Featured Case Studies
Iris Evans, a Graphic Designer at the Office of Marketing and Communications at ISU, reached out with a request.
An email with a RFQ (Request for Quote) to fabricate a custom display highlighting the 125th year of Idaho State University.
The concept features two 3 Panel Display that can be folded into a triangle or opened to create an accordion wall, and a Centerpiece Display proudly displaying ISU's Spirit Mark on a pedestal.
With the provided concept there was no way to give her an accurate quote for fabrication...
In order to do, the concept needs to be fully finalized with scale, materials, hardware, production files, and assembly instructions all figured out for all elements of the build.
And before you're able to put all those together, we need to know what the design looks like.
So thats what I suggested.
To start with a Design and Development contract, to figure out what these displays looks like, and then develop the design for easy fabrication.
And thats what we did.
Must be custom and unique.
Must be durable enough for many set up and tear down throughout the year.
Must be light weight for easy transport.
Must be easy to assemble.
Must fit in a standard van.
Must become a permanent installation at ISU once the campaign concludes.
The first step meeting the criteria is to solidify the obvious details.
Using .080" aluminum as our primary materials as it is light weight and durable. Vinyl sticks really good to it, and by adding bends the aluminum we can add rigidity to the thin sheet.
Having the 3 panel display fold into each other for transport.
For the pedestal form to emphasize the Spirit Mark.
My approach to this concept was simple. Formed .080 aluminum. So how do I make this unique.
My previous project with ISU, the Dubby Holt Display, featured a specific angle.
And so what if the panel was broke to match the angle and follow ISU's visual Identity?
So I modeled it.
I started off with a flat sheet. Then introduced the bends. Then, extrude cut the top and bottom to straighten the edges.
I also cut a notch on the sides to aesthetically hint at the letter "I" of the ISU logo and on a practical note this notch provides two things. The ability to grab and adjust each panel separately when displaying, and for secure strapping when stowed for travel.
As an extra element and mimicking the aesthetics of the Dubby Holt Display, I played with mounting colored acrylic panels to the face of the display giving it dimension.
For the Centerpiece I explored following the triangle form with a unique twist.
Here it is rendered together as a set.
After presenting this concept. The Clients had this to say.
"We love the 3 panel display form, but we can get rid of the acrylic panels. It might be too much. Maybe just one plaque for the title in the middle.
We also want the centerpiece to have 4 sides, not 3. We want to have good amount of space for the graphics to tell the story of ISU as people walk around."
"Oh, and our hard budget is $10,000 for the whole thing."
On the Design, valid feedback. Lets keep it simple.
As for the budge. That was going to be a tough one…
Given the Des/Dev contract was $3,200, that only leaves $6,800 for the build…
For a custom display with two 3 panel displays and a centerpiece with a dimensional spirit mark, that is strong enough to last a full year of travel and then for it to become a permanent display… That was very tight.
I suggested maybe exploring a more affordable yet less durable alternative, that is not meant to become a permanent display, but they really liked the design, and wanted me to keep going this direction.
Maybe they have a little bit of wiggle in the budget..?
Lets simplify and refine, and see what we get.
The 3 Panel Display was straight forward.
Bring it back to just the aluminum structure and vinyl wrap the graphics. Maybe a clear acrylic title plaque on the center plane. Remove it if the budget doesn't allow it.
For the Centerpiece… I started started from scratch, exploring all types of forms.
And settled on the one that was the most cohesive.
A bent aluminum panel broke at an angle with a notch on the sides to match the 3 Panel Display.
Here are the Round 2 rendering with two choices.
Concept 1 - Variant 1 was the favorite and got the thumbs up to proceed into Development.
Client — Iris Evans of Idaho State University
DES/DEV
Des/Dev Project management —— Alex Caves
Design —— Alex Caves
Development —— Alex Caves
Graphic Design —— Iris Evans, Kelsey West
EXECUTION
Centerpiece Build:
Fab Project Management —— Alex Caves
Spirit Mark —— Image National
Table Base —— Webstaurant Store
Hardware —— McMaster Carr, MBS-Standoffs
Pedestal Post Fab —— Foster Weld
Pedestal Aluminum Panels Fab —— Pacific Steel
Pedestal Top and Bottom Brackets —— Send Cut Send
Pedestal Panel Vinyl Print —— DDS
3 Panel Display Build:
Managed by Client.
RESULTS
On Location Photos —— ISU instagram
TOOLS USED:
Adobe Illustrator
Autodesk Fusion 360
Vectary
Google Workspace