cafés and hospitality // Murals and media walls // Restaurants
When we were approached by LNER asking if we would be interested in pitching to design and produce a wall mural for the first class lounge in Leeds Train Station of course we jumped at the chance.
The brief was simple … to “design and deliver wall art that will fill one of the main walls in their Leeds First Class Lounge”
The work needed to reflect the LNER brand character and values, include the new Azuma train and their heritage and the railways. Whilst also reflecting Leeds as a city so should include Leeds locality and Leeds themes (music, history, textile, architecture, landscape).
They wanted a creative interpretation and were happy to be presented with something more abstract as long as it met the stipulated criteria. Finally, the piece of work must be a bespoke design and had to be painted directly on to the first class lounge wall, rather than a printed piece.
As this was initially a pitch, we weren’t forced to win the commission but we just got on and took the brief as we would any other and created what we felt was a great interpretation of the brief and would become a really eye-catching piece once translated on to the wall itself. Having submitted the design, it was a waiting game for a week or so after which we were given the good news that our design had been chosen.
I love my job anyway, but sometimes there are moments that stand out and that is certainly one of them to date!
From there onwards it was just a case of scheduling the work in on site, being there and producing the final piece on to the wall. We were allocated 3 days only as the lounge had a grand opening date deadline to hit. So, they were long days but we got the job done in plenty of time for the opening.
The final design, whilst sitting in the LNER brand colour scheme has a pop of yellow and blue to really bring the wall to life.
We took what was a terribly outdated design and transformed it in to a vibrant and relevant wall with lots to look at to keep the traveller visually engaged whilst spending time in the lounge.
The design has been extremely well received with LNER staff and continues to delight
