LAUSD Polytechnic High School

Environmental Graphics

At LAUSD Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley, California, environmental graphics revitalized the new high school with contemporary branding.

Client

Los Angeles Unified School District. Polytechnic High School completed an architectural remodel. To represent the school’s identity, I featured  their mascot, a parrot, in a sharp, modern style reflective of their new campus look.

Project completed as Graphic Designer with CO Architects.

Project

A striking mural to decorate the new dining pavilion, the campus focal point. The school colors are yellow and blue, and the mascot is parrot, which was originally depicted as a simple yellow bird. I developed a realistic parrot using these colors, and created a gradient to shift from the warm to cool hues across the length of the wall.

Design

The client wanted to utilize vinyl graphics for all of the walls, which inspired an intricate design portraying the parrot mascot in a geometric style. The contractor then determined paint would be more resilient, and therefore the design had to be simplified. We reworked the design into a paintable version, which would be easier for the school to touch up and maintain. The polygon shapes used all had to be sized up to at least six inches, and our color palette was limited to 25 shades. Once this was approved, I created a paint by numbers style guide, the design was projected onto the wall, the lines of the triangles were taped off and the design was painted onto the wall.

Original Design

Simplified design based on client's feedback

Further simplified design, limited color palette to be done with paint rather than printed on vinyl

Paint guide

Paint guide, highlighting one shade at a time

Final installation