Selfridges flagship Oxford Street store are renowned for their innovative window and instore schemes with designers, fashionistas and tourists flocking to see their latest designs. Freehand are proud to have worked with Selfridges for a number of years supplying AV and digital signage solutions from single screens to multiple videowalls.
Selfridges New Order LED Project
Working with partners Pioneer and Genix, we created captivating In-store digital displays as part the Iconic Oxford Street Store’s ‘New Order’ marketing Campaign, which celebrates the Digital Revolution.
The Challenge
In addition to the windows, the flagship London location wanted to bring the campaign into the heart of the store, specifically the iconic Beauty hall on the Ground-floor. This included digital banners being hung from the ceiling’s 100+ year beams.
LED was specified not only for it’s quality of display and brightness, but also for it’s flexibility, as Mike Fabian, Director at Freehand explains ‘LED provides a number of flexibilities, in so far as you can build a screen in any shape or size you want.’ Another aspect of the project was installation at the store’s Information Desk, ‘For the information desk installation we had to provide 2 column displays, and with conventional screens, you just couldn’t do that.’
The Solution
Mindful of the building’s historic infrastructure, Pioneer Group worked to create four LED hanging displays. Originally these were designed as back to back screens, however due to issues with weight and the building’s restrictions, it was decided LED would only be interfaced on one side. For the other, London print agency, Genix, were commissioned to design canvas lightboxes.
Using 9x 480mm x 540mm panels in 3.75mm pixel pitch LED, Pioneer built 1440mm (W) x 1620mm (H) screens in a custom designed and manufactured frame. For the column displays at The Information Desk, 8 x 2.5mm pixel pitch LED cabinets were used to construct 640mm (W) x 2880mm (H) screens.
Content is displayed through individual BrightSign Media Plays integrated within each display. Each player is networked via 4G router to provide connection, thus enabling each screen’s video content to be perfectly synchronized, as well as allowing for remote control.
The Conclusion
All teams came together to provide a truly collaborative venture as Mike explains ‘Working with Pioneer and Genix really was a 3 cornered installation team. Freehand were project managing, Pioneer were providing their engineering expertise and Genix their specialism in print and graphics.’ All three companies united to provide a dynamic multimedia platform which perfectly encapsulated the forward-thinking New Order Campaign as Mark Childerhouse adds on working with Selfridges ‘It was a privilege to work with such a unique and visionary brand. What is unique about this project is that we have a LED display and a lightbox combined together, so actually integrating the two pieces of technology and display systems.’
Bright New Things
Every year Selfridges showcases new design talent and as part of their ongoing commitment to Buying Better / Inspiring Change - emerging talent initiative - Bright New Things – is back.
Each designer’s collection is presented on a portrait screen that is integrated into the fixture.
Freehand worked closely together with the Selfridges Design team to ensure the digital signage screens were mounted easily and would stand out on the shop floor.
Elliss – a BNT screen is fixed on the top of a giant orange cone – not to be missed!
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