Environmental Display Design Captures Essence of Brand

OBATA makes a BIG impact for a global company with modern environmental graphics.

Situation

Emerson chose Obata to design and produce a new display for their headquarter lobby. After careful study, Obata applied several key drivers to guide the creative process – Exemplify current Emerson culture with a reflection on the company history, reduce visual complexity from the existing display, and greatly improve the aesthetic fit within the environment. Obata recommended a technology approach that focused on reducing complexity and simplifying content changes on the video screens.

In addition, the table of contents was interactive. The combination of these two elements allowed users to quickly navigate to any section of the report.

The ‘Helix’ has served as a mark of excellence, representing Emerson for 20+ years.

Emerson’s spiral logomark, called the ‘Helix’, has become a recognizable icon of innovation and progress for many years. Despite the longevity of the mark, it has never been fabricated at a significant scale… until now. Obata envisioned the symbol as a dimensional structure that would serve as a centerpiece to all who visited Emerson’s headquarters.

The ‘boat’, as we call it, features three 55” video screens.

To highlight Emerson through engaging and interactive content, Obata came up with a solution that includes three large video monitors within a single structure. This solution provided a modern aesthetic that was simple to maintain with wi-fi enabled media players to control video content on each screen. As the structure was being fabricated, it’s large size, shape and heavy metal sides resembled a WWII battleship, giving it the nickname of ‘the boat’ – although we’re pretty sure that floating on water is out of the question.

A multi-media strategy that provides visual interest and ultimate flexibility.

Three video screens provide visitors a quick snapshot of Emerson and offer an array of visual information that harkens back to the company’s unique story of innovation. Having multiple screens allows for a variety of content to be displayed, and using wi-fi enabled media players allows videos to be easily replaced or updated any time.

The center video features the latest ad campaign content and contains audio that is activated with a proximity sensor as visitors approach the display.