The rush to finish construction of this year’s Apple retail stores is marked by black construction barricades which, like many things “Apple,” are very finely designed and specified. According to people who have knowledge of barricade specifications, the paint colors, size and spacing of the logo, construction timing and other details leave no room for variation. First, it is called a “construction barricade” and it must be installed before store fit-out construction begins by a general contractor. Next, the gypsum board covering is framed on metal studs four feet out from the storefront, and is painted jet black using a very specific Benjamin Moore-equivalent semi-gloss latex paint. The paint is allowed to dry for seven days, and only then does the contractor apply the Apple logo and Web address, which has been locally produced from Apple’s official digital artwork onto a specific Scotch-brand vinyl matte white adhesive film. The size and placement of the logo and Web URL is rigorous: it’s specified as a percentage of the barricade’s total height, which can vary with the store’s dimensions. With few exceptions, the URL must be located 29 percent above the floor, followed by 16 percent of blank space, followed by the Apple logo, itself 36 percent tall. The barricade stays up until the store is finished–although stores are now commonly hidden by window coverings until the grand opening. Check some of the specifications after the break.
This section of a store construction barricade indicates some of the logo and URL placement specifications. The percentages are of the total height of the barricade, which varies slightly at each new store.
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29+45+36 = 110%???
As long as Apple doesn’t start requiring these numbers I think we will be ok:
4 , 8, 15, 16, 23, & 42
@ Francisco, 29% and 45% are both from the floor, not from each other, so really it’s 81% from floor to top the the leaf.
Seems a little anal of them, but hey, I guess that’s how they do everything else so why not this too.
-Brian
how anal
I’m a graphic designer who does a lot of corporate work. I agree that Apple is very concerned about design, but it’s actually not unusual for corporations to be very precise when spec’ing logo size and placement, and using percentages makes sense if you don’t know what the finished size will be.
Well, I’ve seen the blackout treatment on The Grove, Beverly Ctr, Manhattan Village (all in the LA area) and they all had a fit and finish that was clean enough to move in your family. I also saw Century City, although that was brown sheeting (like unbleached butcher paper) I was fortunate enough to get actual pictures of the construction there and Manhattan Beach. I think Gary still has the pictures posted somewhere on the site. I regret not hitting up the former GM of 3rd St. Promenade in Santa Monica for a back of house tour. They used to have him advise the new GMs as how to run the grand openings as he had been through a lot of them. I even saw him on a video of a Hawaii grand opening. He saw me at few of them, and figured I must be a good guy.
The consistantly clean, minimalist look of all Apple Stores looks easy but is very difficult to achieve without strict corporate standards. The best of these corporate manuals are clear and consice and flexible to adapt to most situations.