Cultural Artifacts | Civilla

Made from Detroit denim, these aprons are a uniform of sorts, a reminder of the design mindset and a handy way to keep all the sticky notes and sharpies you need with you.

the Civilla motto in a 3x4 ft. laser-cut sign;

WHY IT MATTERS:

Entrances are important. With design it's easy to get lost in ideas and process, and Civilla needed a grounding way to greet visitors and employees alike. Now, a giant mission statement reminds everyone who walks in the door exactly what the company is all about.

A go-anywhere, hold-anything A-frame, rolling prototyping station;

WHY IT MATTERS:

The human centered design process is a messy, iterative cycle. Civilla's space however, didn't need to be. Their prototyping needed to be grounded in a clean, organized way, while still holding true to the d.school roots of modularity and mobility. This rack became the answer.

limited edition of hand-set letterpress prints inspired by the city of Detroit;

WHY IT MATTERS:

One of the important tenets of Civilla's founder's vision as an intersection of the arts and design. Here, the city and its breadth of street art and geometric building forms served as material for a printing process grounded deeply in mechanization.

screen-printed T-shirts for team members;

WHY IT MATTERS:

Because every brand needs an icon, and every icon needs to see the light of day. Worn with pride by Civilla folk and as with the letterpress prints, an iterative symbol of the city.

and lastly, a prototyping wall made from turn-of-the-century reclaimed Detroit doors.

WHY IT MATTERS:

Detroit was founded over 300 years ago; design thinking, about 30 years ago. Paying a homage to the history of the city, and it's new story of change, we salvaged a set of hundred year old doors and created a modular storyboard, work-wall and space holder.

Plenty of little slice-of-life sketches;

WHY IT MATTERS:

Moments of joy are indispensable to everyday life. Quick sketches during meetings, user profiles drawings, sticky notes of employees faces, all proliferated through the space, providing moments of unexpected recollection and thought.