Illustrated Campus Map of Western Michigan University
by Nate Padavick
Client
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Art Directors
Madeleine Lakatos Fojtik, Office of Marketing and Strategic Communications
Creative Brief
Western Michigan University commissioned Nate Padavick to create an illustrated map of their campus that features not only significant buildings but also includes many aspects of student life.
Project Goals
The goal of this map was to inspire and inform prospective students of the many opportunities—beyond an exceptional education— that are open to them at Western Michigan University. Nate conveyed the campus’ dynamic energy by infusing the map with illustrations of students playing tennis, soccer, football, hockey, and volleyball, as well as hiking, biking, jogging, walking, and even studying!
Project Realization
The map was included as a full spread within a 14-page, 12" x 9" booklet, given to all prospective students who visit the campus.
Creative Process
In addition to inspiring students to attend Western Michigan University, this map needed to be a useful tool for helping a first-time visitor navigate the campus. Therefore, accuracy was critical. As the campus is quite complex a variety of sources were referenced and cross-checked. From previous campus maps to architectural site plans to Google Earth, each source provided its own level of detail. The client review process iterated over several rounds of feedback and revisions. The ultimate product was an error-free map that was a useful and inspiring source for incoming students.
Materials
This map was created in Adobe Illustrator by Nate Padavick, using vector brushes and his hand-drawn font Bubble. AI was not used in the creation of this illustration.
Additional
Images
Detail image featuring notable buildings on campus
Detail image featuring students on campus
This is the map that the client wanted to replace with something more illustrative and fun.
This is the first rough sketch of the potential layout. At this early stage, the map was to be poster-sized.
This is a round of revisions, noted by the art director at an early stage of the project.