Not a Case of the Mondays

The days of plain, neutral office spaces are numbered as innovative companies seek out décor as bright and colorful as the personnel they employ. Blackboard, an educational technology company best known for its Blackboard Learn management system, wanted to turn its space into a fun, interactive environment that still represents its brand. The firm called upon Empire Office for architecture and furniture design and New York-based 71 Visuals (formerly known as Graphix Solutions/Burst Visuals) for branding and graphics.

“They were looking for the environment to reflect their core identity while remaining playful and whimsical with pops of color,” says Craig Geiger, principal, 71 Visuals. The shop output a total of 2270 square feet of creative, lively graphics for the space onto Magic GFIOP212 wet strength paper, 3M Scotchcal Graphic Film for Textured Surfaces IJ8624, and 3M Crystal Glass Finishes 7725SE-314 Dusted Crystal film with an HP Latex 570 press; 71 Visuals printed room dividers direct to acrylic with an Agfa Anapurna H3200i LED.

Working with the client’s three-phase construction schedule was a challenge. “Keeping color consistency over a stretch of time is difficult,” Geiger explains. “Knowing that was the plan, we were able to make multiple samples of the initial printed materials, which helped us dial in the color for the following phases.” Over the course of six months, 71 Visuals logged close to 210 hours of labor installing the stunning décor.