The Phipps Center for the Arts overlooks Lakefront Park on the banks of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway in downtown Hudson, Wisconsin.
Though “The Phipps” had been a city staple for decades, it’s signage and exterior identity lead to confusion as to what the campus actually offered. For the uninitiated, questions came to mind wondering whether the campus were possibly a government center, possibly a library, who knew? The lack of identity was in need of clarity.
White Design Group was asked to establish a new identity presence for the arts center. By uniquely combining metals, woods, lighting, and digital displays, WDG integrated artful and creative signage into the existing architecture, while also adhering to strict DNR and municipal restrictions. Especially challenging was the municipal approval process – as the center was located in three separate overlay districts, including the aforementioned Wisconsin DNR requirements. WDG not only lead design, development, project, production, and installation management, but also coordinated the daunting municipal and public approval process.