Standard Transmission Helps Macy's Herald Square "Believe in Wonder" with City Theatrical's QolorFLEX NuNeon

As their seventh time creating the holiday windows for Macy's Herald Square, the creative team from Standard Transmission worked closely with Macy's Visual Merchandising department to develop a design concept that tied in with Macy's national holiday 2019 marketing campaign, "Believe in Wonder." This year's aesthetic was meant to have a high end look and feel, using more accent lighting and neon as a central element. With six 15' x 8' x 6' windows to fill, the creative team was tasked with reducing the scale of their inspirations, like Times Square and opera in New York, to fit inside these "small stages" and tell a story. Half of the window designs required extensive use of neon, and they sought an LED neon replacement product that could bend easily, be bright enough to transition from day to night, and could be programmed to change color upon button press by passersby.

City Theatrical's QolorFLEX NuNeon was selected to provide the brightness and interactivity the team was looking for. Three of the windows called for a total of 32 reels of RGB and 11 reels of single color QolorFLEX NuNeon -- almost 300 feet in total. Ten QolorFLEX wireless DMX Dimmers provided dimming control to help bring interactive lighting effects to life.

"QolorFLEX NuNeon helped us replicate the brightness and hustle of Times Square. As an LED product, it was very practical to work with. Its brightness transitioned easily from day to night. There's nothing else like it," says Manu Sawkar, owner / CTO of Standard Transmission.

QolorFLEX NuNeon was used to create layers of organically curved signage, which was bent and wired by hand, as well as set in CNC routed board as a curved staircase and in other components of the scenery. The complete design took over 300 man hours to fabricate and install, the company says. Before any fabrication took place, the team from Standard Transmission first tested QolorFLEX NuNeon for its applications and limitations, and how they would affect the overall design. Initial testing of QolorFLEX NuNeon included its brightness, regarding how bright it would look in daylight vs. nighttime, its bend radius, to maximize its usage in smaller signs, and dimming control, and how it could enhance interactivity and the overall experience of the visitors with color and movement. The team used City Theatrical's DMXcat app to test and troubleshoot, and to ensure a smooth installation. This Macy's holiday window design was awarded "Best Holiday Windows in New York" by design:retail magazine.

"QolorFLEX NuNeon gave us the color uniformity and density we needed, and helped us replicate the look of actual neon at night successfully," concludes Sawkar.