ABC 7 Chicago had an empty production studio and a new daily live talk show with no set, no audience seating, and no visual identity. Windy City Live needed all three before it could go to air.
I wrote the design brief and ran the competitive bid through Disney procurement: the invitation, the scope of work, the vendor presentations, and the criteria proposals were scored against. The brief named what the format needed on the floor. A home base for group conversation. A secondary seating area. A monitor area. A performance stage for music and demonstrations. A working kitchen. Audience seating for fifty. Jeff Hall Design won the set design and drew the structure to my direction. Chicago Scenic Studios won the fabrication on a separate competitive bid.
The aesthetic came from Chicago. Art Deco detail carried through the show logo, the branding, and the interior surfaces. Ornamental screen work behind the conversation area draws on the Rookery Building lobby. Gridiron structures throughout echo the city's bridges and elevated track.
I directed the brand and the aesthetics, managed the budget, and carried the project through fabrication, installation, technical integration, lighting, and rehearsals to the first live broadcast in May 2011.
Role: Creative Direction, Brand Environment Design, RFP and Vendor Management, Project Management
Scale: New-build studio at 190 North State Street. Daily live talk show with in-studio audience seating for fifty.
Focus: Brand and environment aesthetics, procurement, fabrication and technical integration, launch
Vendor Partners: Jeff Hall Design (set design). Chicago Scenic Studios (fabrication).
Role: Creative Direction, Brand Environment Design, RFP and Vendor Management, Project Management
Scale: New-build studio at 190 North State Street. Daily live talk show with in-studio audience seating for fifty.
Focus: Brand and environment aesthetics, procurement, fabrication and technical integration, launch
Vendor Partners: Jeff Hall Design (set design). Chicago Scenic Studios (fabrication).
Windy City LIVE Main Desk Area. Collaborated with Jeff Hall Design on full scope design of our studio space. Influences drawn from both Art Deco and other Industrial architectural influences in the city of Chicago.
Kitchen, Performance Stage and Interview Area.
POV from Kitchen of Main Desk and Interview Area
Wider Shot of Interview Area and Adjacent Zones
Wide Shot from Seated Interview Area to Live Audience. Kitchen Set in Distance.
Seated Interview Area