Building Auraria: Progress in Motion

From the years 2025 through 2027, over $400 million of construction was slated to occur on Auraria Campus. From renovations to entirely new buildings, the dozens of projects would reinvigorate the campus and develop it into a modern, bustling neighborhood. However, students, faculty, and staff were going to be seeing a lot of yellow tape, and dealing with many daily inconveniences during the process.

Auraria Campus decided to unite the many construction projects under one campaign, called Building Auraria: Progress in Motion. With its own logo, webpage, and branded signage, the campaign’s goal was to make it easy for campus goers to understand what was happening and why, and get them excited for what was coming next.

I designed the logo and visual style of Building Auraria: Progress in Motion while staying under the broader Auraria Campus brand guidelines. The logo uses Interstate Compressed and appears in the brand navy or white. The text “Building Auraria” is contained in a polygon reminiscent of a building, while the upward angle at the top indicates progress and motion.

I created a color palette using six of the brand colors to unify the campaign and make it distinct from the rest of the Auraria Campus signage. The visual style is based on a grid, which gives it structure and echoes the construction that is happening. Contained within the grid are symbols of joy, nature, and the campus itself: silhouettes of iconic buildings on campus appear, as well as a sun, rainbow, and leaves. These graphic elements serve to brighten the campaign and subtly shift viewer’s negative perceptions about the construction. The vibrant color palette and positive imagery are a unique approach to construction signage that will light up Auraria Campus for the next several years.