City University

Digital Mosaic created a donor wall crediting all of the generous sponsors that contributed to the education and business careers of generations. Amongst the beneficiary names are the late Christopher Reeves, Stelios of Easy Jet and Sir John Cass – the founder of the CASS foundation. We were commissioned to create a donor recognition display board in honour of all the donors since the foundry of City University. The brief was to produce an installation that looked both traditional yet modern. Ease of updating names or boards regularly, was a requirement for Cass. The display needed to complement the university atmosphere. We used an illuminated donor board with toughened glass to ensure durability and safety. This formed an elegant monolith that was placed at the bottom of a winding stairwell in the reception area of the university, where gatherings and events are regularly accommodated.

An ‘old style’ serif font was used to maintain a traditional effect. Typography with a sharp appearance, enhanced font legibility. The names were vertically aligned at random, creating fluidity from one decade to the next. The font was also centred, which added to the construction’s elegant and contemporary look. In order to update the names efficiently, a printed vinyl was placed behind the glass. This was back lit with a hidden panel of energy saving lights, controlled by a timer to ensure they remained inoperative throughout the night. The Vinyl was printed with a pale green tinge effect like that caused by iron which absorbs red and blue light, to mimic traditional glass and heighten contrast. The end result was a donor wall that blended well with the glass surroundings of the City university building. Its location and illumination produced an outstandingly, beautiful, sophisticated focal point for students and visitors alike.