Branded Environments: Creating Engagement Through Experiential Graphic Design

Branded Environments Creating Engagement Through Experiential Graphic Design

Jennifer Boyles // Experiential Graphic Designer Ellie Dawson // Visual Communications Designer ©LS3P 2023

When the story of a building calls for an immersive experience, Experiential Graphic

These visual stories are equally effective at the room scale or the city scale. A

Designers know how to rise to a challenge. EGD extends far beyond signage, and can

two-story mural at the entry of Robert Smalls International Academy unites the

help transform a space into an environment that communicates, educates, welcomes,

school community around the inspiring story of its namesake, a former slave who

and inspires.

led a daring escape, while a district-scale branding effort for the Myrtle Beach Arts & Innovation District helps to bridge distances across “people, place and time”

LS3P officially launched EGD as an in-house service in 2020 with Experiential Graphic

with a strong identity. At any scale, EGD is most successful and immersive when it

Designer Jennifer Boyles at the helm. Visual Communications Designer Ellie Dawson

integrates fully with the architecture - for example, with weaving images between

joined the team full-time in 2023, and both Boyles and Dawson are passionate

subtle 3-dimensional “portals” down a hallway as students traverse a graphic timeline.

about the impact of their work. “Experiential graphics allow us to saturate the built

A slight shift of planes accentuates the graphics and creates a sense of progression,

environment with communication and connection,” Boyles explains. “How we feel

but the opportunity arose because the whole team was able to discuss strategy in the

about a space dictates our experience within the space – and we as designers can

conceptual phase.

play a big part in creating positive experiences.”

Hand in hand with architecture and interior design, EGD is a powerful tool to celebrate

“Experiential graphics allow us to saturate the built environment with communication & connection. How we feel about a space dictates our experience within the space - and we as designers can play a big part in creating positive experiences.”

the community, identity, and story of a place. EGD can help people navigate, or provide information, or inspire; in any case, according to Boyles and Dawson, “people are going to feel something.”

Boyles remembers visiting one of the first EGD projects she designed, the MUSC Children’s Health R. Keith Summey Pavilion, and talking with a parent about her child’s experience of the space. Having experienced frequent doctor’s visits from a young

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age, this child had learned to be afraid of medical environments and struggled during appointments in other buildings. In the Pavilion’s bright, interactive, and child-friendly environment, however, she loved picking out marine life on the walls and insisted on visiting every floor of the building each time before leaving the building. The EGD transformed the entire patient and family experience.

EGD is a key part of a holistic “branded environment” – one which tells a story of a place in a way that creates a sense of inclusion, shared history, and welcome. It’s also most effective when the EGD team is integrated with the architectural team from the earliest stages of a project. “When we’re involved in the design from the kickoff meeting, we can truly understand the holistic design concept behind a space, and we can find visual ways to represent the ‘gold nugget’ of the design,” says Dawson. “EGD

As LS3P’s Experiential Graphic Design specialist, Jen Boyles collaborates with the team from the earliest stages of design to develop a comprehensive approach to branding and graphics. She seamlessly integrates these elements with interior design, architecture, and programming to effectively communicate your distinctive vision and culture.

is essentially storytelling. We get to help create spaces where everyone feels included in a shared identity or history.”

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With a fervent drive to bring people and places together, Designer Ellie Dawson, harnesses the power of research and local community assets to inspire peacemaking practices. Drawing upon her extensive background in branding, she relishes the opportunity to creatively solve problems through storytelling and illustration.