Beluga Whale Signage
November 2022
Display Signage · Environmental graphics
The Brief
Turning a walk-by into a quick lesson.
Ball State's Foundational Science building added a life-size beluga whale skeleton, "Clare," suspended on its second floor. I was asked to design and illustrate a three-floor signage series so the hundreds of students and visitors who pass by each day could learn quick, accurate facts about Clare and beluga whales at large.
Design Approach
A consistent system, three different jobs.
Content came first. I sat down with staff in Ball State's science department to brainstorm what facts would actually make someone stop and read — habitat, size, behavior, the kind of details that turn a skeleton into a character. From there I researched Clare and the broader beluga population myself, and the department reviewed my drafts to confirm everything was accurate before it went to print.
Once the content was locked, every piece was built on the same navy-and-coral system: illustrated whale forms and bold, direct-address headlines ("Whale you look up?", "What is that down there?") so the three floors read as one connected experience instead of three unrelated posters.
Sketches to vectors
Early main sign draft
Seen in the Building
A skeleton exhibit, made approachable.
A first-floor poster catches the eye looking up, second-floor signage meets Clare at eye level, and a third-floor poster catches the eye looking back down — guiding visitors' attention vertically through the building the same way the skeleton itself spans multiple floors.
*QR Code on main signage is blank temporarily for construction on their website, will be inserted later
1st floor
"Whale you look up?"
2nd floor
“Clare" the Beluga Whale
3rd floor
"What is that down there?"
The Outcome
On site with the finished display
The finished series turned a striking but unexplained skeleton into a three-floor learning moment — quick enough to read in passing, detailed enough to reward a closer look. It remains on permanent display in the Foundational Science building.
