Why large-format digital print is still in the premier league when it comes to sports stadia. By Melony Rocque-Hewitt.
According to Andrew Hodson, sales and marketing director at Icon, the UK-based sporting and events branding specialist, the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games represented somewhat of a watershed for sports stadia, as it was here that the phrase “Look of the Games” was first coined.
Eleven years on, the optimisation of marketing, branding and promotional opportunities at sports stadia continue to grow apace, and while there is no doubt that electronic signage is an essential and growing feature of this environment, static large-format digital print is a vital component with a high requirement yield which, believes Hodson, will continue for some considerable time to come.
One of the reasons for this is price. Digital print ticks the boxes on versatility and creativity too. “The affordability of digital print these days enables us to be more bold and creative when it comes to venue dressing. Previously, we would have been limited to simple screenprinted line colour work, with restrictions on banner sizes,” he says. “You can source companies that can provide digital print all over the world. This means cutting down on transport costs and lowering your carbon footprint. You can manage artwork anywhere,” he adds.
Icon knows a thing or two about the logistics of remote printed output. The company is responsible for the branding of a number of high profile sporting events and venues including Lord’s cricket ground, FINA World Swimming championships,the FIFA World Cup 2006 and UEFA Euro 2008, both of which contributed to it being appointed to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa last year.
Having formed Icon South Africa in 2007, the company was able to provide in-country production facilities and national resources to deliver the venue dressing and way-finding requirements at the ten stadia that played host to this highly anticipated event.
At the World Cup in South Africa, several hundred thousand square meters of print was output for the event, with electronic signage predominately used around the pitch perimeter. While technical advances in digital print means that any surface can now be covered offering designers the opportunity to really optimise creative potential, the major consideration for large sporting events and venues is of course budget. “The amount, type and size of branding you have at a venue depends on the nature of the occassion ” says Hodson.
“League and club-based events usually concentrate their spend on revenue-generating perimeter advertising, whereas the international competitions and big finals will invest considerably in venue dressing outside of the field of play. At the beginning of a project we scope with an event organiser or promoter, we will make the suggestions that fit the budget.”
While Hodson recognises that electronic LED screens are still too expensive for many venues, he believes that within five years this will no longer be the case. However, he sees that electronic signage and digital print fulfill different roles within sports stadia and are complementary.
Over at the new American Express Community Stadium, for example, home to Brighton & Hove Albion FC, which is due to open end July this year, static digital print and electronic screens are demonstrating their specific strengths with aplomb.
Winners of the current League One Season, the Seagulls (as the Albion is affectionately known), begins residence at the Amex Community Stadium in jubilant mood, and while the Amex Community Stadium is smaller than a premier league club with a seat capacity of 22,500, it has been given a premiership club experience feel, according to Sara Wilkins, spokesperson for KSS Design Group, architect and designer for this £92 million project.
From the start KSS worked very closely with the club gaining an understanding of its identity, brand and personality, and from this three core values emerged – ‘community, dynamic and unconventional’ - which were translated into design values ‘open, fluid and quirky’, all of which have underpinned aspects of the stadium’s design.
KSS not only designed the stadium but was also responsible for the interiors including fit-outs of all nine hospitality suites, refreshment areas, 14 boxes, club offices, large retail store and concourses. In addition, it was responsible for all graphic design and wayfinding signage.
This state of the art stadium - the pride of Brighton - has been designed with more than football in mind as it is being marketed as a top class venue for non-match day concerts, conferences, weddings and private parties. The commitment to this venue as a community venue is reflected in the contemporary design that places the seagull blue accordingly - intense in areas such as the retail space and the seating and branding of the bowl, but in other parts of the stadium is manifested in subtle design features that reflect the surrounding environment i.e. the South Downs, the sea and the town of Brighton itself.
The wayfinding signage has been designed as a family of elements to complement the design of the stadium itself and provide clear direction. Each stand was given its own vibrant colour to lead users from arrival to seat.
Electronic signage such as the 3m x 1m aluminium totems – one housing a single screen, the other with a double screen (both 42inwide) are situated at the vehicle and pedestrian entrances into the stadium. It is also prevalent within the West Stand - the main hospitality area.
LCD messaging boards are situated on each floor within the lift lobbies, useful on non-match days for conferences, corporate events or weddings. There are also two large screens within the bowl.
However, when it comes to communicating the personality of the club and its Brighton identity, digital print was the only contender for the job. KSS has designed a variety of applications from full-colour digital wallpaper to vinyl manifestations and large scale external banners.
The vast majority of signage and graphic displays for the stadium have been carried out by Graffiti Designs based in Uckfield, East Sussex and the Sidcup-based Icon that put in a joint tender. Graffiti Designs also supplied a number of screens at the stadium.
“We came together for this job and so the club and the architects are getting the best of both worlds,” says Neil Keeley, Graffiti Designs. “80 – 90% of all the work on the signage and graphics packages have been or are being done in-house which means we have real quality control.”
Most of all the wayfinding permanent signage has been produced on a flatbed printer direct to an aluminium substrate and used for all door and suite signs as well as the 60 or so main wayfaring signs situated in the various concourses and into the bowl.
The stadium also uses digital wallpapers to great effect. Digitally printed textured wallpaper for example has been used in the concourse to showcase the work of local artists – a competition run by the Club in 2010. The work will be displayed either as originals or produced as large digitally printed graphics. The West Stand hosts a range of artists and a gallery approach. In the East family stand, photographic images and a range of different artworks created by one of the other artist groups in collaboration with local schools will showcase their work, whilst the North Stand involves fan’s direct contributions and will be applied as digital wallpaper.
Another stunning feature of the digital print graphics package is in the stairwell areas of North stand that leads to the Club’s offices. Here, starting at the ground floor digitally printed wallpaper depicts a close-up of the grass on the pitch. On the second floor, large wallpaper panels comprise crowd images, while rather poetically on the top floor a blue sky is depicted with flying seagulls. From certain elevations the whole effect of this three-tier giant graphic can be viewed as one.
Glass manifestation is another arresting feature of the building. Digitally printed optically clear film has been applied to great effect to glass walls and partitions in the office areas. Some affect graduated tones – dark colours by your feet evolving into translucence at eye level – affording privacy, safety as well as space and light to staff. Other nifty touches to glass include both digitally printed and vinyl-applied silhouettes of the iconic railings found along the Brighton promenade.
The glass walls of the coffee shop are 3m high cut-outs of well-known Brighton players from the past. Again, these half tone photographic images have been digitally printed onto optically clear film and then applied to the glass.
“The use of digital print at the stadium has been cost-effective, and it is the only real way of communicating all the personality of the club,” comments Wilkins. “What’s more, digital print is flexible and easy to reapply, so, when in the future a certain area changes, such as box holders for example, it can easily be replaced.”
The last word goes to Graffiti Designs’ Keeley, “Digital print has meant that we were able to create a high quality and cost effective solution to signage displays onto varying media. This coupled with digital screens has given the club a great deal of flexibility in how it promotes itself to the general public and football fans alike.”