Project
A Back to the Future Window Graphic for a NYC Creative Lounge
How we printed a 5 × 9 ft Back to the Future window graphic in gloss vinyl, in three panels for three glass panes, giving a NYC marketing firm's office privacy and a retro centerpiece.
By Joseph A. Gornail
A New York City marketing firm wanted a showpiece for the creative lounge on its main floor. Facing the lounge was a glassed-in office: a wood-framed interior window, three panes wide, looking straight onto the desks inside. The firm wanted to give that office some privacy, and turn the window itself into something people would stop and look at.
Their designers had the answer: one of the most famous rear views in movie history: the DeLorean DMC-12 from Back to the Future, OUTATIME plate glowing, lightning crackling overhead, twin trails of fire burning into the floor.
The finished window, about 9 feet wide by 5 feet tall, lit from the frame.
The Space
The window was an interior glass partition about 5 × 9 feet, set in a pale wood frame and divided into three panes. Before the graphic went up, anyone in the lounge could see straight into the office, and anyone at those desks was on display.
Before: a clear view straight into the office.
Project Specifications
- Client: a NYC marketing firm, for its main-floor creative lounge
- Surface: interior glass partition, three panes, about 5 × 9 ft overall
- Artwork: print-ready file from the client’s designers
- Material: gloss vinyl, applied to the inside face of the glass
- Format: three panels, one per pane of glass
- Installation: a local contractor
Three Panels for Three Panes
The client’s designers delivered a print-ready file, so our job was production. Rather than one large sheet, we printed the image as three panels, each sized to its own pane.
One of the three panels, sized to its pane of glass.
We printed on gloss vinyl, a natural choice here: on glass, a gloss finish keeps the blacks deep and the fire and lightning saturated, much like the original poster art.
Each panel was applied by a local contractor.
The graphic went on the inside face of the glass, so from the lounge the image is seen through the glass, with the pane’s own shine on top.
Splitting the image three ways meant every panel could go on its glass on its own, and the joins fall along the existing mullions instead of across open glass, so the frame does the work of hiding the seams.
Two panes done, one to go.
The Finishing Touch
The LED strip around the frame was the client’s own idea, and a good one.
Lighting the window from its edges makes the fire trails glow, and turns the partition into something closer to a lightbox than a sticker.
From the lounge: privacy for the office, a centerpiece for the room.
About the Artwork
The artwork was supplied by the client, and any rights to the imagery were arranged on their side. We print from the files our clients provide; if you’re using film, brand or character art, clear the rights before you send it to print.
What This Project Taught Us
- A window can be a wall. Glass partitions are some of the largest blank surfaces in an office, and a graphic can give a room privacy without adding a wall.
- Let the architecture hide the seams. Splitting the image to match the panes put every join on a mullion.
- Gloss suits glass. For saturated, high-contrast art behind glass, a gloss finish keeps the color rich.
- Light makes it. Edge lighting turned a printed graphic into the brightest thing in the room.
Questions We Hear About Office Wall and Window Graphics
Can a decal give a glass office privacy? Yes. That was the goal here: an opaque graphic across the glass blocks the view into the office while turning the partition into decor.
Can you print from my designer’s file? Yes. Like this client, most commercial jobs arrive print-ready. See how to prepare your design files for what we need, and we’ll send a printed proof before production.
Can a large graphic be split into panels? Yes, and it’s often better. We can size each panel to a pane, a wall section or a door, so seams land where the architecture already breaks.
Do you install? No. We print; installation is done by your own contractor or installer, as it was here.
Can I use movie or brand artwork? Only with the rights to use it. We print the files clients supply, and clearing film, character or brand imagery is the client’s responsibility.
Turn a Blank Surface Into a Statement
Glass partitions, feature walls, a lounge that needs a centerpiece: if you have the artwork, or a designer working on it, we can print it to fit. See our custom wall murals and commercial wallpaper printing, or send us your project details.