The Stories of State College

In this group project, we worked with the State College Bureau to connect the frequently used Frasier Street parking garage to the community. The garage was very dull and lacked proper signage, not reflecting the unique and diverse culture downtown State College has to offer. The garage is used by a variety of people, such as current students, locals, alumni, fans, and friends.

We chose to address this goal of displaying the community by focusing on some of State College’s most well-known themes, one for each floor. We focused on art, film, music, activism, sports, indigenous land, and astronomy. We connected different stories to each topic and displayed them in each elevator hub so the user would be able to both learn something new and give them something to remember what floor they’re parked on. We also included motion lines within each floor design, connecting the idea of movement as well as supporting wayfinding throughout the garage.

Everyone in the group focused on their own floor. My floor’s focus was music. I did this by creating measure lines as the leading motion lines. I created icons of different instruments used in State College’s "Little German Band,” which was founded in 1960.