Carnival Carousel display in Calgary with 54blue

by | 21 May 2019 10:07 pm

By Ginny Mumm

Introduction to Carnival display

Calgary Cycle is widely known in Alberta for its knowledgeable staff, excellent service, and curated selection of premier bicycle brands and accessories. In 2017, the owners were looking for a new, flagship location. As they have in the past, they called on 54blue, a Calgary-based full-service marketing, design, print, fabrication, and interactive media studio, to provide guidance in developing their new store.

54blue has worked extensively with many internationally known retailers, such as LensCrafters and Sport Chek, as well as a variety of action sports brands, including Red Bull, Oakley, The North Face, and Burton Snowboards. They keep all elements of their design, production, and installation in-house to control quality and timing as much as possible.

“We were fortunate Calgary Cycle brought us in right away as they were selecting their location,” says 54blue president, founder, CEO, and brand director Jamie Calon. “That way we could collaborate on how a particular design element might fit in a specific site.”

Designing for growth

In consultation with 54blue, Calgary Cycle selected a former grocery store—on the city’s busy Bow Trail—as its new location. With its wide footprint and all-glass storefront, the layout presented some obvious benefits—and challenges—to the design team.

The new space was also a major expansion for Calgary Cycle, moving this portion of their operations from a 186-m² (2000-sf) facility to one that measures 1208 m² (13,000 sf). Long known for its mountain bike expertise, in the new location, the store would also be bringing in a section for high-end road bikes, as well as a kids’ section that included BMX bikes. As part of its ongoing commitment to a great in-store experience, Calgary Cycle would also incorporate a station for custom-fitting bikes to individual clients, a cycling fitness studio where cyclists could bring their own bikes and trainers, and even a European-style coffee and wine bar, called The Hub.

“There’s a ton of work that needs to go into designing the layout of a store for each type of consumer,” says Calon. “Calgary has some of the largest bike shops in North America, and the level of game for retail bike shop design is extremely high.”

54blue got to work on the design for the new location, creating a full model of the store and all the proposed design elements in 3D. One of the features that needed to be incorporated was a structural pole that ran vertically through the centre of the front section of the store.

“We were taking everything down to the studs, but we needed to leave in structural elements like that pole,” says Calon. “Then we needed to design a way to conceal it.”

Focus on families

The design of the kids’ bikes section was a major focus for the team at 54blue, as this area, located in the very front of the store, would set the tone for the entire space.

The owners wanted to draw families into the store and showcase kids’ bikes in a way that was not only interesting to children,  but also safe for them to explore. To do this, 54blue pitched the idea of a carnival-themed display, and the owners loved it.

Building a carnival

In developing the look for the kids’ bikes display, Calon and the owner of Calgary Cycle, Derek Lee, harkened back to their youth in the 1980s and 1990s, when every playground had a carousel.

“We just remembered going as fast as we could on the carousel, and absolutely destroying ourselves,” he says. “We wanted to bring in that idea of youthful movement and fun.”

Calon began by searching for an existing carousel they could cut in half and use for this project. While he remembered these carousels being plentiful back in the day, he was unable to find even one available in North America. Left to creating their own from scratch, Calon drew out the design on a whiteboard, and handed it over to his 3D team leader, Steve Rohl, who drew the element digitally to scale for manufacturing. 54blue’s computer numerical control (CNC) and shop group then produced and welded together the metal structure. The colours for the carousel and surrounding features were developed with help from print production manager Matt McAnally. Calon also took the time to hand-distress the painted surface of the carousel
to keep the rustic feel.

The carousel is anchored to the structural pole, and is not able to turn; however, it is built to withstand plenty of jumping and tugging.

“We designed it to be safe for kids to play on and around,” says Calon.

Bringing in the clown

To complete the look of the carnival, 54blue decided to bring in a clown. The type of clown to portray was a subject of much discussion, however. The clown they eventually settled on was intended to attract consumers’ attention and be slightly disturbing.

“We wanted it to be a little bit creepy, but not so creepy that it scared people,” says Calon.

The clown, and surrounding graphics, were printed on vinyl and adhered to a signboard that has a solid polyvinylchloride (PVC) core and is laminated on both sides with aluminum. The entire structure was also bolted to the central hub’s structural pole, neatly disguising it while also anchoring the display.

Exterior solutions for carnival

To keep the exterior of the store as open and uncluttered as possible, and to avoid having people think they only sold kids bikes, 54blue designed a carefully sized colourful window graphic that would conceal the kids’ bikes display from outside view. The vibrant graphic, printed on 54blue’s Roland wide-format printer/cutters, portrays the nearby Rocky Mountains, along with one of Calgary Cycle’s famous tag lines, “Bikes are fun. Go ride one!”

The outline of the mountains was tweaked to match the outlines of the interior display exactly.

“We wanted the graphics to be big and bold, so they could be easily seen by cars passing by the store. Interestingly, I’ve never heard anyone say they noticed the matchup,” says Calon. “The mountains and the carnival are perceived as two distinct graphic elements, which was our intention.”

Completing the look for carnival

Lee and his team visited the Glenbow Museum in Calgary to see historic photographs of Calgary Cycle dating back 85 years. 54blue then created a greyscale theme for the remainder of the store’s interior, with pops of colour to draw attention to certain elements. The store also retains a stylish touch from the former grocery store—including massive wooden ceiling beams that lend warmth and authenticity.

For the exterior of the store, 54blue designed a new brick and window trim to help complete the transition from grocery store to cyclery. 54blue produced all the additional branding elements for the store, including business cards, handouts, decals, printed wall fabrics, window graphics, and door graphics. They also designed the Calgary Cycle website.

All in all, the entire project took only 10 months. Calgary Cycle signed a lease in February, and 54blue simultaneously began a 3D design of the store. Even with the necessary permitting, demolition, and the complex reconstruction, the store was completed in time for a grand opening on Halloween.

“Building a custom retail store involves change after change to get the interior and exterior just right. Once we had all the walls in place, and were able to start all the fixtures, signage, and retail wrapping, then things really started happening,” says Calon.

The finished store has been heralded by industry experts as a stellar example of an innovative retail space, incorporating excellent design to create a flow that works for all types of biking consumers—pros and amateurs, young and old.

Ginny Mumm is a freelance consultant for digital inkjet printer/cutter provider Roland DGA. For more information, visit www.rolanddga.com.

 

Source URL: https://www.signmedia.ca/carnival-carousel-display-in-calgary-with-54blue/

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