GoTo NADA Show 2026
A graffiti-covered New York alley hiding a cozy speakeasy. A style I had never tried, pushed past the brand guidelines, and visitors stopped to read the walls. A graffiti-covered New York alley hiding a cozy speakeasy.
Welcome to the alley
NADA is a crowded show floor, and most booths stay sober and on brand. GoTo’s concept was an underground speakeasy: a sketchy New York alley outside, a cozy hidden bar inside. I designed the exterior, from the graffiti walls to the sign on top.
The goal was for attendees expecting plain booths to stop, get curious and step closer to find out what GoTo was about.
Learning to be loud
Graffiti was new for me, because my style leans soft and organic, and my first round proved it: “it looks too soft.”
So I went back to the references and looked for the patterns that make graffiti look like graffiti. I followed them: sharper edges, bold compositions, and drips and imperfections I stopped being afraid of.
The sign
The sign on top was the one place I held the line. I left the logo untouched, set a margin around it, and built playful compositions around it. The stakeholders loved them, and we ended up using my favorite one.
Complementary materials
After everyone was happy with the designs for the booth, I prepared the files for printing and sent them.
While that was cooking, I worked on additional materials to promote GoTo’s participation in the event, such as a banner for the event’s page and a storyboard for the animation team.
Showtime
People stopped and read the walls!
In a stakeholder’s words:
“people were so curious and drawn to the booth, they would read the graffiti and get close to see what the booth was about.”
That was the reaction I had designed for, and for GoTo the event was a success.
New style unlocked!
The note "it's too soft" pushed me into a style I had admired for years but never tried.
The drips and imperfections I used to steer away from turned out to be what made the walls believable. Breaking guidelines worked because something still held the look together: the brand colors, and a logo I never touched.
I carried that open mind into later work, exploring different styles and experimenting with type.