Top score for branding applications
Discover how we created and applied a range of complex display solutions for The Manchester United Foundation, on time and within budget.
The Brief
Football-based community initiative Manchester United Foundation deliver football coaching, educational programmes and personal development, providing young people with opportunities to change their lives for the better. Located in Trafford, the organisation’s offices and reception were in need of both aesthetic upgrades and practical enhancements.
Challenge
In particular, our client was keen to: – Add vibrant branding, using a range of different materials that must have a high-quality appearance and retain bright colour long-term. – Introduce privacy to some areas, while maximising light and retaining the overall visual theme of the offices. – Work within a very specific brief and a strict budget. Detail was a top priority for the Cestrian team, as the display materials were to include some very intricate lettering and also astroturf as a wall covering, to ‘bring the football pitch inside’. The astroturf was heavy and we needed to find an effective way to affix it to the walls, create lettering and draw durable pitch lines.
Solution
Our project manager and installation fitter worked together to carry out a full site audit, making sure that exact dimensions and wall profiles were documented. This gave us the best chance of creating products to precisely fit both the requirements and the budget. We also trialled each product and application, including: – Digitally-printed wallpaper and window vinyls – Using our specialised Vutek printer to produce white ink for the lettering, boosting the vibrancy of the images. – Frosted vinyl lettering – Using our expertise to produce a cut-out design on our vinyl plotter, before applying text that was also cut using vinyl plotting. – Astroturf – Identifying a method to attach this heavy material to the walls without damaging the surface. After testing, we chose a combination of external wall vinyl and VHB tape. – Pitch lines for the astroturf – Vigorous testing of a number of spray paints, to make sure the white lines didn’t flake off the astroturf. – Lettering for the astroturf – Quick production of a large, clear acrylic panel upon which vinyl-plotted letters were affixed. This was to make sure the letters were displayed neatly, after discovering that direct application made precision difficult.
Results
“A big thanks to the Cestrian team,” our contact at the Foundation. “We’re really happy with the entire interior! It looks great and the new panel over the Astro turf upstairs works really well.”
