Barricade graphics on Procura Unistretch and Eclipse fabric

What the job demanded

Barricade graphics sit at hip height with a crowd pressed against them. They get leaned on, kicked, photographed from a metre away and knocked by the barricade itself every time the line is dressed or moved. A fan festival also travels, so the same graphics are built, struck and rebuilt in venue after venue by whichever local crew is available that morning, usually against a load-in clock. That rules out anything that needs skilled application or a flat clean surface to work against. It also rules out rigid panels that have to be crated: crates take floor space in the truck and time on site, and a scuffed panel cannot be repaired between cities. Whatever goes on the barricade has to fold, travel, and come back flat.

How it was produced

The build uses Procura Unistretch, a tensioned fabric system where the printed skin is stretched over an aluminium frame rather than adhered to a board. Tension is what keeps the face flat, so a knock deforms the fabric momentarily and it returns, where a rigid panel would dent. Skins pull off, fold into a soft case and take almost no volume in transit, and creases from packing steam or hang out rather than becoming permanent. Procura Eclipse fabric graphics were specified where the panel needed opacity: a blockout fabric carries a light-stopping layer within the material, which stops the reverse image or the barricade structure showing through the face. Frames assemble on keyed connectors so a crew can build a run without special tools, and damaged skins can be replaced individually without touching the hardware.