College of Business Centerpiece Project

August 22, 2016

Written by: Austin Gaines, Graeme Milley & John Jacobs

On Friday afternoons most classes at Clemson University have been dismissed, but in the Fall of 2015 five people remained in the Digital Media Learning Lab tucked away on the second floor of Tillman Hall every Friday. They were four students and one instructor. This cross-disciplinary course was attended by an engineer, two graphic communicators, and an education major. Graphic Communications 4900 section 005, nicknamed Conceptual Packaging is a seminar class meant for students to explore how we “package” non-physical content through visual and material rhetoric. The Fall 2015 class focused on ways to “package” the ideals of the College of Business in the form of table centerpieces for college events.

Through weeks of collaboration, brain storming, design, and prototyping, the team presented their proposal to the College of Business Dean’s representative to the project. It embodied all that the college represents; technology, creativity, integrity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership. The base was a replica of Clemson’s beloved Howard’s Rock, produced from corrugate board, representing the foundation of excellence, which is the core of Clemson University academics. The three pillars were made from Plexi-glass, cut and flame treated before being printed with frosted glass etching ink. The pillars represented innovation, the tradition of leadership, and entrepreneurship, which are core ideals of the College of Business. The tops of the pillars formed a wave like appearance to entice the idea of free flowing thinking and creativity. To simulate the motion of growth, LEDs were installed inside the rock to illuminate the frosted designs.

Though designed in the Fall of 2015, the actual production of the centerpieces didn’t begin until Spring of 2016. Fabrication and assembly stretched from February through March. The centerpieces were completed in time to represent the creativity and innovation of the Department of Graphic Communications at the College of Business’s Honors and Awards Banquet in April 2016.