School Wall Graphic – Springfield School Reception
The Brief
Springfield is a state-funded secondary school in Portsmouth, Hampshire. Following our school rebrand the Headteacher commissioned a large piece of wall art for their newly renovated entrance lobby. The brief was to produce an educational school wall graphic that was engaging for students, staff and visitors.
Our Design Concept
The concept starts with the Ghandi quote ‘The future depends on what you do today’. In the context of a school, this line speaks directly to young people and challenges them to make the most of each day; to think about their futures, while also teaching them about what has gone before.
The word ‘FUTURE’ was picked out as the main feature, and was filled with hundreds of original illustrations, placed inside the letters. The story of our world is told chronologically on the wall, starting with the Big Bang and the formation of galaxies in the first letter ‘F’ and moving through to the present day and beyond in the final letter ‘E’. A huge variety of subjects are touched on; from the history of human technologies, to the Sciences to the Arts to futurology predictions of the Earth’s climate and world politics.
The wall is a visual resource that students can use and be inspired by. The level of detail ensures continued engagement during their five years at the school.
The original concept – sketchbook
The Design Process
We shared the development of the design closely with the client throughout the process. The ‘Future’ concept was unanimously approved in the first meeting, after which we concentrated on researching the content and creating almost 300 illustrations.
The choice of which illustrations to include within the word ‘Future’ was led by Toop studio, but greatly helped by a collaborative debate with the senior school staff. This made sure we included some important references that could be linked with the curriculum.
We also supplied the school with an image library of all the illustration assets as separate files for teaching and marketing purposes.
Page of illustration assets – drawings by Toop Studio
Digital Wallpaper for schools – Installation
As with all our wall projects, Toop studio managed the entire wall preparation, print and installation process. The graphic was printed on a special vinyl-based digital wallpaper for schools with an anti-scuff coating. We then arranged for installation outside of school opening hours for minimum disruption.
Installation of the school wall graphic digital wallpaper
The School video that followed
A couple of years later, we were commissioned to produce a school video that followed on from the message and artwork of the Future Wall. We created an innovative animated film, which went live in September 2016, and is getting some very positive feedback.
Click the picture below to watch the film.
Still from the new Springfield animated school video – Toop Studio
The Client’s Response
‘The Future wall exceeded my expectations and is already loved by the school community. Shadric created a sequence of engaging graphic images to depict the highs and lows of history, the world today and glimpses of the future. The concept “the future depends on what you do today” is an inspirational message wholly appropriate for an innovative and forward looking school community.
I have found Shadric to be skilled at interpreting the client’s requirements accurately and then bringing an original and creative vision to each project. I particularly value the perfectionism and attention to detail that he brings to his design work; and also how he communicates with the client at each stage of the project’s development.’
Sara Spivey,
Headteacher, Springfield School
Related Links
Our Springfield School wall graphic is featured on the Creative Review online feed.
Our blog article about school wall graphics: 10 things school wall graphics can do.
