A Place for All

Northeastern University’s Visitor Center is the hub for all prospective students to gather, attend tours, and learn about the school.

In 2025, my group was approached with a major project: reinvent the space, highlight the existing architecture (including a wall with a rotating light-up display), and complete the project in five weeks.

The Plan

We quickly brainstormed our approach, mocked up our designs to present concepts to leadership, and coordinated with our vendors to complete the project.

To highlight the central illuminated wall, we used a photo-negative design. I created a collage of key imagery, featuring each of our undergraduate campuses (Boston, London, and Oakland), and a cross-section of different majors, to create a snapshot of the Northeastern experience. This was printed on a clear vinyl substrate to take advantage of the light pattern built into the wall, and the photos come alive, changing contrast as the lights change.

I designed layered panels to be hung throughout the space, adding a sense of dimensionality to the displays.

On the lower floors, I focused on key brand elements to center the space on our identity, while keeping the focus on the main wall to draw visitors into the space. The stairs on the lower floor were treated with a fun layered application of our ring mark, which faces a large auditorium. As viewers exit the auditorium, the ring is seen in its full expression, but the illusion is revealed as the viewers move through the space.

A New Life

The project was completed on time, despite the tight timeline, just in time for Northeastern to host an international admissions conference. Our stakeholders and the people who work out of the space, from senior leadership to student ambassadors, said that the designs felt like they had always been there, as though this was how the space was originally planned.

The designs breathed a fresh feeling of life into the space and gave purpose to the existing architecture. And now the space can better welcome all of our visitors and community members, while showcasing the experience that is life at Northeastern.