Feed Your Imagination Mural (FYI for SXSW)

On behalf of FYI network for SXSW Interactive, CIVIC dreamed of revamping a ballroom in Austin's historic Driskill Hotel into a sophisticated foodie oasis and desired a focal installation for the space. Together we conceived a food lettering mural to display free nourishment for visitors that would inspire tasteful guest interaction. 

We tackled Feed Your Imagination, one of the network's indulgent tag lines, to encourage viewer interaction from both near and far. I pitched a mural, which needed to appear impressive yet reasonably sized to be assembled in nine hours and replenished several times throughout each day. Further, several ingredients would be rotated every few hours to avoid spoilage while others would last the duration of the exhibit. Chosen items were encouraged to reflect local Austin flavors and mirror featured rotating fare. 

Armed with this arsenal of challenges, I set to planning via Illustrator. To accurately represent my vision to the builders, I drew on several interior design courses from college to create scale elevations for the 8x15' wall space. This included a rudimentary chip hopper, doughnut poles, and angled display shelf for cupcakes. The eleven characters in Imagination constricted the width of the letterforms and dictated the need for a sans serif treatment; I calculated a height of 48" was necessary to provide the right scale of grandeur while allowing for the ambitious construction time of nine hours. I assumed sweets would be the most popular items and created several stations (either letters or shelving systems) to avoid traffic jams or lines. 

We decided to plant fresh herbs in the wall to represent the featured tacos, quesos, and bloody marys. Hand cut and mounted floral foam was screwed to the wall, then planted individual bunches of herbs in plastic water picks to avoid mass wilting. The herbs would be sprayed regularly and wrapped nightly with plastic; individual bunches could be replaced or rehydrated when necessary. 

Besides serving as a focal point, the food type wall was used as a backdrop for FYI's food and travel series, Food Porn. Visitors indulged in various salsas, doughnuts, cornbreads, and cupcakes during filming while judges chose an outstanding restauranteur's cheesy winner for the Quesoff. The space was engaging and consistent in design, allowing guests to mingle, recline, or indulge.