Graphic Lead in a project to create Coldplay lead Chris Martin his new tour piano
Freelance industrial project- working for the Piano Shop Bath and Coldplay
March 2021- May 2021
I worked as part of a small team of specialists in a production design team at the Piano Shop Bath and was the main graphical designer who's focus was on communicating ideas and technical criteria.
I Produced CAD drawings, illustrations and renders from the lead artist’s design interpretations and initial sketches for the creative and technical teams. These CAD designs and renders were used to make pianos for Chris Martin, Coldplay for video and live streamed performances including Worthy Farm/Glastonbury, Radio 1 Big Weekend, Whitby Abbey, and for Coldplay world tour 2022.
My main responsibility was to take the artist's ideas and sketches and translate them into realistic renders ready to show the Coldplay Production Designer and Chris Martin for sign off and for use by the production teams making and adapting the pianos. By using a mixture of Photoshop and Illustrator, I was able to translate this media into a PDF that brought ideas from the artist into a 3D space and reality. Below are a couple of the piano views from the document that I constructed. Due to client confidentiality not all of them can be shown.
Another responsibility of mine was to make sure that any drawings were turned into vectors and renders ready for machine processing. As I had the most experience in CAD, it was up to me to suggested machining techniques for individual panels and make sure the renders were up to manufacture specifications for the said processes. It was critical that these went smoothly as the project deadline was very short. Below is an example of a diagram to help the creative team understand a part of the piano.
Even though just a short project, it emphasised to me just how important adhering to deadlines and team communication is. As deadlines were short and the brief evolving, these things were crucial in how well the team performed and the overall project outcome. As I was presenting graphics to those who had technical backgrounds and those who didn’t, I aspired to make all technical drawings as accessible as possible, which also helped the project’s progress.
