Signage can play an important role in an event's design and marketing. Banners, decals, neon lights, and marquees placed outside a venue not only help guests locate the site of a gathering—and grab the attention of passersby—but also set the tone for what's inside. From Target's wordless billboard in Toronto to the vinyl hotel covering Showtime made for The Tudors premiere, here's a look at events that used striking signs.
An enormous billboard made it hard to miss Target's Toronto pop-up store, the Minneapolis retailer's first event in Canada. The bright red sign combined Target's logo and colors with that of the Canadian flag, and marked the site of the temporary store for the Jason Wu collection on King Street West.
Photo: Carla Warrilow/BizBash
In 2008, when Showtime hosted the premiere party for the second season of The Tudors at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers, the network made a big impression by covering the property's enormous rotunda in mesh vinyl. With a stone pattern and carefully placed windows that aligned with the building's, the fabric draping made the exterior look like a castle, while brightly colored polyfabric banners publicized the event and the show's cast.
Photo: Hal Horowitz/Elevation Photos
Last January, Stella McCartney turned New York's 632 on Hudson into a cozy home-like space to showcase her pre-fall collection. In keeping with that motif, large topiaries spelling out the designer's name stood out front.
Photo: Andrew H. Walker/WireImage
For its first New York pop-up shop—a retail promotion aimed at driving buzz for this year's draft—the N.F.L. took over a 10,000-square-foot space in Midtown. To advertise the effort in the heavily trafficked area, organizers placed large decals and a countdown clock in the windows.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
In July, a bright gobo of Thrillist's logo was splashed on the side of Chicago's Mid nightclub, one of the venues the lifestyle Web site used for its weekend-long experiential venture known as Hotel Thrillist.
Photo: Caroline Dixey
When Lanvin opened its New York flagship store on Madison Avenue in 2010, the fashion house threw a colorful bash that drew decor ideas from artistic director Alber Elbaz's whimsical sketches. Outside, producers covered the facade with an oversize drawing and framed it with hundreds of colorful balloons.
Photo: Liz Brown Photography
The 2011 NBC upfront used bright colors to grab the attention of passersby. Not only was the Sixth Avenue front of the Hilton New York dressed up for the occasion, NBC also parked double-decker buses custom-wrapped with its logo outside the venue.
Photo: Patrick Harbron/NBC
Matching the color scheme in the cocktail space, large letter-shaped structures bookended by blue and white flowers marked the arrivals area of the 2012 BET Awards preshow dinner in Los Angeles.
Photo: Davide De Pas
To kick-start holiday shopping in November 2011, Barneys New York turned its flagship store on Madison Avenue into Lady Gaga’s Workshop. The custom 40- by18-foot truss that marked the entrance was completed overnight in preparation for the midnight opening.
Photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Barneys New York
This August, almost 100,000 people flocked to the city of Chicago for Lollapalooza in Grant Park. Oversize signage marked the entrance to the festival, and as the sun set, the letters on top were illuminated.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash
For the 2009 launch of its Stephen Sprouse collection, Louis Vuitton paid homage to the late designer with an event at the Bowery Ballroom. Outside the downtown New York concert venue, the French fashion house installed neon signs and approximately 66 thrift-store televisions playing original footage from the Sprouse estate.
Photo: Billy Farrell/PatrickMcMullan.com
To emulate the “insiders-only” feel of New York Fashion Week in 2006, Victoria’s Secret Pink created Phi Beta Pink Sorority House as a preview party for fashion editors. On the awning of the Fifth Avenue storefront, the girly clothing brand placed three-dimensional Greek letters, a move that required a 24-hour permit.
Photo: Jeff Thomas/Image Capture
For the 2010 Boardwalk Empire premiere, HBO spared no expense, hosting three parties to promote its new series. The event in New York turned Rockefeller Center’s Rink Bar, Sea Grill, and Rock Center Café into a Prohibition-style speakeasy, and an illuminated sign for the show at the entrance referenced the bright signs on the Atlantic City boardwalk from that era.
Photo: Keith Sirchio for BizBash
The season-two premiere of The X Factor, which took place at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles earlier this month, used promotional banners to cover the barricades and most of the venue’s surface.
Photo: Dan Scott/AmericanImageGallery.com
The 2004 premiere of De-Lovely aimed to transport guests to the 1930s setting portrayed in the film, and the marquee of New York's Supper Club was revamped to reflect the movie's musical theme.
Photo: BizBash
