In my forty plus years as a designer, I’ve had the privilege to design for all forms of media in both print and screen. Recently, I’ve been bombarded with a “new” medium (well, for me at least) and boy did it come rolling in like an Oklahoma dust storm!
The Retractable Display Banner—
I was approached by a colleague in Library Services about a gift they had recently acquired—tens of thousands of collectible postcards, many of which had historical reference to the state of Alabama. How does one display several thousands postcards? After lots of discussion and research it was determined that the accessibility of this collection would be through a web site and also through traveling exhibits of display banners featuring selected postcards complete with historical information. This direction was supported and funded in part by not only Troy University but also the Alabama Humanities Foundation and the National Endowment through the Humanities.
Initially, sixteen (16) banners highlighting “historical building” and “historical streets” of Alabama were designed and produced. These banners have been actively touring the state of Alabama for over three years. Subsequently, there have been eight (8) additional banners featuring these postcards with the topic of “tourism” in Alabama.
This series was just the first. Then came banners for various university departments to use for their recruiting efforts (Kinesiology, Math, Art and Design… to name a few). The Art and Design banner was a fun collaboration along with my design students in a Special Topics class with Brittany Driver Anderson winning the final design concept.
In recent years, I have become “the display banner guru” in my area. Who would have thought? I sure wouldn’t have. It started with one project designing a retractable display banner (you know, like you might take to a trade show or position in a hallway of an exhibit) for a university library. Then, it turned into 8 and then 16. Word spread quickly and now to date I have designed nearly 30 of these and counting! Actually, I rather enjoy it. There is something fun and interesting about the extreme vertical dimensions (approximately 83” high by 32” wide by 12-15” deep). Perhaps it’s all those years designing websites for horizontal screens and this is now bringing some x and y and a little “z” back to my life. ;)