A custom inflatable United plane, designed around how it would actually be used

From their graphics to a finished piece their team could deploy with confidence.

The brief

We produced a custom-fabricated inflatable airplane for United Airlines' brand activation program. United's team came to us with an idea and initial graphics. Our job was to translate that into a finished piece they could put on the ground — branded correctly, built correctly, and designed around how their team would actually use it.

From graphics to renderings

The starting point was United's design direction. Before any fabrication began, our team built out renderings of the inflatable based on their graphics — proportions, livery placement, color across panels, how the piece would read from different angles. The renderings let United see what they were buying before it was built, and let us flag the design questions that only show up when you translate a 2D graphic into a 3D inflatable form.

We didn't move to production until the renderings were approved. Sign-off on paper is cheaper than a change order in fabric.

Designed around how it would be used

Once the design was approved, the conversation shifted to usage. An inflatable that looks great in a rendering can still fail if it's not built around the way it'll actually be deployed — where it's going, how often, who's setting it up, how much time they have, what kind of crew is on the ground.

We worked through those questions with United's team: deployment context, setup time, the size and skill of the crew handling it, the conditions it would live in. Those conversations shaped the spec — panel weight, anchor points, blower sizing, the way the piece packed down between deployments.

The goal was simple: the team using it shouldn't have to think about logistics. Pull it out, set it up, looks right every time.

Production with global partners

Large inflatable fabrication is its own discipline. We worked with a specialist fabrication partner we've used for years on dimensional pieces at this scale — a shop equipped to build welded-panel inflatables to brand standard. Color-matched to United's livery across printed and dyed panels. Built to the spec we'd agreed on with their team.

The outcome

Delivered to United for their activation program. Designed around their use case, built to last across deployments.