Mall Facelift

Copyright 2022 College of the Mainland. Photo credit: Scott Turnbough.

Copyright 2022 College of the Mainland.

Copyright 2022 College of the Mainland.

Copyright 2022 College of the Mainland. Photo credit: Scott Turnbough.

NEED
College of the Mainland secured a new facility at Mainland City Centre mall to relocate its cosmetology, barbering and lifelong learning programs. The facility, previously occupied by Palais Royal, was in disrepair needing a bold branded appearance on two sides of the building, updated marquis areas above the entrances, barbering school signage and a new frontage road marquis sign.

APPROACH
Efforts first began with photography of the site followed by a series of realistic Photoshop mockups introducing color and branding options for the building. My design goal was to establish COM’s presence at the mall location with a new and noticably different look from the previous Palais Royal that would align with the college brand. The large monumental type entrance areas were given a blue staggered color scheme to emphasize the architecture for a greater presence capped with 4ft x 40ft College of the Mainland channel lettering across the top on each side. The curved marquis overhangs were redesigned refreshing the battered look with a slick gray background and bold typography identifying Lifelong Learning on the left entrance and the Spa, Salon and Barbering on the center entrance facing the feeder road. Design concepts were shared with executive leadership for final approvals to move forward with changes including building painting and signage production.

RESULT
With many positive reactions to the design, the facility’s appearance was greatly improved from its previous state. The facility’s large branded scale has become a strong focal point for the Mainland City Centre providing clarity in the wayfinding experience to the College of the Mainland location.

ROLE
Design strategy, conceptual design, executive collaboration, graphic design, branding and vendor management