HP

Inside the Glasshouses at the Chelsea Arts Tower, HP introduced press and customers to four of its new printers at an evening event on Wednesday, March 28. The production team at ExtraExtra used a design scheme based on the printing industry's CMYK color format to underscore the thermal technology of the inkjet products.

To highlight the CMYK motif, the organizers created four distinct areas within the venue, each inspired by one hue. In the cyan vignette, blue tables, carpeting, shelves, flowers, props, and decals of HP's logo filled the space.

The booths served more than a decorative purpose, with a specific activity for attendees in each space. The cyan booth offered a timed experiment where guests were invited to create storyboards by cutting images and graphics from magazines or using HP TouchSmart computers and printers.

To represent magenta and show off the wireless photo-printing capabilities of its product line, a pink-colored section invited guests to pose with props behind a pink picture frame. In addition to printing the pics on-site, the booth sent digital versions to guests.

Props for the photo booth, which were placed on pink shelves inside the vignette, included masks, eyewear, hats, and items like unicorn statuettes.

HP supplies-technology specialist Thom Brown held court in the yellow section. The self-proclaimed "inkologist" spoke to guests about the thermal printing process used by the brand's products.

In his area, Brown invited attendees to stick their heads inside cloud-shaped pieces and experience color. The objects held information and statistics about color from a marketing perspective, which were printed in the four-color model.

On the walls separating each vignette, the producers used colored decals to mark which hue the sections represented.

The black or "Y" space served as a dedicated screening room, with black benches, headphones, and a TV playing a commissioned video on a loop. The film interviewed several local entrepreneurs about their business experience with color and color printing.

Beyond the vignettes, HP displayed its new printers, inviting attendees to play with functions, including one that allows users to print from the devices via email.

As a fun and functional way to display the new products, display cases spread throughout the space doubled as cocktail tables. Early in the evening, these vitrines were cloaked in white wrap; later they were unveiled as part of the transition from white decor to a multicolored look.

Tubes filled with water decorated the facade of the bar, and throughout the night the producers added dye to the liquid to create colors in brighter tints.

Catering company Pinch Food Design matched the drinks to the theme, serving cocktails like the "electric cyan," which consisted of vodka, white cranberry juice, blue curaçao, and fresh lime juice.

The menu of dishes was similarly color-coded. For instance, the truffled quail egg on a miniature English muffin (pictured) was designed to represent yellow, while grilled lamb with a black sesame seed crust was meant to symbolize black.

Decals and signs encouraged guests to tweet with the hashtag #HPColor. The producers displayed the posts on screens and a Twitter wall projected at the event.