Experience Bright New Things Take Times Square

Combining design, materials science and technology to re-imagine the future of consumer experience.

One of the most eye-catching exhibits at Design Pavilion during this year’s NYCxDesign will showcase the work of four young artists — and the innovative capabilities of Avery Dennison in a whole new way.

Bright New Things Take Times Square is the culmination of a global design competition, held in partnership with Arts Thread, in which we asked students and recent graduates in art and design to reimagine everyday household objects using Avery Dennison graphic materials. The breadth and imagination of the 200 plus entries received was inspiring! After much discussion, our global panel of judges ultimately agreed on four standout designs that will take centre stage within our unique technology installation at Design Pavilion in Times Square, NYC, during NYCx Design May 12th-20th.

About the Installation

The objects our winning artists reimagined will be showcased in an impossible-to-miss, 10-foot-tall glass cube on exhibit as part of Design Pavilion. Our new VELA™ dynamic display-window technology will turn the cube’s glass walls into a digital display screen, cycling between rich color and videos of our artists at work. At intervals, the walls will become transparent to reveal the actual art within. As viewers walk around the cube, our Janela™ smart-products platform will enable them to connect with the installation through their smartphones and share the content with friends and family around the world. All in all, the installation will integrate the physical with the digital in a new, compelling way — just as we aim to do at Avery Dennison.

Meet the Artists

Katie Smith

Bright New Things Times Square New York Finalist, Katie Smith, studies Graphic and Communications Design at The University of Leeds. Early in life, her parents sensed she was wired a little differently than the others in her family as she was passionate about arts and crafts while her family members mulled science and technology. What started as drawing and doodling, evolved and grew into pure art form as Katie studied and grew in her artistic techniques. Her signature work explores bold color, distinctive typography and psychedelic design. Currently an Intern at Disney, London with one year left in her formal studies, Katie aspires to explore global cultures to fuel the creativity for her own design business.

Mel Edwards

Paper craft artist and Bright New Things Times Square New York Finalist, Mel Edwards, recently graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in Graphic and Communications Design. Mel works in a range of materials but specializes in making three-dimensional, precision made, paper sculptures. She is excited by the versatility of paper and believes that as a material, it can be used to make almost anything. Her signature paper sculptures are used in sets, displays or stop motion animations as well as can be photographed to produce images for advertisements, magazines and books.

Lara Torrance

British born artist and Bright New Things Times Square New York Finalist, Lara Torrance, studies Graphic Design at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. Lara developed an appreciation for fine art at a very young age and secured her first design internship at fifteen years of age. There was no turning back as Lara’s passion quickly grew from analog to digital forms. She started with designing books, evolved to website design and is currently exploring augmented and virtual reality. Lara’s use of technology in design fuels her passion for the ever evolving future, where she hopes to start a VR-focused company.

Theo Payne

Freelance artist and Bright New Things Times Square New York Finalist, Theo Payne, studied at the University of Brighton (UK) where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree with Honors in Illustration. Inspired at a young age by illustrated children’s books, Theo’s work focuses on geometry using straight lines and circles while adding motion to demand the attention of viewers. Theo’s looped work can be found on various social media channels where it captures short attention spans to quickly deliver its message. Theo currently enjoys creating interactive illustrations for his clients and hopes to add the publication of illustrated books to his long list of accomplishments.

Can’t make it to New York? See the installation here.

We’ll be streaming the exhibit live here during its entire run. Click here to sign up for notifications on activity during the event.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

About Vela

In 2018 Avery Dennison is launching VELA™ dynamic display-window technology, which is a turnkey platform for digital advertising solution based on technology developed by Gauzy, one of a number of innovative startups we have invested in over the last couple of years. This system helps attract more customers by transforming store windows into eye-catching, switch-on-switch-off advertising media that projects campaigns, promotional offers and personal content, changing the message throughout the day with time and location-based videos and images. Vela™ film is completely transparent when not in use, retaining in-store visibility and sales opportunities. It offers retailers the flexibility to combine traditional merchandising with innovative digital advertising, creating truly engaging content for the consumer. To learn more about VELA™ dynamic display-window technology, visit www.graphics.averydennison.com.

About Janela

Avery Dennison’s Janela™ smart products platform enables products to have a unique, serialized label, which then connects to IoT cloud-based software. That means every Janela™ product is ‘born’ digital with the ability to capture real-time data, enhance consumer experiences, and make the manufacturing and selling of products more efficient and intelligent.Through our Janela™ Smart Products Platform, we recently partnered with designer brand Rebecca Minkoff to create the #AlwaysOn handbags, which customers can interact and engage with through a QR code that allows them to access personalised content, special offers, recommendations and other loyalty rewards. To learn more about Janela™ Smart Products Platform, visit www.rfid.averydennison.com.