Stef Lewandowski

← Data art

Name in Lights

Mar 2007 – May 2007

A UK-wide competition for a member of the public to have their name made into fifteen-foot Hollywood-style lettering and lit up on a Birmingham landmark.

Cover of Name in Lights

Photograph: 3form

When
Mar 2007 – May 2007
Role
Creative director
Outcome
Webby Award Honoree.

Made with Fierce! Festival for its tenth anniversary in 2007. On the site, notcelebrity.co.uk, you could see what your name would look like in huge Hollywood-style lightbulb lettering, take an animation of it away for your blog, and enter a competition to have it made for real: fifteen-foot letters installed on the side of a major Birmingham landmark.

Image 1 from the original post, Name in Lights
Image 2 from the original post, Name in Lights

The site launched on 1 March 2007. Stef's post two weeks later, "Name in Lights is going viral": "On Wednesday we made the decision to remove the moderation from the site and let anyone post their names and for their name to appear instantly in the listings, without a potential 6 hour wait while it would be approved. Visits went through the roof - over night, the statistics show that traffice [sic] tripled." The glowing-letters typeface was made by "Karl and I".

Image 3 from the original post, Name in Lights

The winner was announced on 17 May 2007 at a champagne reception in Birmingham city centre: Una White, nominated by her daughter CJ. Stef: "I couldn't imagine a more deserving winner."

Image 4 from the original post, Name in Lights

Pictures

  • Picture, Name in Lights

    3form, 2007

Made at 3form.

Around the same time

Later in data art: Data Necklace.