Joie De Vivre - Kristen Youngman

Joie de Vivre

How do you bring the joy of life to life? Design an experience that tantalizes all of its senses. Joie de Vivre transformed Divan Supper Club into a scintillating artistic canvas of body and movement.

Touting a 6-month residency in Chicago's famed River North neighborhood, no two nights were alike. Visual projections each night were created live in unison with DJ Jeilah’s custom vibes.

Noir et Blanc

The original creative direction for Joie de Vivre began with black and white body silhouettes that beckoned the eye to complete the picture.

Couleur Vibrante

By the end of the residency, the visuals had evolved into strong silhouettes against vibrant washes of color. Form and shape still led the creative direction, with custom content that mesmerized the guests and made them want to join the vibes and dance.

Pitch & Process

Several creative directions were presented and imagined in the space to kick off the project. We also did a feasibility study to understand the optimal placement of the hardware to create the most impactful visuals without disrupting the flow of the room. Event timelines were created to align music, visuals, performers and venue offerings for seamless execution.

Spatial Design

Building the logo in 3D allowed us to create more dimension on flat walls using traveling light to bring out its form.

Previews

Once the content was designed, preview tests were done on-site prior to the event to ensure scale and motion of each visual was aesthetically pleasing. While each show was live, certain winning combinations of visuals were identified ahead of time and mapped to the respective walls to be used at a moment's notice.

The Result? It turns out, the darkest days of Chicago winter are the best times to bring out the light.

Joie de Vivre ran from October through March, which can be considered a time of hibernation in the city. Yet the allure of this unique experience coaxed people out of their homes and onto the dance floor. Those invited and those lucky enough to wander in unknowingly partook in a modern artistic evening like no other. Left with a feeling of wanting more, many guests returned each month to see how the luminous art would evolve and get their fill of Joie de Vivre. Stay tuned for the next phase when Joie de Vivre goes on the road...