LED screen | Video lighting controller | Cooling systems | Aluminium engineering
Background
FIX8 was commissioned to design, build and deliver the internal LED lighting and control systems for two, four-metre-wide Nike ‘swoosh’ brand-shaped LED screens to be displayed in the main window frontage of the company’s flagship Paris store, situated at the historic 79 Avenue des Champs-Élysées.
The brief requested that the screens could be pixel-controlled by the in-store team, enabling simple colour changing which could integrate with the lighting control system throughout the space. This content would respond to national or city events including, for example, the colours of the French flag, the rainbow flag to celebrate Paris LGBT+ Pride, and football strips for major fixtures. The screens also needed to be bright enough to be seen in the strongest direct sunlight.
The challenge
The site is on (arguably) Paris’s most famous avenue, surrounded by world-class brands’ store fronts. The Nike store is designed to be a ‘House of Innovation’ – the company’s ‘most digitally connected and immersive retail concept in the world’. It therefore demanded a bespoke, high brightness LED system and video content manipulation solution, to integrate with a futuristic experiential space.
The LED system would serve as the primary pieces of Nike’s famous branding for the store–among the most recognisable in the world – and they needed to be constructed to perfectly fit the shape of Nike’s swoosh. The system and control hardware also needed to be contained within the custom polished stainless steel sign structure and be well hidden from view, so the signage looked neat and free from distraction in the large windows.
Communication was going to be key to the success of the project, to ensure that the technology and engineering would blend seamlessly and meet Nike’s exacting requirements.
The solution
After being presented with two mirror-effect polished aluminium swoosh logos, the FIX8 team engineered an LED screen made from 50m of high-brightness, RGBW LED tape, cut to ensure even coverage within the swoosh shape. This was fixed to a laser cut, perforated aluminium sheet.
This system also allowed for air circulation, as part of the thermal management required to cool 2,800pixels of LED in each sign. The front of the sign had a 12mm diffused acrylic, with a lenticular triangular design CNC’d into it. The tape chosen was a white colour temperature of 4000K to allow it fit in with Nike’s content and branding requirements and the total light output could reach 48,000 lumens.
Temperature sensing within the signs controls the cooling fans, ensuring the displays remain stable and operate at appropriate temperatures throughout the year, while ensuring fan noise is kept to a minimum.
A Pharos VLC was chosen to facilitate video playback and generate Art NET data, received by Advatek PixLite controllers used internally in the sign to directly control the LED tape. This in turn was incorporated into an ETC Mosaic system, which functions as the building’s lighting control system.
Conclusion
This was a project that required high-end, bespoke technical capabilities, and confidence from our client in FIX8’s ability to deliver the project, despite the recognised technical challenges. The signage hangs proudly in the Parisian store frontage and provides eye-catching, wow-factor branding befitting the ‘House of Innovation’ concept, facilitating bright video content that can be matched to reflect French events, drawing in customers and connecting the store to the country.
Header image courtesy of Nike
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