July 2023

ARTICLE N°291 / AVIATION & AEROSPACE AWARD

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Source : AVIATION & AEROSPACE AWARD / This article is reproduced for archival purposes. Best Luxury Aircraft Specialists 2023 – Western Europe Despite the standardisation of aircraft to specific types, a dynamic livery can leave an astonishing impression on customers and create a unique brand image. Few understand this better than Didier Wolff of Happy Design Studio. Having achieved such success in the Aviation and Aerospace Awards 2023, we took a closer look at the work of the Happy Design Studio team to uncover the secrets of their success. With an incredible range of aviation businesses flying around the world, a unique image that defines your craft is a just-have. For Didier Wolff of Happy Design Studio, it’s a passion which he takes incredibly seriously. To him, there is a certain poetry to aircraft and sky, such that the aircraft in the ultimate 3D sculpture and the sky the ultimate gallery. It’s little wonder, with such a keen eye for detail, that he is award-winning in many different areas. Since 2009, Didier has been creating unique aircraft liveries for his clients, shamelessly ignoring marketing demands and analysis in favour of an old approach that captures people’s imaginations. “I guide the painting process in its entirety in order to ensure the exact match with the original project validated by my clients, and most of all make sure that it has been painted in agreement with the aviation state of the art rules. Apart from this, my work is not subject to any compromise.” Such strength of attitude is why his designs are in such high demand. “Traditionally, aircraft livery design has always erred on the side of caution: one or perhaps two colours, a logo here, and a line there,” Didier tells us. “However, times change and tastes evolve. Nowadays, there is a growing trend toward greater personalization in the aviation sector. From bespoke hand-finished cabin interiors to custom paint jobs, today’s owners and operators are looking for new ways to put their unique stamp on their aircraft – and more importantly, to stand out from the crowd. Happy Design Studio take the concept of custom livery and turn it into an art form.” Being based in the Grand Est, Didier and his team rest on the border of four countries, Luxembourg, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. It is a position at the heart of Europe, offering a rich source of opportunities and territorial specificities. “From a cultural and geographical point of view I really feel like I am in the middle of Europe,” Didier tells us with a smile. Small wonder that his designs also embrace a range of cultural influences. These influences, however, are more foundational than you might think. “We’re constantly invaded by images from advertising, from TV and so on,” Didier explains. “I have to say that I am also invaded by my own 3D images and software. At least once a year, I visit the Louvre in Paris to reset my eye and go back to the foundations of colour, light, perspective and proportion. I go to look at the paintings and sculptures. My soul is richer when I leave and I feel full again – here is the peak of efficiency.” When we look at Happy Design Studio, we look at a firm which embraces the foundational, that considers the overall impact and that celebrates the age of customisation in which we now live. Where once simplicity and uniformity was key, now customers expect something bold and unique. That’s what Happy Design Studio deliver, and that’s what has brought them such success within the aviation industry.

 March 2023

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Source : AIRCRAFT INTERIORS MAGAZINE / This article is reproduced for archival purposes. The 3D aspect of an aircraft can be a real challenge, especially if the design needs to consider the more complex functional parts of the structure. Wolff cites a specific project called Carboneum, carried out on a Bombardier Global Express XRS in collaboration with Munich, Germany-based Ruag. The design features a blend of honeycomb carbon on a Ferrari-grey colour background. “The team had to come up with a new reliable calculation technique to obtain a perfect result on very complex zones such as the engine nacelles with regular and irregular curves,” says Wolff. “To fully fit these curves, the honeycomb texture covering each engine was divided into 24 separate stencils, with the main challenge being the variable sizes of each. Everything was measured down to the millimetre, despite working with vinyl sheets that were not very flexible and extremely delicate.” 3D STENCILS The livery combines various shades of grey, and a yellow Pantone colour was chosen to highlight the twin-jet’s various technical markings. “The yellow security markings are perfectly integrated with all the aircraft tones,” says Wolff. “This subtle rendering and the sharpness of the execution was possible by Airoinart, led by Gilbert Holzer, which produced the three-dimensional stencils. It’s pretty well-known that a red Ferrari is easier to sell than in any other colour as it’s the hue most closely associated with the marque historically. In contrast, highly personalised paint jobs on otherwise widely desirable vehicles can be difficult to resell. Accordingly, some money-savvy customers err on the side of caution in terms of exterior paint to protect eventual resale values. Does the same thinking apply with business jets? “Not very often do customers plan for removal when applying a custom paint scheme,” says West Star Aviation’s Jeremy Turnbough. “Typically, they take great pride in the aircraft, with no plans of selling it throughout the duration of the paint job, which lasts 8–12 years.” Didier Wolff of Happy Design Studio senses a similar sentiment. “When my clients choose a very personal livery design, it is supposed to add value in case of sale,” he says. “All of them are convinced of that. Naturally, if ‘very personal’ means flowers, palm trees and starfish, the added value will be questionable. But some liveries are created to be easily removable too.

ARTICLE N°290 / AIRCRAFT INTERIORS MAGAZINE

May 2023

ARTICLE N°289 / FLIGHTGLOBAL

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Source : FLIGHTGLOBAL / This article is reproduced for archival purposes. Wolff: Collaboration well received by owners We have designs on your jet by Kate Sarsfield Three companies in the field of business jet exterior customisation have joined forces at EBACE to promote their services as a one-stop shop to aircraft owners and showcase an innovative livery. Happy Design Studios and Adhetec from France along with General Atomics AeroTec Systems of Germany, formerly Ruag, have been collaborating on livery projects for several years and came to attention in 2017 when they unveiled on a Bombardier Global 6000 a carbon exterior design called the Carboneum Experience. “This has been incredibly well received by business aircraft owners as have the many very complex designs and projects we have worked on together, so we have taken the opportunity to unveil another unique high-end design at the show which features mud-splatter across black paintwork,” says Happy Design Studio owner and designer Didier Wolff. Adhetec provides the intricate 3D stencilling for the design while the project is completed in Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich by General Atomics AeroTec Systems. “From the creation of the liveries to the paint application, from the 3D projection capabilities to the large-scale decals or stencils, we offer a mutual approach for everything related to business jet exteriors,” says Wolff.

 May 2023

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Source :AVIATION WEEK / This article is reproduced for archival purposes. NETWORK Livery Specialists Team Up To Offer ‘One-Stop Shop’ For BizJet Exteriors Helen Massy-Beresford May 24, 2023 Credit: Happy Design Studio GENEVA—French livery design specialist Happy Design Studio has teamed up with adhesive films-maker Adhetec and the painting expertise of General Atomics AeroTec Systems to offer a “one-stop shop” for the customization of business jet exteriors. The partners work together using a combination of 3-D stenciling adapted to the curves of an aircraft with paint and adhesives, allowing them to create complex designs. They are hopeful of signing up new clients during EBACE 2023, Happy Design founder Didier Wolff says. “We focus on business jets and other parts of the industry are catered to according to demand,” Wolff says, noting that the striking designs the partnership can offer mean it is ideally suited to individual business jet owners who want to project a part of their image on their aircraft and make their own decisions about design and expenditure. “We wanted to offer a one-stop shop in which our team can take care of everything from the preliminary stages of development of the livery right through to the completion via the General Atomics paint center, using the best aspects of the products to create a hybrid model,” says Grégory Gallice, Adhetec’s export sales director for EMEA, APAC and Central and Latin America. “Today almost anything can be done with paint but it takes a lot of time and it’s very costly. By creating this hybrid model we’re going to be able to not only allow clients to create ultra-complex liveries and decorations, but also improve the cost and the timeline versus painting alone.” Adhetec, which is already well-known in commercial aircraft exteriors, has expanded into the business aviation sector in the last 3-4 years. Happy Design itself can work on a maximum of four jets per year as Wolff stays present throughout the process, he says. Happy Design’s order book is “well-filled,” Wolff adds, although the absence of Russian clients since the invasion of Ukraine has been felt. As for the capacity of the three new partners together, “that remains to be seen,” Wolff says. “It depends on the complexity of the aircraft.” Helen Massy-Beresford Based in Paris, Helen Massy-Beresford covers European and Middle Eastern airlines, the European Commission’s air transport policy and the air cargo industry for Aviation Week & Space Technology and Aviation Daily.

ARTICLE N°288 / AVIATION WEEK

 May 2023

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Source : AIN ONLINE / This article is reproduced for archival purposes. EBACE CONVENTION NEWS BUSINESS AVIATION One-Stop Shop for Imaginative Aircraft Liveries by David Donald – May 24, 2023, 8:15 AM (rendering: Happy Design) Business aircraft livery creator Happy Design Studio (Booth W105) has joined forces with aircraft painting and foil decal specialists to offer an end-to-end service for the creation and implementation of exterior designs. Having collaborated on previous projects, such as the award-winning Carboneum Experience applied to a Bombardier Global 6000, and subsequently on a Global 5500, Happy Design has partnered with German business jet MRO and painting company General Atomics AeroTec Systems at Oberpfaffenhofen and French decorative foil specialist Adhetec in Tarbes. The three companies are jointly exhibiting this week at EBACE. Combining the experience and knowledge across all stages of the process has streamlined the operation to the point where livery applications can now be conducted in around 60 percent of the time normally needed. There are also cost savings, while downtime can be minimized by combining the paint work with other maintenance tasks. The most exciting prospect, however, is the release of creativity and the ability to accurately apply finishes that the team brings, Happy Design owner Didier Wolff told AIN. Designs increasingly feature a combination of paint and foil, with the latter offering the possibility of being able to change liveries by overlaying existing finishes. The foil also offers the same level of durability as paint.

ARTICLE N°287 / AIN ONLINE