Our New Look Studio

For over seven years, as we were establishing ourselves in the graphics, wall-art and signage industry, we were based in a managed unit within a converted cotton mill in Stockport. And so the search began… We viewed numerous properties in and around the Stockport area until we found a two-storey industrial unit not too far from our previous base. It was evident that the place needed some serious work, as it had been unoccupied for five years, but when we looked past the immediate undertaking, we started to see how we could change the place and really make it work for us.

We wanted to turn our workspace into not only a showcase for the many varied graphic applications and techniques that we complete for our clients, but a place that is functional for the whole team and is also an interesting and fun place to work. It would be somewhat wrong of us to work on turning our clients places of work into impressive spaces, without our own workplace looking amazing! Whilst we had plenty of space, it was evident we were out growing the unit rapidly; we needed to find a creative space that we could make our own.

As the ground floor reception area is the first thing our clients and staff see when they walk in the door we knew we had to something really special with this space. We constructed a copper effect metallic wall, onto which we’ve installed an impressive looking neon effect LED flex sign, accompanied by some subtle old-fashioned style lighting.

We knew we wanted to include one of our favourite quotes in this space, a quote from Albert Einstein that sums up the ethos of the binary Projects completely – ‘Creativity is intelligence having fun’. The word ‘Creativity’ being formed from the LED flex, with the words ‘…is intelligence having fun’ being white vinyl directly applied to the wall. To compliment the quote we also installed a wallpaper on the adjacent wall with a really vibrant and colourful image of Einstein himself.

It's not just first impressions that count, last impressions can be just as important! That's why we wrapped both sides of all doors in the studio to show different effects and possibilities right up until the moment you leave the building. This rust effect door and logo reflects the industrial nature and history of both the immediate area and the wider area of the North West.

We decided to name the design studio ‘The Hive’, relating to not only the worker bee being the emblem of Manchester, but also symbolising the binary Projects work ethic.

Here we’ve kept the walls looking crisp with a fresh coat of white paint, but included some subtle yellow wall graphics of bees and hive honeycombs. Alongside these are included a desk wrap design that leads the eye to a perspective graphic flowing around two corners and to a large window, depicting the word ‘Evolve’.

The next space to be decorated was the new-look kitchen/breakout area which we decided to style as an alpine ski chalet. We constructed new kitchen units, laid a new floor, and installed a new wooden ceiling.

Now to bring the outdoors indoors! Foliage was draped along the tops of the walls and windows, some potted plants arranged, and artificial turf was laid on the floor, flowing up the stairs, the top half of which we wrapped with a specialist footfall vinyl and laminate to make them look like a bespoke escalator.

That's a wrap! Our signature cephalopod harnesses the sticking power of their suckers (exterior brick wrap vinyl adhesive) to leave a stamp wherever they go inside - or outside - the building.

We also used artwork from some vintage comics to print our own roof tiles for the suspended ceiling. We constructed another workbench here with a full cover wrap, turning it into a branded table-tennis table.

The ground floor workshop has had a fresh coat of paint, workbenches carefully constructed and functionally positioned, as well as storage areas for all our tools and equipment.