Here are yet more thoughts after a weekend of sun and junk food.
WE WILL
Continuing with the Jack Trice patch ideas--many have seen the interior of Iowa State's Fiesta Bowl rings that had a combo of the five stripes and ISU's internal slogan "We Will" which neatly sidesteps some potential legal issues with "I Will" and Under Armour. I wonder if it would make sense to have that be the updated patch or move it up to the back of helmets? Just musing here.
Pssst .... speaking of the design of that image, I'm not sure why the last "L" runs past the stripes. I would push the "WILL" over a bit to the left so the entire text fits neatly within the stripes above it. Details matter!
MORE CY NEWS
John Walters just announced he has a children's book coming out this fall with our favorite feathered avian. (It's possible that cover image may be a placeholder until the finished project comes together.) I'll be curious to see how this turns out.
This reminded me of one of my favorite projects in recent memory, which was the ISU Alumni Association book Cy's Surprise that was a joint project by Kate Bruns and Tara Gartin. I'm sure some of you have this book.
NEZ SCULPTURE
As I noted on Twitter a long time ago, initial versions of the NEZ plaza design had a five stripe sculpture design near the street and the same motif was continued with the locker room and elsewhere. Subsequent versions have apparently eliminated this sculpture, likely as a cost measure given the pandemic. I would like to see more creativity here.
I'm reminded of this great sculpture in Anthem, Arizona that is perfectly illuminated once a year on Memorial Day. One of my initial ideas a while back was to do something with his letter and looking at these pictures, it's easy to conceptualize something that incorporates the stripes (if ISU insists on continuing this motif) and some key phrases from Jack's letter that get illuminated on his anniversary date. That's just one idea.
ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT
Some mixed thoughts here--last summer, the ISU Archives acquired the oldest Ames baseball uniform known to exist. It's simply amazing and I find myself thinking about it at the most random times. I'm also a sucker for themed areas like Scheels, Disneyland, Rainforest Cafe, etc. I also believe that mini golf is the finest sport to exist on the face of this earth. I also know that an ISU Athletics/History Museum would easily surpass the Smithsonian in annual visitors.
Since ISU sport events are relatively limited, I wonder what can be done to create a compelling draw for the entire year. Thus, why not create an elaborately themed interior space where multiple experiences can benefit from the same shared design elements. Imagine a massive building that is segmented into smaller areas. Maybe something like this...
One corner has a restaurant with tables that are "outside" in a "cornfield" surrounded by antique farming equipment and a large barn with retro movies playing on the side of it. The scent of Mama's cherry pies (via Veishea) and buttered popcorn wafts through the air as stars twinkle overhead.
The same cornfield continues into another corner of the building where there is a Haunted Maze mini golf course with an elaborate landscape and some actual stuff on loan from Reiman Gardens (as a teaser for them). Of course there has to be an antique rural Main Street along the course with buildings that are not quite full size.
The other side of those same Main Street buildings form another corner and serve as retail shops selling fun things like ISU apparel, fudge, local projects from students and organizations, etc.
The last corner pulls all of these design elements together to serve as a period backdrop for an ISU Museum of the Jack Trice story, the baseball uniform, ISU discoveries, and rotating exhibits.
I'm in for $10 million. Anyone else?
WE WILL
Continuing with the Jack Trice patch ideas--many have seen the interior of Iowa State's Fiesta Bowl rings that had a combo of the five stripes and ISU's internal slogan "We Will" which neatly sidesteps some potential legal issues with "I Will" and Under Armour. I wonder if it would make sense to have that be the updated patch or move it up to the back of helmets? Just musing here.
Pssst .... speaking of the design of that image, I'm not sure why the last "L" runs past the stripes. I would push the "WILL" over a bit to the left so the entire text fits neatly within the stripes above it. Details matter!
MORE CY NEWS
John Walters just announced he has a children's book coming out this fall with our favorite feathered avian. (It's possible that cover image may be a placeholder until the finished project comes together.) I'll be curious to see how this turns out.
This reminded me of one of my favorite projects in recent memory, which was the ISU Alumni Association book Cy's Surprise that was a joint project by Kate Bruns and Tara Gartin. I'm sure some of you have this book.
NEZ SCULPTURE
As I noted on Twitter a long time ago, initial versions of the NEZ plaza design had a five stripe sculpture design near the street and the same motif was continued with the locker room and elsewhere. Subsequent versions have apparently eliminated this sculpture, likely as a cost measure given the pandemic. I would like to see more creativity here.
I'm reminded of this great sculpture in Anthem, Arizona that is perfectly illuminated once a year on Memorial Day. One of my initial ideas a while back was to do something with his letter and looking at these pictures, it's easy to conceptualize something that incorporates the stripes (if ISU insists on continuing this motif) and some key phrases from Jack's letter that get illuminated on his anniversary date. That's just one idea.
ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT
Some mixed thoughts here--last summer, the ISU Archives acquired the oldest Ames baseball uniform known to exist. It's simply amazing and I find myself thinking about it at the most random times. I'm also a sucker for themed areas like Scheels, Disneyland, Rainforest Cafe, etc. I also believe that mini golf is the finest sport to exist on the face of this earth. I also know that an ISU Athletics/History Museum would easily surpass the Smithsonian in annual visitors.
Since ISU sport events are relatively limited, I wonder what can be done to create a compelling draw for the entire year. Thus, why not create an elaborately themed interior space where multiple experiences can benefit from the same shared design elements. Imagine a massive building that is segmented into smaller areas. Maybe something like this...
One corner has a restaurant with tables that are "outside" in a "cornfield" surrounded by antique farming equipment and a large barn with retro movies playing on the side of it. The scent of Mama's cherry pies (via Veishea) and buttered popcorn wafts through the air as stars twinkle overhead.
The same cornfield continues into another corner of the building where there is a Haunted Maze mini golf course with an elaborate landscape and some actual stuff on loan from Reiman Gardens (as a teaser for them). Of course there has to be an antique rural Main Street along the course with buildings that are not quite full size.
The other side of those same Main Street buildings form another corner and serve as retail shops selling fun things like ISU apparel, fudge, local projects from students and organizations, etc.
The last corner pulls all of these design elements together to serve as a period backdrop for an ISU Museum of the Jack Trice story, the baseball uniform, ISU discoveries, and rotating exhibits.
I'm in for $10 million. Anyone else?
