London College of Contemporary Art

The Graphical Tree were commision by Global Universal Systems to project manage, print, and install a wide range of interior environment graphics for the London College of Contemporary Art’s Aldgate campus.

LCCA is a specialist arts and design institution, and an associate college of the University for the Creative Arts. The school is dedicated to nurturing and developing new creative talent, which aligns perfectly with The Graphical Tree’s ethos and vision.

The project was carried out over a number of months from start to finish, and turned out to be a really enriching project to work on, and one with its own unique set of challenges. But with a challenge, often there is a just reward.

As well as the production of a large meterage of print whilst working to incredibly tight deadlines, we also needed to install the graphics between the completion of the site construction work and the arrival of the students. Over the course of the two floors being fitted with branded graphics, installation ended up consisting of 272 installer hours, which is the equivalent of 34 full days.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. To set us up on the right path, after the client’s introduction and briefing, we undertook an initial on-site survey to assess the location and logistics. We literary pulled on our hard hats and steel cap boots, as much of the campus was still a building site, with walls either in the process of being finished, or very much under construction.

The job ended up requiring two site surveys covering one floor at a time, commencing with the fourth floor, whilst the third was being built. Dealing with ongoing construction works and endeavouring to be responsive and reactive required some expert juggling, in terms of artwork, production and an agile installation schedule.

Due to the scope of the brief, it was vital to hold regular in-house production meetings to ascertain turnarounds.

The installation teams also needed ongoing updates and meets to work out plans of action. These included which rooms and areas would, and could be, installed first. As a result, we were able to produce a detailed schedule of who was doing what, where and when which was shared amongst all the different project leads. Feedback to the clients with updates allowed us to manage their expectations and keep everything on an even keel. For example, a late-arriving artwork would have had a problematic knock-on effect. It could have meant missing a narrow installation window once a site build had been completed and signed off for us to come in to undertake The Graphical Tree’s part of the equation.

So, what happened next? We went into full production mode. All artwork was double-checked for their sizes and to make sure all bleed was added correctly. We proofed colours; we collated artwork against the briefing doc and site-survey information; and off we went. Overall we printed roughly 900 linear metres of matt laminated, high-grip self-adhesive wall-applied vinyl; and over 50 signage including fire-retardant foamex boards and those printed to PETG.

As there sometimes are, there was the odd curve-ball during production and installation – walls not being completed, or areas not safe to successfully install because of the amount of dust in the location. Also, after receiving initial approval of the artwork and seeing printed proofs, a decision was made to change the background as part of the print clashed with the white of the finished built walls.

But we’re great at thinking on our feet. This comes with experience having been there and done most things throughout our large format lives. So rather than having to re-print a lot of wall graphics again at a huge expense and running us over monetary and timing budgets, we remedied by cutting through the unwanted colour on the original prints. This allowed the pieces to be floated to the installation areas on site, meeting the exact top and bottom edges of the walls without any hint of the change in direction.

At the time of writing, we are about to undertake a site visit for the fifth Floor along with the LLCA Sceptre Tower Hill campus. We’re presuming then that things must have gone brilliantly for the first stages of the graphics!

The impact graphics can have on an environment should not be underestimated. Participants spend a lot of time in these spaces and the enhancement of the experience, as well as the opportunity to underpin a brand’s identity, should be encouraged and celebrated. The feedback we received from other space-specific graphic jobs for the likes of the Graphical History Company and Bear Nibbles is a testament to us and highlights their power. And yes, Global Universal Systems and the London College of Contemporary Art shared with us how happy they were with their job.