How can an outlet to sell creative work benefit University of Florida's School of Art + Art History and its students?
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Branding
The Fridge
The Fridge is a pop-up shop that was created from the ground up in 2016 for the School of Art + Art History (SA+AH) at University of Florida as an avenue for selling art and design work by UF students, SA+AH faculty, and alumni. The Fridge is based on the tradition of hanging one’s best work up on the refrigerator with pride. It is a third space that isn’t a studio or a gallery, and all the work inside is #fridgeworthy.
As part of the spatial design team (alongside McKenna Wilson and Brianna Ostrowski), which was responsible for design decisions about the atmosphere and layout of the shop itself, an empty storefront was transformed into an playful and functional retail space. Material choices echo those that might be found in the fridge: a saran-wrapped wooden checkout desk we constructed, a photo booth in an interactive interior room (known as "The Freezer"), a vintage refrigerator, and oversized laser-cut wooden food items hanging in the main storefront window display.
Since its inception, the shop has made a couple of appearances using the brand guidelines created by myself and Caroline Staniski as part of the Mint Design Studio guided by Professor Ariella Mostkoff. The most recent appearance was organized and executed by Professor Gaby Hernández and myself in Feb 2018.
View the entire brand guide here and read more about the shop here. This brand guide received a Gold American Advertising Award (ADDY) at the local level in 2017.
Photos by Brianna Ostrowski and Ashley Fuchs.
Client /
University of Florida School of Art + Art History
Role /
Spatial Design
Event Planning
Collaborators /
Ariella Mostkoff
McKenna Wilson
Ashley Fuchs
Year /
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October 2016
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Interior Treatments: The Fridge
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1. logo mark:
hand-painted sign on main wall
2. checkout counter:
light wood wrapped in saran wrap
3. front window display:
oversized hanging food items & lights
4. in-wall shelving:
installed throughout the space
View on Entry
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The logomark uses vintage typographic stylization comparable to many fridge logos from the 1950s.
Designed by Caroline Staniski.
The Fridge at Night
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LED adhesive strip lighting framed the windows, reminiscent of the flood of light that occurs when one opens the refrigerator door at night to find food inside.
Oversized Food Cutouts
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Oversized food items of various shapes that could be found in a typical fridge were hung with transparent fishing line in the main storefront window in order to draw shoppers' attention to the display.
Shelving
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The space had many slat walls, allowing almost any wall space to hold shelves.
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Interior Treatments: The Freezer
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1. photo booth:
accents, lights, metallic backdrop
2. wooden letters:
to distinguish from main selling space
3. "ice cube tray"
drawing desk full of creative supplies
4. vintage fridge:
painted pink
Photo Booth
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vintage milk bottles swirled with paint on the inside and topped off with straws, hung at staggering heights
Wooden Letters
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Big, bold letters distinguish The Freezer from the main selling space of The Fridge.
Ice Cube Tray
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The Freezer's purpose is to serve as a welcoming and interactive environment. It facilitates expression, whether artistic or child-like, by offering supplies to draw with and clothes pin line to display drawings.
Vintage Fridge
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A vintage Frigidaire refrigerator supplemented the space. It was cleaned, de-rusted, and painted pink in accordance with the brand color palette. It stored and dispensed popsicles on the opening night of the pop-up shop.
Social Media
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custom Snapchat filter based on location
Outcomes
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The Fridge pop-up shop was open for two weeks. So many student, faculty, and alumni submitted work that, even after curating, works were rotated out in order to try to show everything in the limited space. It was the first time that students of University of Florida's School of Art + Art History had an organized sale outlet, and many people who submitted successfully sold work. The pop-up also sold some self-branded merchandise, the proceeds of which went directly the School itself.
Students involved in the creation of The Fridge were able to see a professional design project through from start to finish; many students who submitted experienced selling their work, and all the learning curves that come with that experience, for the first time.
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Selected Process
"Magnet" Wall & Checkout Counter
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The first iteration for the main wall of the space took its inspiration from fridge magnets. The checkout counter would be constructed with wood and saran wrap. This idea later evolved to become simplified and elegant, so it wouldn't visually compete with the art and design work being sold.
Hand-Painting the Logo
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The logo was projected onto the main wall of the space, traced, and hand-painted in mint green and pastel pink.
TWO 4'7"
TEN 3'2"
6' x 1'9"
3' x 1'9"
FOUR 1'5"
TWO 3'0"
TWO 6'0"
TWO 5'10"
BIRCH SHEET
BIRCH
SHEET
Checkout Counter Kit of Parts
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Lengths and sizes of wood used to construct the checkout counter. All pieces (except tabletop birch sheets) are 2" x 4" plywood that can be purchased at hardware stores.
Checkout Counter Material Economy
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We purchased eleven 2" x 4" plywood, 8' in length, and cut them as shown. The tabletop is a large 1/4" birch sheet, which both pieces were cut from.
Counter Assembly Step 1*
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nail three 3'2" boards to the 6' boards
*more detailed steps in the brand guidelines on pages 38-41
Step 2
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nail three 3'2" boards to the 6' boards to the 5'10" boards, then flip and nail two more 3'2" boards
Step 3
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nail two 3'2" boards to the edges of two of the 1'5" boards
Step 4
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connect the frames built in Steps 1-3 with the 4'7" boards
Step 5
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nail the remaining 1'5" boards to the other side of the frame
Step 6
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nail the 3' boards to the back, completing the frame
Step 7
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nail the tabletop to the frame
Completed Checkout Counter
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Some of the textures from the first iteration floor plan remained, such as the iridescent saran wrapped base.
"Food Prep"
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Laser-cut wooden food items are prepared to hang at various depths within the main storefront window display.
Designed by McKenna Wilson.
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December 2017
Sandwich Board
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We put out a sign to attract passersby on the street. We aim to continuously grow our reach beyond just the student body.
Pegboard Stands
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custom-built pegboard stands were assembled onsite to hang creative work in an engaging way
Designed by Ashley Fuchs.
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branded merch (Mint Design Studio organizes the Fridge)
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t-shirt retail display
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CNC cut wooden sign
Outcomes
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The Fridge pop-up shop was open for two days. 233 people responded to the event on Facebook. Over $1000 in sales were made. Many of the same students who had submitted to the inaugural Fridge pop-up submitted their work to be sold again. This indicates that the experience was worthwhile for those submitting.
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February 2018
photos coming soon
