SRF University Workshop – Michigan State University Wrap Up
On Friday, October 6, 2017 SRF hosted its first full day University Workshop at Michigan State University in collaboration with the School of Planning, Design, and Construction. The workshop hit capacity at 42 people – made up of professors and students of landscape architecture, planning, and design; campus and facilities planners, and local sign companies & distributors.
The day kicked off with a presentation on how signs and wayfinding impact the urban environment, followed by case studies on the unique challenges of incorporating signage into university campuses. In between presentations the group took a field trip to two locations on campus which gave the students some examples of interior and exterior signage and a sneak peek at what they would be required to do in their team challenge later in the workshop. Following the field trip, a final presentation was given on the materials and methods used during sign fabrication. After the final presentation, the students received hands on learning exploring sign material samples provided by the industry participants.
Incorporating what they had learned throughout the day, each team (a mix of students, professors, and sign industry) was tasked with finding a part of campus that could be enhanced by environmental graphics, a gateway sign, wayfinding signage, or other elements and devising a solution. Each group presented at the end of the workshop and explained how and why they came upon their idea. The solutions ranged from incorporating wayfinding into already existing structures to creating a completely new interactive gateway sign in an empty but highly visited spot on campus. The completed projects from all of the groups will be available soon.
Thank you to all of those that participated and helped make SRF’s first University Workshop so successful.
Schedule of Events
Friday, October 6, 2017
| Time | Event | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30am – 9:00am | Welcome Breakfast | |
| 9:00am – 9:45am | Signs & Wayfinding in the Urban Environment | Craig Berger, Fashion Institute of Technology-NYC |
| 10:00am – 10:30am | Signage Within a University Campus | Ted Kiper, Cardosi Kiper Design Group Clint Douthitt, Corbin Design |
| 10:30am – 12:00pm | Field Trip | 1855 Place and Brody Hall |
| 12:15pm – 1:00pm | Lunch | |
| 1:15pm – 1:30pm | Sign Fabrication Materials & Methods | Myles Amor, Amor Sign Dan Crannie, Signs by Crannie Ryan Brady, Brady Signs |
| 1:30 – 2:30pm | Explore the different materials used in sign fabrication | Guidance from designers and manufacturers |
| 2:30pm – 4:00pm | Team Challenge | Teams choose a part of campus that can be enhanced by environmental graphics, signage, or wayfinding and develop a pitch on their idea |
| 4:00pm – 4:45pm | Team Challenge Results | Teams present their project ideas to the panel of judges and winner is declared |
| 4:45pm – 5:15pm | Q&A | Between industry professionals and students |
| 5:30pm – 6:30pm | Reception | Corniche Room Heavy hors d’oeuvres and dessert bar |
Presentations
You can find all presentations here.
