Bradford City has installed nine large wall murals made using PVC-free Kavalan as part of a revamp of its stadium, Valley Parade. The football club says that the murals celebrate the club’s past as well as providing a nod to an eco-aware future.
The murals, which range from 3 to 11m in with and 2.5 to 3m in length, were printed on Gecko Greyback Kavalan supplied by CMYUK. They were designed and printed by West Yorkshire-based Leading Edge Signage and Graphics, which liaised with Bradford City to update the client-facing areas of the stadium, including corridors, conference and hospitality suites.
‘We like to lead by example, and we know that the onus now is everyone being kinder to the planet,’ said Matthew Evans, managing director of Leading Edge. ‘When it came to picking the material for the job, we not only wanted to put our beliefs forward but modernise the stadium by using an eco-friendly product.’
With the football club wanting to pay homage to the its past ‘in a contemporary way,’ it decided to use a selection of photographic images from its archives – many of which were small, grainy and poor quality, and supersize them for large wall graphics. While the only black and white original photograph depicting an historical shot of the ground reproduced well when enlarged, Leading Edge graphic designers had to think outside the box when handling a selection of coloured photos dating back to the 80s and 90s.
Mr Evans expanded, ‘We just couldn’t blow them up and retain any quality. So we applied a stylised treatment to the images. They were enlarged and any obvious blemishes were covered up, then run through a series of filters that were blended together. This worked really well capturing the Club’s history but in a modern way. The style is a blend of geometric backgrounds with a painted style – bringing together the old and the new.’
Initially Leading Edge produced eight murals but Bradford was so imperssed it ordered a ninth. Across all nine 180sqm of Kavalan was used.
Commenting on the environmental advantages of the PVC-free product, Mr Evans concluded, ‘We believe that everyone can do better to help the environment. So, we’re constantly on the lookout for new materials that can offer the same results, but with a more eco-conscious approach.’
