KE-ZU Showroom Installation by Yellowtrace for Sydney Indesign 2013.

KE-ZU Showroom Installation by Yellowtrace for Sydney Indesign 2013. View from above shows new painted/ wallpapered floor.
Photo by Katherine Lu.

KE-ZU Showroom Installation by Yellowtrace for Sydney Indesign 2013. Detailed view of installation from above.
Photo by Katherine Lu.

KE-ZU Showroom Installation by Yellowtrace for Sydney Indesign 2013. New flooring platform & custom designed fabric panels featuring an image of an empty warehouse in Milan (taken by Nick Hughes).
Photo by Katherine Lu.

Sydney Indesign 2013 is well and truly behind us – you may recall Ella’s fantastic recap of the event back here in which she briefly touched on the Yellowtrace installation for our friends at KE-ZU. If you’ll allow me, today I’d like to tell you a bit more about this project, and share some of the great images we’ve received since the event.

Our installation was part of Sydney Indesign’s The Project, a concept first introduced in 2008 as a means of heightening creative interaction between suppliers, retailers, designers and event-goers. The idea behind The Project is to showcase product in new and conceptual ways, and give Sydney Indesign visitors an eye-popping in-showroom experience. This year’s theme was Process. And here’s what we did for KE-ZU.

KE-ZU Showroom Installation by Yellowtrace for Sydney Indesign 2013. New painted & wallpapered flooring platform, and custom designed fabric panels featuring an image of an empty warehouse in Milan (taken by Nick Hughes).
Photo by Fiona Susanto.

KE-ZU Showroom Installation by Yellowtrace for Sydney Indesign 2013. New painted & wallpapered flooring platform, and custom designed fabric panels featuring an image of an empty warehouse in Milan (taken by Nick Hughes).
Photo by Nick Hughes.

Our installation explored the limits between real & imagined spaces, particularly relating to the “Design Process”. The concept was based on the idea of two unfolded boxes which became platforms for furniture display. The box itself could have been interpreted in two ways – 1) an unfolded container used to transport the furniture from its country of origin all the way to the KE-ZU showroom; 2) 3D spaces representing imagined new possibilities as future “homes” for the furniture. This idea was further reinforced by the large fabric screen which created a life-size impression of another space transported into KE-ZU showroom.

Great. Now that we knew what we were doing, it was only a matter of finding friends and suppliers who could help us pull it all together. Easy, right? Well, not exactly. But it was a lot of fun. (For the most part.)

KE-ZU Showroom Installation by Yellowtrace for Sydney Indesign 2013. Everyone at KE-ZU, including Yellowtrace, wore a lab coat with a quote on their back, which created a sense of playful anonymity. In case you couldn’t guess, these were Team Yellowtrace coats. Duh!
Photo by Fiona Susanto.

KE-ZU Showroom Installation by Yellowtrace for Sydney Indesign 2013. The view shows to different platforms with custom designed fabric panels at the end of the showroom.
Photo by Katherine Lu.

KE-ZU Showroom Installation by Yellowtrace for Sydney Indesign 2013.
Photo by Fiona Susanto.

The fabric screen was custom designed by Yellowtrace (the photo of an empty Milan warehouse was taken by Husband Yellowtrace, aka Nick Hughes, during our trip to Milan in April). The final mock up was expertly created by KE-ZU’s graphic designer Gavin (thanks G, you lil legend). The supply of fabric, the printing and panel sowing was sourced through Emily Ziz.

“The boxes” were custom designed and made from MDF panels. These were biscuit jointed, then installed, painted, wallpapered, sealed and taped. No biggie.

All the paint, wallpaper and sealers for the flooring were generously donated by Porters Paint. Equally, all the plants were loaned by the lovely people at Terrace Outdoor. So great!

KE-ZU Showroom Installation by Yellowtrace for Sydney Indesign 2013. Detail view of the “blue” platform.
Photo by Nick Hughes.

KE-ZU Showroom Installation by Yellowtrace for Sydney Indesign 2013. Detail view of the “pink” platform.
Photo by Nick Hughes.

By the way, we used the following 4 delicious colours from Porters – Milk, Mist, Dusty Mule & Baby Boots (the best dirty pink ever). Wallpapers were by Anna Spiro for Porters – specifically “Round and Round The Garden” in Ginger Jar Blue and “Rosey Posey Trellis” in Chilli Coral. Completely awesome. And yes, I did freak out about the thought of using such a delicate wallpaper on the floor, but we tested it and it performed marvellously well, especially once it was sealed. Who would’ve thought?! Not only did the wallpaper hold up during the 5 day long event, I believe that the showroom is still looking just as fresh a month later. Yes, even though this installation was designed with a temporary event in mind, there’s no reason not to enjoy it’s hotness for as long as it holds up.

The tape on the floor was 50mm thick Washi from Mt Casa in 6 different colours. I should mention that team KE-ZU did such a stellar job with setting out the tape, so much so that the unapologetic anal-retentive in me couldn’t pick a single way their execution could’ve been improved. And that’s saying something. (Probably that I should take a chill-pill and stop picking the whole world apart in detail, cause that’s just exhausting!)

Concept layout for KE-ZU Showroom Installation by Yellowtrace for Sydney Indesign 2013.
Image © Yellowtrace.

Colour studies for KE-ZU Showroom Installation by Yellowtrace for Sydney Indesign 2013.
Image © Yellowtrace.

Installation of custom MDF flooring platform at KE-ZU showroom, prior to painting & wallpapering.
Image courtesy of KE-ZU.

Painting, wallpapering & sealing in process. 
Image courtesy of KE-ZU.

Team Yellowtrace giving KE-ZU showroom manager Lidia a headache. Nah! She totally loves us. (And we love her too.)
Image courtesy of KE-ZU.

So there you have it. Hope you like it. A huge thank-you to all who visited the installation during Sydney Indesign, for your Instagram photos, and for all your amazing feedback. It’s greatly appreciated. See you again next year. Errr… maybe (not). No but seriously, we had such a fantastic time working with the team at KE-ZU – they really are a bunch of super lovely design nuts who work hard and are damn good at their job. Respect.

Lots of love,
Mama & Papa Yellowtrace x

[Photos by Katherine Lu, Fiona Susanto & Nick Hughes/ Yellowtrace as noted.]