- Identity
- Environmental
The University Student Union (USU) serves as the core of campus life at California State University, San Marcos (CSUSM), by providing innovative welcoming spaces that inspire community engagement and campus pride. Designed by Hornberger + Worstell, the new USU building is the heartbeat of the CSUSM student experience where students, faculty, staff and administrators connect to the campus and the community through an outdoor amphitheater surrounded by the new building with two flanking wings featuring large lounge/cafe areas on either side.
Working with the architects and campus administrators, Propp+Guerin was chartered with creating the new identity system for the USU, along with exterior and interior architectural signage and environmental graphics throughout the building.
Separate designs for the USU, Campus Recreation, Events & Conference Services and University Village Apartments were all created and included a Signature, Seal, Wordmark and Monogram versions for each.
Digitized textures were also created from the colorful lichon found on desert flora across the natural landscape of the campus. As graphic wall coverings, they were used to highlight and differentiate the various entrances to the multitude of campus services found throughout the building.
Featuring eight colorful, oversized-pixelated images, with each communicating the service offering of that office, are easily deciphered when viewed from a far distance, but rather turn into a large colorful abstract texture inspiring one’s own imagination as they enter through the doorway.
