Deep Cuts

HarperCollins

HarperCollins asked us to help them bring to life the 90’s university dorm room setting described in Holly Brickley’s debut novel, Deep Cuts. The immersive scene has had several outings so far, including a spot at the infamous London Book Fair, with more to come.

Armed with rich descriptive passages and reference lists from the book, we set off creating the world of Joe and Percy, sourcing original CD’s and posters, and dressing the room with a range of items that relate to the story; from leftover margarita mix to croissant bags full of crumbs. From a sustainability standpoint, there is nothing we love more than an activation that allows us to source pre-loved, providing items with another life rather than having to build or buy everything from scratch, so this 90’s-era execution was a dream for us with over 80% of the items used being sourced 2nd hand! 

To add to the visual and textural elements within the room, we sprayed a typically teenage-boy style cologne on the soft furnishings to create that lingering boys bedroom scent, and created bespoke soundtrack CD’s that could be listened to on CD Diskmans. At EDNAEDNA, we always try to engage as many of the senses as possible to ensure that our audience has an experience worth remembering (we even wrote a whole article on the importance of it recently - check it out!). 

Close up image of musical and political posters on a wall in various sizes
Trade show booth structure that has been turned into a dorm-style bedroom space, with bed and computer desk, soft furnishings and props such as posters on the walls, drinks cups and bottles and clothing strewn around the space
Close up image of musical and political posters on a wall in various sizes
Close up of an acoustic guitar covered in musical stickers
Section of a computer desk with wall posters visible in the background, drinks cups, bottles and Margarita cocktail mix, a croissant bag with crumbs, books, a pen pot with pens in it and a computer mouse
A section of a bed with soft furnishings, a CD Disman with headphones and a homemade mix CD inside it
An opened cupboard in the lower section of a computer desk, with a computer modem tower visible. Mixed CDs and music books are scattered around it
A perspective of a dorm-style room with posters and personal items strewn about is blurred in the background, and a Berkeley University t-shirt is hung over a chair in focus in the foreground
Piles of mixed CDs sit on the floor next to a bed, with a desk lamp and empty beer bottles atop. An old fashioned alarm clock and coffee cup sit in front.
Deep Cuts