Occupying almost five floors of a 7-storey brick-and-beam heritage building, Flight Centre’s Toronto head office is anything but boring. Complete with an open-concept floor plan featuring an array of private meeting rooms and innovative custom graphics, the space fully embodies the brand’s desire for creating a space that connects the team together and tells a story of world travel.
As you enter the office on the seventh floor, you’re welcomed by Flight Centre’s green-canopied pub cafe known as the Flight Deck and park-like lounge and lunch area that forms the Central Hub. A bold industrial-style interconnecting staircase is situated at the heart, connecting each of the floors and team members together. The overall layout is designed with colour-coordinated neighbourhoods that blend and complement each other through the office journey. The showstopper in the space is undoubtedly the innovative graphics created by the Figure3 team. To flawlessly realize Flight Centre’s philosophy, “To open up the world for those who want to see”, murals of street-view photography, world maps, and experiential graphics are on display throughout.
“We wanted the experience of walking through the office akin to a journey around the globe; an alluring interpretation of the exotic colours, textures, cultures, adventure, wonders and mysteries we all share through world travel,” says Steve Tsai of Figure3.
Aerial photography was creatively composed to create contemporary and unique graphic art applications, featuring landmarks and destinations from prominent locations around the world, that would take form in full-height wall coverings, supersized canvas art and cushion covers.
Seeing the world from above is fascinating, The striking aerial imagery provides a unique way to experience the places we travel to.
Suzanne Wilkinson
“Seeing the world from above is fascinating,” says Suzanne Wilkinson, Principal at Figure3. “The striking aerial imagery provides a unique way to experience the places we travel to.”
When it came down to realizing the concept, photos from selected landmarks first had to match the various colour zones throughout the office, and were tested over the course of several months. Various photographers were sought out during the process for globe-spanning coverage. After the initial selection, a patterning test assessed whether each photograph chosen had the potential to make an impactful and artful graphic prior to final art creation.
While each of the aerial images are manipulated and patternized in a similar way, they all exude a different look and feel. The Chrysler Building in New York City yields an Art Deco feel while the Pudong District in Shanghai embodies a kaleidoscopic allure. The appearance of graphics from a macro level seem abstract. However, when the viewer stops to digest the art, the experience is completely different.
“Once viewers are drawn in to each colourful and curiosity-provoking piece, they soon discover that the intricate patterns are in fact made up of aerial views of landmark destinations,” says Tsai.
Other landmarks chosen for this project included the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Trafalgar Square in London, the CN Tower and Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Garden of Stones in Hong Kong, Hotel Kia Ora in Rangiro, Canada Place in Vancouver, Eixample District in Barcelona and Singapore Opera House in Singapore.
Storytelling and travel go hand-in-hand, which is why the graphic concept works perfectly in this office. To the viewer, be it the employee or a visitor to the space, the different graphics can evoke memories of travel or inspire the person in the work they’re doing. It was all about creating an emotional experience for Flight Centre.
