Designer Lauren
Environmental graphics have the power to turn everyday campus spaces into places that feel meaningful and alive. By visually celebrating a university’s story, culture, and achievements, these moments help students feel connected to where they learn, gather, and grow. The result is a shared sense of pride and belonging that elevates the campus experience beyond the classroom.
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ENVIRONMENTAL GRAPHICS
During 2020, the university took advantage of an empty campus (canvas, if you will) and began to re-imagine how certain spaces can benefit students when they returned to campus. This space in particular was the campus bookstore. While students learned remotely, the bookstore was moved online and the space was turned into a one-stop enrollment center. This project came right on the heels of rebranding the university mascot, and was the perfect opportunity to create large-scale vinyls to cover the windows surrounding the old bookstore as renovations took place and students returned to campus.
The north side of the bookstore vinyls were designed to be interactive. The idea was to get students excited about returning to campus and feel a sense of pride being part of the university. This design allows students to become the center of NEIU by becoming the “I.” Students could snap a photo and post it to social media and tag #ProudtoBeNEIU.
The Southside of the vinyls were branded with the new university mascot and as the welcome graphic seen from the University Commons. Additionally, we wanted campus values to appear on all sides of the former store space and to have our students represented in the graphics.
The Eastside vinyls were closest to the Admissions office and would be visible to current and prospective students walking down the hall towards the office. We wanted to make sure the “tilted N” icon was branded here to match the “tilted N” lit up signage in front of the Admissions office.
