Application Spotlight: Putting the Fun Back in Flying

Customer: Jet Blue, Inc NYC

Production Shop: DGI-Invisuals LLC

Agency: Mullen, Boston, MA

Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA

Flight Date: Current

Project: Rebrand the entire second floor of the TD Garden including ceilings, multiple surfaced walls, columns, and glass.

Materials: 3M-IJ8624 with 3M lamination for textured surfaces; 3M-IJ180 with 3M lamination for sheet rock; 3M-IJ3352C with 3M lamination, changeable material; and 3M Clear IJ-3650-114 with 3M lamination, clear material for glass

While DGI-I worked on many challenging and important projects one worthy of noting was the branding of the TD Garden for Mullen’s client Jet Blue.

Mullen had recently won the Jet Blue account and this was the introduction of their new branding concept to the Boston market. It was to be unveiled at the TD Garden so DGI-Invisuals had to be certain to meet the deadline and produce exceptional graphics. According to Robert Bekesha, vice president of sales and marketing, DGI-Invisuals had approximately two and a half weeks from file receipt to proof, color match, print, laminate, cut to shape and install the graphics for the entire project.

Jet Blue wanted to brand the entire second floor which included ceilings, multiple surfaced walls, columns, and glass. DGI-Invisuals performed an extensive site survey with precise measurements and photos from which we created detailed templates for the creative team at Mullen to use for layout and to aid them in the vision of how the area would look.

Production Challenges

"Color matching was critical as the end product needed to look like it was part of the wall not an applied graphic. We had to match to a specific paint chip so the background of the graphic matched the wall exactly. This had to be done across multiple media depending on the wall surface," said Bekesha. "On the glass panels color was also critical as the files were built with transparencies which had overlapping color which had to match exactly to the client’s specification. Extensive proofing was done in an abbreviated timeframe."

Installation Challenges

Installation had to be done during non-peak hours at the TD Garden which proved challenging. Luckily, DGI-Invisuals had been working with the Garden for more than 10 years and were familiar with its crews and management which helped to streamline the installation schedule.

Graphics would be applied to multiple walls both painted cinderblock as well as painted sheet rock. Material was also to be applied to glass panels and to the ceiling. Some locations were difficult to reach, specifically working on the escalators a custom lift that fit with the steps of the escalator had to be used to reach the area. Working with the 3M material for textured walls required our seasoned crew used to working with a heat gun at temperatures of over 1000°F. The glass panels required a wet application and careful placement.

"The ceiling application would have made Michelangelo proud," said Bekesha. "Our installer worked on his back on rolling scaffolding to apply clouds and planes to the ceiling. Making heads or tails of the scenes orientation while on your back was quite a challenge."

Additionally, DGI-Invisuals wrapped 12 poles which also is a tough install to get seams to line up.

In all, more than 3,000 square feet of material was printed.