04 Mar Mills Observatory at 80
In September of 2015 I was asked to design a large format wall graphic for the Mills Observatory’s 80th birthday celebrations.
Initially it seemed a fairly straight forward piece of graphic design to present a timeline of key moments from the Observatory’s life and beyond. Following a couple of conversations about what the wall and floor art could be the creative team were happy for me to submit more illustrative solutions to the problem.
It was a great piece to work on, 1) because I don’t often do illustration work these days, and 2) because I love anything to do with space and the planets. Large format work is always challenging but very exciting to see the final results.
Apart from a series of information panels the two main pieces were a seven meter long illustration of the Solar System which incorporated a the timeline of ‘Mills’ highlights and a ‘donut’ shaped floor graphic which wrapped around the base of the Mills centre piece – the Thomas Cooke & Sons’ 10 inch refractor telescope from 1871 – in the observatory space itself.
It was tight getting the artwork completed, printed and installed for the October 23rd deadline but I couldn’t be happier with the results. The graphics are only intended to last a year – hopefully they’ll say up a little longer. Meanwhile pay a visit to the Mills and see what you think 🙂
You can find out more about the Mills Observatory here.
No Comments