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Community Art Project:
Mural Design - Client Review
Assignment Parameters
Student Work
Assessment
For this assignment, students were tasked with generating a preliminary mural design that the client would review and provide initial feedback before the formal pitch. Each student was required to design a concept that met the criteria defined by the client, the Markland Mall in Kokomo. To view the client criteria, use the following link: Client Criteria PDF.
I worked with each student to digitize and refine their concepts before this initial review. I've included all of the designs generated by the students in the course.
In truth, I feel that the first three are quite successful, while the other designs were less so. It became apparent during the first few weeks of the semester that many of the students were less familiar with digital tools such as Adobe Illustrator and/or Adobe Photoshop. Ultimately, this caused many strong concepts to be compromised by a lack of technical know how. Unfortunately, due to the strict timeline of the course, I was unable to delve deeper into content and lessons to remedy these technical deficiencies. Despite some students being under-prepared, I knew that several of the designs would be strong enough to appease the client.
Mural Pitch Packet
Assignment Parameters
Student Work
Assessment
After receiving feedback from both the client and myself, the students were tasked with refining their mural concepts.
Each student was required to formally pitch their mural design to a representative from the Markland Mall. Since this pitch would determine the final design for the group project, the process was treated in a manner reminiscent of securing a large public commission or grant. I also awarded the winner of the selected design with extra credit in the course.
I've included the pitches from both Mara Fivecoate and Brittany Lucas in the above gallery. Both of these students had a strong designs that met the criteria defined by the client, and were professionally presented.
Final Log & Finished Mural
Assignment Parameters
Student Work
Assessment
Once the design was selected for the mural, the rest of the semester was focused on painting the mural on site. Therefore, in order to monitor each student's involvement in painting the mural, I generated timesheets that were embedded on Canvas. In conjunction with the timesheets, students were also required to post before and after photographs on an individualized discussion board that showed their progress for the day. Between the discussion board and the timesheet, I was able to verify each student's contribution to the project without having to be onsite.
The mural was completed on time and under the estimated budget. In the end, it was a resounding success, both as an academic course, but also as a contribution to the local community.
Progress
Top: After Mara Fivecoate generated her final design for the mural, I ended up translating the colors she used into a palette of exterior-grade paints that would be readily available from the local hardware store. This enabled me to anticipate the final cost of the materials for the mural, but it also allowed me to provide a step-by-step process and map for applying the colors to the wall.
Right: The photograph shows students tracing the projected design onto the external wall of the Markland Mall. The initial outline was completed at night in a single session.
Articles
I've included two articles that profiled the creation of the mural and the course at Indiana University Kokomo. The first article is from IU Kokomo and the other is from the local newspaper, Kokomo Tribune.