When a client approached ER2 Image Group (Formerly Bloomingdale Signs by Tomorrow) in the middle of planning a large-scale event at Navy Pier in April, she had an interesting request for us:
Would we be able to create oversized disco balls that she didn’t even know how to create?
The disco balls weren’t the standard ones but giant inflatable spheres. But before we could breathe easier about the fact that we weren’t getting into the 70’s costume and merchandise business, we faced a big challenge: How do we create multiple, 6 foot, lightweight, rotating disco balls installed from the ceiling in the Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier? And more importantly, how will our product create a powerful, quality statement about the event?
With any special item like this, you have to keep several things in mind:
How pricey would the object be?
Based on past experience, we knew standard fabric and aluminum structures could be a bit expensive. Quality is important, but so is being smart about your investment – how much do you need to pay for something needed for hours rather than days?
How realistic would it look?
There’s nothing worse than a replica that looks more like a patchwork stand-in for the real thing. Initially, we’d come across many material choices but nothing immediately looked like a disco ball. Could we locate inflatables that looked authentically like disco balls? Would we get them to spin around just like they would at a real club?
Would it hold up well for the event?
Compounding the challenge of budget and look was the durability of the material. Like any balloon that loses air after a period of time, the disco balls would have to stay inflated long enough to last the whole event or risk deflating our dreams.
A breakthrough – without popping any balloons
Time was passing. We needed to find a striking pattern that was amazingly shiny, but nothing was quite catching our eye. But in moments like this, you never know when an old project will teach you something memorable for the next one.
That’s when we remembered that, during the course of a project last Christmas, we had used a special vinyl to give several blocks worth of Chicago lampposts a sparkle.. We recalled the shiny look and feel of the vinyl material used to accentuate a series of street lamp and applied it to the new application.
Armed with this knowledge, we attacked the project like never before, testing materials for the best display. Would small squares look best on the disco ball? What about bigger squares? How would it attach to the ceiling? Finally, after many several test runs of the material, we found the one that would work perfectly for both aesthetics and longevity.
We also discovered the very best way to hang the inflatables at Navy Pier. Rather than hanging the disco balls too early and watching them lose air, we ensured they were filled and hung at a point that allowed maximum time for the event’s 5 ½ hour duration.
In the end, we found the kind of vinyl inflatable that not only worked wonders for the event but, as it turned out, could be reusable for future events. Each disco ball could be flattened and stored in bags until the next event, meaning they’d be hitting the dance floor again someday soon.
And that’s far better to imagine than any of our dance moves.
