As Paris Baguette rapidly expands across the U.S. and Canada, they anchor each new cafe with a custom "Love Baked In" community mural. Having partnered with the brand to design over 110 unique murals throughout North America, Bolster was tasked with elevating the concept for their newest location in Novi, Michigan. The objective was to design a massive 30-foot by 6-foot physical installation that celebrated local vibrancy while introducing an interactive digital layer to drive social engagement and deepen the customer experience.

To create a piece with true personal resonance, we grounded the artwork in recognizable Michigan landmarks and cultural touchpoints. We then bridged the gap between physical art and digital play by engineering a custom augmented reality experience to transform the static wall into a dynamic storytelling canvas.

We prioritized:

• Hyper-Local Illustration: Designing a bold visual statement that anchored the cafe space and reflected the community's specific identity.
• Spatial Dominance: Utilizing the massive 30-foot scale to invite viewers to pause, explore, and recognize themselves within the narrative.
• Seamless AR Integration: Developing custom social media filters triggered by physical markers embedded seamlessly within the artwork.
• Dynamic 3D Animation: Layering immersive digital elements over the physical wall, including falling cherry blossoms, flying birds, a speeding Corvette on the Mackinac Bridge, and an animated punchout by Joe Louis.
• Platform Accessibility: Building the AR experience natively for TikTok and Snapchat to remove friction and encourage immediate audience participation.
• ‍Interactive Discovery: Adding a layer of digital play that encouraged cafe patrons to engage more deeply with the environment and share their experience online.

The Novi installation successfully merged physical retail design with digital social sharing. By turning a traditional art installation into a dynamic, immersive environment, the augmented reality layer drove user-generated content and extended the mural’s impact far beyond the cafe walls. This interactive approach set a new benchmark for customer engagement within the space, further solidifying the success of Bolster’s ongoing partnership with Paris Baguette as we continue to design highly localized, large-scale artwork for their rapidly growing North American footprint.