DESGRIPPES GOBE ANNOUNCES THE OPENING OF XL, NEW YORK CITY'S NEWEST BAR/LOUNGE

Desgrippes Gobé announces the opening of XL, New York City's Newest Bar/Lounge

(New York, March 2001)

Desgrippes Gobé, a leading branding and design consultancy, announced the opening of XL, New York City's newest and most innovative bar/lounge, located in Chelsea on 16th Street and 9th Avenue. Desgrippes Gobé collaborated with giants from the world of club promotion, lighting, sound design and interior design to conceptualize, position and design the new bar.

“We hired Desgrippes Gobé based on their reputation for excellence in design and commitment to innovation. d/g* is so good at creating images for major brands, we thought it would be great to have them create an image that reflects all that we’ve imagined XL to be.” says Jay Janis, owner of XL. "d/g's branding expertise was also critical to appropriately develop and execute XL's concept of an ever-changing destination.”

"Our challenge was to create a series of theatrical environments that operate in concert, while changing throughout the night. We shifted the interplay of light and sound within the space to appeal to the crowd at all time of night."

Every aspect of XL, from the sound system to the lighting design, is fully capable of transforming itself to reflect the time of night and the patron's mood. The environment will continually morph itself, creating a huge urban stage where the patrons are the players. Every detail of the bar was considered and designed by the Desgrippes Gobé team. From the furniture, to the bar itself, nothing was purchased off the shelf, and materials are used in non-traditional ways, creating moments of surprise throughout the bar. The molded bar is remarkable and the concave ceiling acts as a most unusual movie screen with bathrooms that are worth the “price of admission” alone!
Key contributors to XL also include renowned club promoter John Blair (who was involved in the creation of such legendary night spots as Twilo, Sound Factory, Palladium, Tunnel and Life), sound lighting and electronics coordination by Creative Realities; interior designer John Salibello and Wonderworks Construction Group CEO Joseph Klaynberg.

When creating brand images, environment and architecture are just as important as packaging, logos and other forms of visual communications. Desgrippes Gobé’s retail architecture design division has created environments for retailers that include Ann Taylor, Godiva Chocolatiers and The Wedding List Company. With the opening of XL, Desgrippes Gobé has expanded it’s environment design portfolio to include restaurant, bars and lounges.

Desgrippes Gobé worldwide is one of the top ten image and brand creation firms in the world. For the past 30 years, it has been a pioneer in developing breakthrough, emotional branding solutions for major Fortune 500 companies across industries, including Victoria's Secret, The Wedding List, Brooks Brothers, Coca-Cola, and Godiva Chocolatiers. Desgrippes Gobé worldwide has received over 175 awards over the past decade around the world with its offices in New York, Paris, Tokyo, Brussels, and Seoul.