Upper-level design students from Ohio Northern University will host a Grafik Intervention on Friday, April 22 from 8 to 10 p.m. in Ada, Ohio. The event will take place at the historic Pennsylvania Railroad Depot, located in the business district.
In addition, an exhibit will highlight the history and significance of the depot beginning at 8 p.m. Parking will be limited to the east end of the depot’s parking lot.
The event is free and open to the public.
Through research of the building’s history, interaction with the local community and design-thinking minds, students in professor Brit Rowe’s Advanced Visual Communication Design course will bring awareness to what the building used to be. Students will create digital projections and involve the village residence with its future by providing viewers with questionnaires to spark feedback, dialogue and ideas.
“Creating a Grafik Intervention for Ada has been an interesting process for us as students at ONU,” said Emily Kleine, a senior advertising design major from Bowling Green, Ohio. “The project connected us to the history of the village and allowed us to draw attention to its potential before we graduate.”
The Intervention is designed to provide historical information in an urban context. The goal of the projections is to inspire community members to consider the potential of currently unused buildings in their community. Through engagement and awareness, positive results can occur when active community members take action and pride in their own neighborhood.
“Getting the students out of the studio and into the community engages these young designers in a thoughtful, community-based response to social engagement,” said Rowe. “We want our students to become socially and environmentally aware leaders in the field of visual communication.”
Grafik Intervention: Sparking Urban Revitalization Through Graphic Design was originally conceived as an MFA graphic design thesis project at the Academy of Art University by William Culpepper. The event uses digital projections to engage the public through visually dynamic and compelling communication methods.
