations. Once you begin to notice their subtle way of weaving great design with the art of communicating a message, you may well be just as addicted as me!
Creating inspiring work environments is another popular use for prints, murals and illustrations. Big brands and corporations who want to communicate a message or ethos to staff and visitors love this technique for large scale, high impact inspiration.
Drawing with light
Using light, artificial or natural is another amazing way to create large scale graphics, murals and points of interest. There is an amazing amount of technology available which is ever increasing for projections, and now 3D and mapped projections. Melbourne’s White Night festival is a wonderful and inspiring example of this. Make sure you use the link provided to explore all it has to offer. Book the dates in your calendar for 2018!!!
Another fav source is Teamlab. This design agency does things with light and graphics to spark the imagination and enchant you. What they do is truly mind blowing. Check out ‘Ever Blossoming Life Rock’. After that, just explore their whole website, it’s awesome.
In contrast to the technology, many artists are referring back to the greatest light source of all as a muse. Interplay of 3 dimensional objects with the sun creates spectacular shadow when approached from a design perspective. Even just a cut out decal on a window can create an amazing effect.
Taking it outside
Street Art is something Melbourne has embraced with two arms and now our city is famous for its colourful laneways and transformed building exteriors. We have had the extraordinary pleasure of working with one of Melbourne’s most prolific outdoor mural artists Matt Adnate. Adnate’s soaring portraits have become part of the urban Melbourne landscape and are recognised worldwide.
Taking it a step beyond the inner city, the Silo Art Trail is an extraordinary example of Mural and illustration inspiration, designed to move, connect and communicate to the masses in a new and super large-scale way. If you haven’t seen the Silo Art Trail yet, please take a look and then book yourself a road trip on your next available weekend J
The Facebook page has some great videos to show you scale and includes maps of the trail. The Instagram page as well is stunning and has video as well.
The world is teeming with so many extraordinary examples of talented people creating incredible outdoor murals, including Banksy, who has been pivotal in creating an identity for this genre. You will find some of these on the Pinterest Board I’ve curated for this blog post (enjoy!).
Sigh, I think I could fill another blog post with this stuff…
Next Dimension Getting 3D
Taking the illustrations and prints a step beyond and into the next dimension. This is another great option for making a photo wall or activation much more interesting. And, some of the best examples I’ve seen have been so simple. Just take advantage of a great graphic or illustration then apply your imagination to make it great! These can often be a more delicate approach using paper or printed cut outs. We have even used chocolate before 🙂
Lots of great examples can be found around fashion photoshoots, visual merchandising and activations/installations.
