Guinness Brewery Covent Garden

Now that the head has settled, we are proud to share our work on one of the most talked-about hospitality openings in London.

Client	Guinness Open Gate Brewery, Covent Garden
Location	Covent Garden, London
Event	Opening Guinness Brewery London
Opening Date	December 2025
Project Scope	External brick wall branding and food truck graphics
Installation	Four days, tower hire, specialist installers
Key Services	Site Survey, Media Testing, Test Harp Production, Large-Format Wall Graphics, Tower Hire, Same-Day Media Deliveries, Specialist Installation, Food Truck Vinyl

The Project

In September 2025, agency Circle Square approached Wallace Print with a large-format print challenge: branding an external brick wall at the new Guinness Open Gate Brewery ahead of its December opening in Covent Garden, London.

The wall was old, heavily textured and interrupted by cables and surface imperfections. The Guinness harp is a tightly controlled brand asset. The site carried heritage restrictions. And the deadline, at the point of enquiry, was not yet confirmed.

Rather than moving straight to production, Wallace Print started by establishing what could actually be achieved on site.

The Brief and the Complications

The initial brief covered two external walls. Once the site and building constraints were properly understood, one wall had to be removed from scope: it formed part of a listed building. The quotation was revised accordingly and the remaining wall became the focus of the installation.

The main deliverables were a large-format Guinness harp graphic with supporting lettering across the remaining external brick wall, a smaller-scale test harp for brand team review before full production, assessment of matt versus gloss finish options for the lettering, specialist site survey and installation planning, and separate vinyl branding for a small food truck added to the scope as the project developed.

The surface created the primary technical challenge. Old brickwork is uneven, porous and interrupted by cables and other irregularities. Adhesion, panel alignment and installation all require a different approach on this kind of substrate compared with a standard flat interior surface. The scale of the harp also raised a specific question about how the fine detailing and background areas would reproduce at full size on textured brick.

How It Was Done

Wallace Print became involved at the feasibility stage, before any production decisions were made. The team explored media options suitable for external textured brickwork, arranged a specialist site survey to assess access and wall condition, and sourced an experienced installer for the project. A tower was hired to give safe access to the full height of the wall across the four-day installation.

The survey shaped how the installation was planned. The wall graphic was divided into vertical sections, making individual panels easier to handle on site and giving the installer a manageable approach for working around cables and irregular brickwork.

Before the full graphic went into production, a reduced-scale test harp was produced. The Guinness harp is a protected brand asset and the test gave the brand team a controlled opportunity to review how the detail and background reproduced before committing to the complete installation. As the installer noted on reviewing the wall: “Would it be possible to do a test harp before the full print? This could be at a smaller scale, but it would really help the brand team sign off on the higher background between the detailing.”

Working on a heritage brand like Guinness was not lost on the installation team. The history of the asset and the significance of the opening gave the project a weight that went beyond a standard commercial installation. The installers were genuinely invested in getting it right.

Finish options for the lettering were confirmed before production. Whether to use gloss or matt white on a textured external surface has a direct bearing on how the finished result reads at scale, and this was agreed before artwork went to print.

Across the four-day installation, same-day deliveries were arranged to top up media drops as required on site, keeping the programme moving without interruption. When the client identified an additional branding opportunity on site during the installation, Wallace Print turned around a solution without pulling focus from the main programme. The food truck requirement was similarly absorbed as it emerged, specified with a different vinyl suited to the vehicle surface rather than the brick wall application.

The Outcome

The Guinness harp and lettering were installed on the external brick wall as the focal point of the arrival experience at the Shelton Street entrance. The test process gave the brand team a controlled sign-off route on a protected asset before the full piece went up. Vertical panel-by-panel installation and tower access allowed the installer to work around the cables and surface imperfections without compromising the finished result across the full height of the wall.

The food truck branding and the additional on-site branding opportunity identified during the installation were both completed within the programme. The brewery opened in December 2025 to significant national coverage and was officially opened by His Majesty The King on 18 December 2025.

Why Wallace Print

The brief arrived with no confirmed deadline, a protected brand asset, a heritage restriction on one proposed wall and a difficult external substrate. Wallace Print’s first move was to assess what was achievable, arrange a survey and identify the right installation approach before any production began.

The listed building restriction required honest scope revision early. The test harp protected the brand from committing to a full installation before the asset had been reviewed at scale on the actual surface. Same-day media deliveries kept the four-day installation on programme. Additional requirements identified on site were resolved without disrupting the main job.

Circle Square had one partner managing print advice, media testing, tower hire, same-day logistics and an evolving brief across multiple surfaces.

If you are an agency managing a high-profile venue opening, hospitality launch or brand installation on a challenging surface, contact the team at sales@wallaceprint.com or call 01634 724 772.

It was worth the wait and hardwork! Cheers.

Products and Services Used

• External Brick Wall Graphics
• Large-Format Brand Asset Production
• Reduced-Scale Test Print
• Site Survey and Access Assessment
• Tower Hire
• Vertical Panel Installation Planning
• Four-Day Specialist Installation
• Same-Day Media Deliveries
• Food Truck and Mobile Unit Vinyl Graphics
• On-Site Additional Branding Solutions
• Listed Building Scope Revision
• Matt and Gloss Finish