Established in 2003 , Onward Display is a creative large formal print company , offering endless print options and solutions for retail , events and exhibition graphics . It has three large showrooms in central London with over 25 large format print and cut machines that run 24 / 7 . I caught up with Michael Brighty and Luke Roberts over Zoom to learn more about the business .
Onwards and upwards
EN ’ s Joe Gallop meets the Onward Display team : Michael Brighty and Luke Roberts
Tell me about the company ’ s history
MB : Onward Display has always been very much retail , home and office graphics . Then I joined the company in 2010 to introduce them to the world of exhibitions . We started off with a tiny , unmanned office in the Business Design Centre ( BDC ), north London , which was more of an advert for the company rather than for production . Every year that it grew we took a different office which was a bit bigger – with more machinery , more equipment and staff . We made more of a name for ourselves in the exhibition world and then it expanded into other venues .
How has your business changed during the pandemic , and what does the next 12 months look like ?
MB : We had to adapt . We took jobs that we wouldn ’ t normally take on , but you can ’ t say no in times like these ; it ’ s just another string
“ We took jobs that we wouldn ’ t normally take on , but you can ’ t say no in times like these ; it ’ s just another string to the bow now .” to the bow now . We ’ re doing a lot of bespoke packaging and that ’ s been non-stop throughout . We adapted the businesses and did plenty of Covid-19 signage and safety screens , which I think every printer tried to get their hands on . That side of the business has grown and is still going . We still do a lot of retail even though it has been a struggle for them , as well as outdoor exhibitions . We ’ ve been doing a lot of work over at Canary Wharf – a lot of outdoor spaces where the public get to see some nice print work when they go out to get fresh air . We ’ ve done Kings Cross tunnel a couple of times , as well as the outdoor bench and seating area .
LR : At Canary Wharf we did the Alice in Wonderland installation for Produce UK – a rooftop event where they had a recording of the story being read and people could actually walk around the path of the roof terrace . It was like an interactive art exhibition-esque storytelling event . One thing I ’ ve found is that most businesses have reacted to the pandemic and adapted as well . We ’ ve also been doing some work for an art gallery , but while they ’ ve not been allowed inside the shop , they ’ ve been putting art out on the windows . A
20 — June