posted
I posted an introduction to this project over on the main page yesterday and received approval from the President of Master Lock today to share images and an outline.
About 8 weeks ago, the President of Master Lock (where I am employed as a Model Maker) asked me to design a mural for a conference room that was going to receive a massive makeover.
At that time the room was used for training sessions and had a 3 layered floor, can lights with grid ceiling and 3 rows of stadium seating along with tables facing the front of the room. The back wall is also curved back. I snapped this photo after the seats were removed.
The President's name is John Heppner and he had a general direction in mind for the room but asked me to come up with a few concepts and we'd go from there. The room was to be used as a New Innovation meeting space. His only guidelines were that it had to be futuristic and high-tech looking. We bounced around a few concepts and ended up with one that was based off a very large printed circuit board. He also suggested including 3-D elements in the mural.
We decided one of the 3-D elements would be a 52" touch-screen monitor inset in the center of the wall. There would also be two LED backlit panels which would display graphics related to the theme of the room. And then there were to be two 27" monitors set into the wall on either side. There was also talk of doing an array of LED bulbs sunk into the wall at random points.
Here is the finished rendering created with Adobe Illustrator...
a detail shot
I wanted the first layer of art to look as if you were looking through a semi-transparent printed circuit board. So I started masking off the signal traces (conductive pathways) or shall we just call them electrodes? I used gerber mask for all the circles (thanks Gary) and taped off the rest using 3/4" masking tape.
Because the wall has a curved surface, projecting was a bit of a challenge. My only option was to split the art up in 5 sections and line up each section as I went across the wall. Because of the distortion, I then had to locate the angles while it was projected and redraw all the straight lines with a level after the projector was turned off.
This is the wall after I airbrushed over the masking with black and painted the atlas by hand. By the way, the wall is just over 9' tall and 41' wide and was painted with Nova Colors over a latex base.
The second layer of signal traces were to be painted in medium pearl blue. I put down a guide line of 7/8" masking tape where the paint would be going. Then I used blue painters tape on either side of the guide line as a mask and peeled off the guide tape.
17 hours later and 1000 ft. of masking tape and I was ready to paint!
Then brushed on a couple of coats of the blue pearl
While I was busy with that, I had my fellow model makers EDM wire cut, and prep about 1000 pieces of polished stainless steel and brass "connectors". The stainless was used to simulate solder joints and all the weld pins around the "Processors". I also fabricated a couple of smaller "processor chips" to add to the wall. Don't mind the numbers...they are just random? These were made of painted HDU and Stainless steel.
This photo shows the metal elements in place and 2 of the 4 iPads that ended up replacing the 27" monitors. John felt that the live information and touch screen of the iPads would better go with the theme of the room. The granite and metal tile as well as carpet is in place. Not to mention the great furniture that was purchased for the project.
And here is the completed room. The table is modular and the wood portions rotate around the smaller round tables to make it possible to put it in many different configurations. There are strings of LED lights inside the ceiling that can be programmed to change color and or stay any color you like.
A close up of one of the aluminum/stainless steel iPad stations...
posted
In addition to the mural wall, I designed the 6 acrylic backlit panels mounted on the side walls. Each panel has a circuit board pattern painted on the black layer of acrylic and has backlit features and aluminum bezels. Because of the amount of work involved in the mural and the other projects being done in-house at the time, these were produced by an outside source.
Sorry, these pictures didn't turn out the best.....
posted
awesome Dale, shoulda used real part numbers on the chips though or maybe some inside jokes
-------------------- Jon Peterman 200 Summit Loop Grants Pass, OR -------------------- a.k.a. dc-62 success is in Jesus Christ Posts: 434 | From: grants pass or. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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-------------------- Catharine C. Kennedy CCK Graphics 1511 Route 28 Chatham Center, NY 12184 cck1620@taconic.net "Look at me, Look at me, Look at me now! I't's fun to have fun, But you have to know how!" Posts: 2173 | From: downtown Chatham Center, NY | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
That is absolutely stunning! Great job and a wonderful story.
[ October 29, 2010, 08:08 AM: Message edited by: Sam Staffan ]
-------------------- Sam Staffan Mackinaw Art & Sign 721 S. Nokomis St. Mackinaw City, MI dstaffan@sbcglobal.net Posts: 1694 | From: Mackinaw City, MI | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Wow Dale, that is an absolutely remarkable job! How you even designed such a piece is unimaginable. It's such a pleasure to see the finished product. If I ever make it to a Walldog event, which I certainly hope to some day, I want to be on your team!
-------------------- Gary Boros SIGNWORKS STUDIOS LLC Monroe, Connecticut, USA Posts: 264 | From: Monroe, Connecticut, USA | Registered: Dec 2007
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-------------------- “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” -Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne
Kelly Thorson Kel-T-Grafix 801 Main St. Holdfast, SK S0G 2H0 ktg@sasktel.net Posts: 5496 | From: Penzance, Saskatchewan | Registered: May 2002
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posted
Damn Dale, that is gorgeous!! You have to be VERY proud of that! What a cool project to get to head up. Congrats!
-------------------- Jane Diaz Diaz Sign Art 628 W. Lincoln Ave. Pontiac, Il. 61764 815-844-7024 www.diazsignart.com Posts: 4102 | From: Pontiac, IL USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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Miles, the Ceiling tiles where made of semi-transparent plastic. They could be placed with the pillow shape down or up. The doors were removed and sheet rocked over to produce a smooth surface to work on.
Jon...many of the numbers and letters I used on the wall and in the overall design have special meaning to me....just don't tell anyone...our little secret, eh!
posted
I am proud to say I know Dale Manor. Here is proof that there is no job too complicated for you. Bill
-------------------- Bill Riedel Riedel Sign Co., Inc. 15 Warren Street Little Ferry, N.J. 07643 billsr@riedelsignco.com Posts: 2953 | From: Little Ferry, New Jersey, USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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posted
top notch, awesome, inspiring. You just cant top work like that.
-------------------- You ever notice how easily accessible people are when they are requiring your services but once they get invoice you can't reach them anymore
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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-------------------- Signs by Alicia Jennings (Mudflap Girl) Tacoma, WA Since 1987 Have Lipstick, will travel. Posts: 3813 | From: Tacoma, WA. U.S.A. | Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
Love that, Dale...but did it ever give you a head ache? You do awesome work!
-------------------- Lynda Yoder Wayne Yoder Signs & Designs 4735 List Rd Grass Lake, MI 5176884951 Posts: 154 | From: Grass Lake, MI | Registered: Feb 2007
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posted
Awful design, Dale. If you want to redo it, feel free to blow up this foto to wall size:
-------------------- dennis kiernan independent artist san francisco, calif, usa Posts: 907 | From: san francisco, ca usa | Registered: Feb 2010
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-------------------- Charles Borges de Oliveira Borges Lettering & Design Snohomish WA Posts: 352 | From: Snohomish WA | Registered: Mar 2003
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