Green Is For Go

Aric Chen -- Interior Design, 5/1/2006 12:00:00 AM

What do you do when you're branding a client who works in "animatics," "photomatics," and "previsualization"? Find a better way of putting it. That's what Miloby Ideasystem did for Launch—a young New York company that, in layman's terms, develops test commercials, special effects, and other schematic visuals for advertising and film. "They don't deliver finished products," explains principal Milana Kosovac. "So we branded them as a 'work in progress.'"

In addition to designing a graphic identity for Launch, Kosovac and principal Tobias Lundquist brought a sense of unfinished evolution to the company's 6,000-square-foot floor-through. The job called for a raw look, and a tight budget encouraged the creative use of off-the-shelf materials: drywall, plywood, polycarbonate panels, and steel studs.

After stripping the space to its concrete shell, Miloby sought to reflect the client's outside-the-box thinking by deconstructing the idea of the wall. Facing the elevators, for example, a canted plane of clear polycarbonate reveals its supporting studs. Behind it, drywall angles up and folds over, forming a canopy above reception's seating area.

Part of reception and all of the adjacent pantry feature walls and a raised vinyl floor in a green similar to that used by video editors to digitally replace backdrops. The same green shows up in the stationery, business cards, and other collaterals that Miloby designed. "It's a fresh, young, proactive color," Lundquist says—before explaining the Launch logo, an arrow in a square, as a cross between a street sign and a computer key that "expresses a green-light, let's-go attitude."

"Let's go," however, does not always mean "let's show." With different Launch clients making frequent visits to review projects, confidentiality had to be guaranteed in the editing suites. So beyond the entry, Kosovac explains, "The green disappears, indicating a more private area where access is restricted." To demonstrate that privacy needn't be oppressive, the row of suites, which run along an outside wall, is fronted by another translucent polycarbonate wall.

Across from the editing suites, the internal office area is open-plan, with workstations clad in plastic laminate. They're staggered to optimize space for each employee and surrounded by acoustical panels that absorb sound while also serving as tackboards.

In the end, Kosovac says, Miloby developed a complete package. She and Lundquist even came up with a snappier term for what Launch does: "visual prototyping."

From top: Complementing the New York office of Launch, an identity package includes plastic bags and business cards. The same color was applied to the canopy of the reception area and the pantry beyond.

Clockwise from top left: The reception desk is raised on a vinyl-tiled platform. Miloby also designed magazine ads for the client. A polycarbonate wall faces the elevators. In the work area for animation, sound-absorbing acoustical panels double as pinup surfaces.

TASK CHAIRS (RECEPTION): HERMAN MILLER. VINYL FLOORING: JOHNSONITE. TABLE: BRENT COMBER ORIGINALS. ARMCHAIRS (RECEPTION, CORRIDOR): GORDON INTERNATIONAL; MAHARAM (FABRIC). POLYCARBONATE WALL PANELS (RECEPTION, ELEVATOR LOBBY): GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY. CUSTOM CABINETRY (PANTRY): TOLEDO INTERIORS. CEILING FIXTURES: ARTEMIDE. MICROWAVE: SHARP ELECTRONICS CORP. PENDANT FIXTURES (CORRIDOR, OFFICE AREA): RAB LIGHTING. CHAIRS (OFFICE AREA): GIRSBERGER. WALL PANELS: TECTUM. PAINT: BENJAMIN MOORE CO. MEP: BLUE SKY DESIGN. GENERAL CONTRACTOR: ALLIANCE BUILDERS CORP.