COHATCH, DULUTH
WSA, In-Process Fall 2022
Environmental Graphic Design, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, Client Presentation
COHatch is a co-working organization based in Columbus, Ohio. WSA has been a long time partner with this company, completing select locations and helping them expand nationwide. This unique brand highlights the local community of each location. I helped complete initial research and design concepts on this new adaptive reuse location in Duluth, Georgia.
BRANDING THEMES
I performed in-depth research on the location of the chosen property, looking for any information that sparked an interest for graphical elements. The city’s motto is “Pride in the Old and New” and we wanted to capture this in our design iterations.
INSPIRATION
We narrowed down our research to these eight themes and presented them to the client.
BRANDING LOCATIONS
These are the major areas we considered for potential graphic installations. Each area is along a high traffic corridor or can be seen from the exterior. Different views were considered in order to help the graphics be cohesive from one room to the next.
CEILING GRAPHIC
The second floor overlooks the first floor offices and break area. The team wanted to create a mural on the ceiling as the big move for this space. These abstract shapes spell out Duluth in a subtle way. This pattern is on an 8x4 grid and will be applied to the ceiling using Tectum, a highly durable panel made of Aspen wood fibers held together with a binding agent.
EXTERNAL MURALS
In a subtle ode to the town’s most popular fall festival, the design of this mural abstracts fall colored leaves. This mural was meant to be simple, understated, and cohesive with the interior ceiling treatment. It also complements the organic shapes that are repeated inside, using a similar color pallet and shape of leaf to draw your eye into the space.
WOOD SLAT WALL
Near the south entrance of the building, the interior designer placed a wood slat wall behind a few couches. We wanted to dress up this space by adding either something painted or felt behind the wood to provide some dimension and acoustic baffling. This concept came from a map of the road where the building is located and the railroad running parallel to it. The circle shows the location of the building.
DULUTH WALL
Each COHatch location has a dedicated community graphic, that incorporates building or area history. This concept focuses on the building’s previous use as a tool rental shop. A wooden pegboard spells out the location’s name with wooden pegs. This will be behind the community manager’s desk, adjacent to the room with the ceiling mural.
SECOND FLOOR COWORKING
These are two concepts presented to the client for a feature wall on the second level. Duluth was named Georgia’s “Tree city” and is home to the South Eastern Railway Museum. For the first concept, abstract tree lines mixed with model train tracks painted white make a dimensional design. The shape of the railroad tracks is taken from the roof line of the old Duluth train depot. The second concept combines a wood feature from the exterior with the same roofline shape of the depot, and creates an abstract composition.
FABRICATION FILE
This along with the full size, unobstructed art file will be sent to the fabricator of this piece.
