This project started as an open call to Sheridan students of the Faculty of Arts, Animation and Design (FAAD), to propose site-specific artwork that would be permanently installed on the stairwell to the International Centre, located on the third floor of Trafalgar campus’s B-wing.
Proposal
Utilizing the creativity of students, the mural’s purpose was to illuminate the stairwell, bringing colour, pattern, imagery, and culture into the space. The artwork was meant to beautify this portion of the campus, as well as visually announce the presence of the International Centre on the third floor and draw visitors up the stairs. Since Sheridan College has an international student body with students from over 60 countries, key concepts for consideration when designing the mural were: displacement, movement, migration, home/away, and growth.
Faculty arranged a challenge for students to form groups that included members from varied artistic disciplines and to present proposals to a jury outlining their mural design. Though my group attempted to combine the skill sets of each team member and generated three interesting proposals, the jury did not select our designs. However, team member Megan Swaffer and I were recruited to incorporate the window element of our proposal into the final mural design.
Design Solution
The initial goal of this project was to install a graphic film on the cement walls of the stairwell as a means of leading individuals up the stairs and towards the International Centre. However, in one of the design proposals presented to the jury, we suggested that we could apply graphic film to a section of the two-storey window facing the stairwell. Inspired by her own reflections on how far she had come since arriving in Canada from the UK, my teammate Megan came up with the concept of showing the distance to various national capitals from Sheridan’s Trafalgar campus.
After gaining an appreciation for the physical scale of the space, Megan and I worked together to explore a solution for the window installation. Megan provided data for the mural, while I visualized and digitally produced the design. I used size to correspond with the distances to selected national capitals, with larger type corresponding to greater distances. Another key realization was that the mural would be experienced both outside of the B-Wing building as well as inside the stairwell. I explored type placement and direction so that the mural would interact with sunlight, casting readable shadows, and would communicate with viewers in both spaces. After many iterations and feedback from faculty members, the successful window mural design was installed on graphic film by Toronto Glass and Film in 2014. I feel the pride of knowing that I created a legacy environmental art piece that benefits the Sheridan community.
Knowledge: Environmental Design, Experiential Design, Data Visualization
Programs: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
Details: Freelance project for Sheridan College.