Dezeen promotion: a mix of rigid and flexible lighting panels create a grid of illuminated shapes on the ceiling of this new Baskin Robbins cafe in Seoul.
LG Display used its OLED lighting panels to create the lighting installation for Baskin Robbins Brown, a new premium retail offering from the ice cream franchise that is so far exclusive to South Korea.
The brief given to LG Display from developer client SPC Group was to create a striking focal point for the store. But the brand was also asked to ensure that lighting was well distributed over the shop's display areas, where it showcases over 100 different flavours of ice cream.
Its response was to use its slender OLED panels – designed to create illumination across a surface rather than a point – to create a decorative grid across the ceiling. This grid has a regular arrangement at the centre, but at either end the panels take on more fluid forms.
"In order to establish the sense of 'premium' into their brand launch and match the atmosphere of the affluent neighbourhood of Cheongdam-dong, SPC Group chose LG OLED light panels to achieve two objectives: create unique aesthetics, while minimising light effects on their food products," said LG Display.
One of the benefits of these lighting panels is that they recreate similar lighting conditions to natural daylight, and they are flicker-free, so staff are less likely to be bothered by them.
Additionally, they emit very low levels of heat, meaning they are unlikely to impact the frozen ice cream.
"The natural illumination allows customers to view the detailed colours and textures of the 100 ice cream flavours," added the brand. "It also helps the staff stay alert without experiencing optical fatigue."
OLED lighting panels are one of LG Display's most important technologies, and have previously been used to create an assortment of products by well-known designers. For instance, Ross Lovegrove has used them to create lamps, and Ron Arad used them to build an illuminated wall.
The brand makes the panels in 300-millimetre-wide squares, and they are available in both rigid and flexible varieties.
The company is currently exploring different ways these panels can be used in interior environments. Other recent examples include galleries in the National Palace Museum of Korea and a science fiction-inspired light installation in Milan.
The success of these projects prompted the brand to launch its new OLED Light Collaboration Program, which will see LG partner with as many as 10 designers, manufacturers and architects to create innovative projects with OLED panels.
The brand is also hosting a series of webinars exploring the possibilities of OLED lighting.