When our friends at Gramafilm got in touch to work with them on the Google Playtime conference we couldn’t have been happier. As the name suggests ‘Google Playtime’ conferences are always a pretty relaxed affair and this one was no different. With sumo suits, a racetrack and beach huts all part of the event it meant our creativity could thrive.
The event included a number of different spaces – a reception, the main conference room, a break-out space, a networking space as well as external areas. We were involved with the design, production and manufacturing of all these spaces. To find out more about each area we’ve broken it down for you below.
Upon entering the event the delegates were in reception area. This was made up of a desk and a rear wall. The desk was custom-made in bare shutter ply and included three-dimensional custom painted shapes to match the Playtime branding.
The rear wall, also made from bare shutter ply spanned across the back of the reception desk creating a focal point on entry. This had ‘Welcome’ CNC cut into the wall, which was then backed with a painted rear panel helping to give added depth to the wording. The ‘Google Play’ logo sat centrally above the welcome sign and was print wrapped in white with three-dimensional lock-up lettering.
The main conference room included a custom-made set, approximately 12m wide x 4.5m tall in bare OSB plywood. This was fronted with a variety of hand-painted three-dimensional geometric shapes alongside the hand-painted, custom-made, three-dimensional Playtime logo which sat centre stage. Above this was a 4.88m x 2.75m frameless projector screen for front projection allowing the whole room to easily view the presentations. The stage itself was 9m x 2m aluminium deck covered in a light grey carpet. The stage was dressed with bare OSB to tie in with the set behind. The seating was replica Eames DSW chairs in white and yellow. The whole room was then covered by 100m of festoon to add that touch of playfulness.
In addition to the main stage, was a break-out space allowing smaller groups to gather and converse. This mimicked the main set but on a smaller scale. The set itself was 2.4m high and 6.9m wide and covered in hand-painted shutter ply and cork. As with other areas of the event, it was fronted with three-dimensional hand-painted shapes alongside three-dimensional lettering and logo. A 3.5m x 1.97m frameless front project screen sat proud of the cork as a core part of the presentation space.
Not your traditional networking space as such, but one that’s a little bit bonkers. We’ve broken it down a little further to help you digest each of the areas within this space.
Every networking space needs a bar, right? This one looked as though you may stumble across it on a beach rather than inside a London venue, but that’s what made it so great! The bar itself was a timber frame, clad with CNC cut plank effect and scenically aged timber panels. The bar was topped with a corrugated iron roof, which housed the ‘Androidfy’ sign. Made with distressed painted backboard and 3D lettering hand-painted to match. Coloured festoon was then the final finishing touch to inject a bit of fun.
Not every conference comes with a sumo wrestling area, but this one did. We created the signage here and left the sumo suits to those more knowledgeable in that field. The sumo sign was simply a wooden backboard with CNC cut letters all scenically painted. There was then a frame around the backboard to allow white high-powered LED tape to side light the lettering.
Continuing with the fun in the networking space – we have the racing circuit. Built on a shutter ply floating floor the circuit was hand-painted timber with custom-made track barriers. The track also incuded white vinyl track markings, a central green area and a number of trees. Such a greta addition addition to a networking space and a great informal way of getting people together and talking.
Sometimes conversations had whilst wrestling in a sumo suit may lead into a more serious discussion. This is where the beach huts come in. Perfect little spaces to have more dedicatied converation. The beach huts were constructed from a timber frame, which was then clad and painted a variety of the Google’s branding colours. These were then scenically aged in order for them to tie in with the rest of the event.
The biggest challenge we faced with this event was the logistics. After it had been in London it was then going on tour to both Paris and Berlin. As with any event, the taking down and rebuilding always has the potential to cause some issues. However with careful planning and execution we always make sure this goes as smoothly as possible ensuring we cover all eventualities as best as we can.
