Big Picture, in partnership with ISA and sponsored by Fujifilm and HP, is excited to announce the first-ever Best of Wide Format Awards. These winning projects are the most creative, innovative, and inspiring in our field and truly showcase how print service providers push the boundaries of wide-format digital print.

Create and Cultivate: Event Graphics for Slaack Productions

Print Shop: Cushing
Location: Chicago
Tools and Supplies: 3M Controltac IJ180C, 3M Scotchcal Matte Overlaminate 8520, Mactac Permacolor PermaFlex Textured Laminate, Avery Dennison MPI 2921 Removable, Epson SureColor S80600, Zünd G3 L-2500 cutter, Graphtec FC8600-130 cutter

Cushing, like many wide-format PSPs, is accustomed to working with clients on jobs requiring a quick turnaround. When an account manager received a call from a potential customer at 9 p.m. on a Monday night inquiring about graphics for an event that Thursday, Cushing was up for the challenge. The next morning, the account manager was on a flight from Chicago to California to scope out Slaack Productions’ Create and Cultivate event site and begin crafting design templates.

The client envisioned hallway wall wraps, an Instagram photo-op area, and bathroom graphics. So, how exactly does one brand a restroom? These private areas often have odd corners and lack a large, wrappable, rectangular wall, so Cushing created playful mirror decals and stall wraps adorned with snappy messaging like “Just roll with it.” “The project pushed large-format boundaries into a place most people think of (and still do) as private, and used it as the promotional centerpiece,” says Jon Davis, Cushing’s marketing manager.

In less than two days’ production time – “The Cushing team essentially set up residence at the event site,” he says – the shop output 610 square feet of temporary graphics, installing over the course of a day. From the quick turn time to the unusual install site, this was not your standard job. Says Davis, “Savvy companies push the creative limits. Our client had a grand idea and proved businesses can brand anywhere!”