At the last Olympic Winter Games at Salt Lake City, Vision International emerged with one of the largest contracts for venue graphics that any industry or single event has ever seen. The gauntlet that SLOC threw down was comprised of over 15,000 images that would need to be printed on more than a half-a-million square feet of material which included signs as small as six inches x 12 inches, and as large as 105 feet x 308 feet. Phil Mickey reports.

n the beginning, the consensus was to make it 'Larger than Life'. This was the Olympic Winter Games - one of the largest sporting events in the world - of course it had to be big. The theme of the Games was 'Light the Fire Within' and SLOC wanted that theme to burn in every spectator and participant. In order to do so, they had to grab them in every way possible.

The challenge was issued by the leaders of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee - present the most graphically stimulating presentation the world had ever seen, and make it huge. Make it 'Larger than Life'. To make this vision a reality, the leaders of SLOC turned to Vision International, a Salt Lake City company, to carry the bulk of the workload.

Vision International brought a prestigious dossier of customers and experience to the table. The nine-year-old company, which specialises in high-resolution, large format print production, presented SLOC with the philosophy that "if you can dream it, we can print it". The partnership proved to be successful for both parties.
 

Top and above: Park City Mountain Resort (64k) - 88 foot by 232 foot back of bleacher graphic printed on vinyl mesh material which allows air to pass through without tearing or damaging the image.

The organising committee's overall plan was to transform the backdrop of 11 sports venues, a 60,000-seat Olympic Stadium, Olympic Medals Plaza, Main Media Center, and indeed, the entire downtown of Salt Lake City, into a canvas full of graphics and images that had never been conceived before. The city and its surrounding venues had no distinctive visual landmark other than the majestic Wasatch Mountains themselves. SLOC decided to create their own landmarks, and let the graphics do the talking.

Vision emerged with one of the largest contracts for venue graphics that any industry or single event has ever seen. The gauntlet that SLOC threw down was comprised of over 15,000 images that would need to be printed on more than a half-a-million square feet of material. This included signs as small as 6 inches x 12 inches, and as large as 105 feet x 308 feet. The mere thought of THAT amount of printing would make any print-house quiver, but to make things even more hair-raising, Vision had to deal with break-neck turn-around times, extreme weather and terrain conditions, and all this in a high-security environment that rivaled any military base.

There were a lot of factors to think about for the brain trust at Vision, but first they had to get the printing right - then they would figure out how to get everything installed.
  

The image package that SLOC wanted to present to the world required everything Vision could provide. The Olympic landscape was one that had to communicate several different messages, but do it in a manner where they all had a visual synergy that would be noticed, but not come across as too overbearing. This synergy was accomplished by a consistent 'look and feel' that would be presented in the graphic package created by SLOC. Everything tied into one central theme. From way-finder signage to help spectators get where they need to be, to large-scale bleacher backs with 100-foot skiers emblazoned on them. Everything had to 'click'.

The challenge for Vision was to maintain a consistency in colour and resolution and still have the flexibility to use different materials for different applications. For the smallest signs, used to direct both vehicle and pedestrian traffic, Vision used a pressure sensitive vinyl flush-mounted to Coroplastr. SLOC presented a goldenrod and purple design that Vision was able to reproduce perfectly on more than 12,000 separate signs. On the bigger wall images and outdoor signage, Vision used 12-ounce vinyl mesh and 13-ounce outdoor flexible vinyl. In the case of the large-scale graphics, Vision was presented with a palette of cool blues and stylized images of athletes in motion. Once again, consistency was a hallmark of Vision's overall package provided for the Games, and the result was as striking and crystal clear as the images they printed.
  

Aside from keeping the look and feel of the games consistent with SLOC's requirements, Vision was faced with the daunting task of adhering to the wide array of sizes and design angles of the look of the Games. The job queue included tower wraps, bleacher backs, bridge banners, arena graphics and scaffold covers. All of this in addition to start and finish line graphics, crowd control fencing and a host of interior graphics. The sheer volume was staggering, but this would be no standard 'cookie-cutter' job.

One of the major necessities of the Games was providing ample seating for the waves of fans flocking to see their country's athletes compete. At every outdoor venue, SLOC broke records for constructing the largest temporary spectator seating in that particular sport. A major issue for SLOC was to disguise the 'temporary' look that these structures had. Vision's XXL printing on vinyl mesh answered the question "how do we cover the ugliness of scaffolding?" The 12-ounce mesh worked beautifully.

The site of a ski jumper on a 105-foot x 308-foot bleacher back was a stunning site that most spectators won't forget. The banner, complete with reinforced grommets, held nicely in an area where the wind often howled down the mountain like the sound of the cheers coming from the competition. Vision used the mesh because it is lightweight but also because of its ability to allow wind to pass through the material without losing any resolution from afar. Vision repeated this success at six major outdoor venues, all of which had no problems lasting the duration of the Games.
  

One of the most unique jobs SLOC had for Vision was the venue tower project. Although they lacked the sheer size of the bleacher backs, the venue towers made up for it by sharp angles and a strong variation of application and material. All told, SLOC had thirteen 50-foot towers and one 100-foot tower that acted as the 'marker' for each venue. These towers included odd triangular shapes and several layers for which Vision had to adjust. The result was stunning, both from a design and visual standpoint. Vision used a combination of Digital on Vinyl (high-res banners) and vinyl mesh to get the desired affect. Again, Vision rose to the challenge and presented exactly what was asked for.

With the printing done and the signage ready for installation, Vision continued to inject their creative impulses into the installation process. For the bleacher backs, the most demanding of the installation projects, Vision turned to a Seattle, Washington-based company to install the graphics, by literally rappelling their way down the enormous bleachers to attach the banners to the structure. Like the printing process, the installation went well despite constant changes and modifications by SLOC throughout the process. 
   

For the indoor graphics and venue towers, Vision used much more conventional means of installation, but the system used for the bleacher backs remains a shining example of the creativity and ingenuity that Vision had in seeing this world-class project through to the end.

To see the project through to the bloody end, Vision hired a full time project manager that coordinated the entire installation process. The project manager was a key link between Vision and SLOC for daily communication and progress reports to the look department. They were also able to maintain constant communication between installation crews at the mountain venues and Vision International headquarters to coordinate new installation projects as they were completed at Vision's facility.

Although the imaging turned out to be flawless and the installation process went as smooth as an ice sheet, Vision still had to provide full-time service to SLOC during the seventeen days of the Games. 
  

Lighting the 'fire within' at Salt Lake City 2002.
 

Daily updates, material inspections and constant communication held the partnership together, and led SLOC to constantly bombard Vision with more work that was not included in the original bid. Vision kept coming through, and SLOC kept rewarding them with job after job. The quality of work and service eventually extended the relationship into the Paralympic Winter Games. The eleven day event, which began just fourteen days after the Olympic Games, utilised several of the existing venues but had it's own look and feel. Vision was able to switch gears quickly, print and install new graphics in an excruciatingly short amount of time. All this on top of new start and finish line graphics and crowd control fencing. The result was as spectacular as the Olympic Games, and just as successful.

As the torch was extinguished on what many have said was the most successful Olympic Winter Games in history, Vision International stood out as a champion on their own playing field. All told, the visual imagery of the Games was one of its most shining successes. Vision was able to realise SLOC's dream by creating the visual landscape they so desperately felt the Games needed. Everywhere you looked, whether it was walking to a venue, enjoying the festivities downtown or cheering the competition both indoors and out, the spirit of the Olympics was in full view. Vision International lit the fire within... and without, and the images provided for the Games won't soon be forgotten.  

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