University of Wisconsin Eau Claire - Periscope Yearbook (Eau Claire, WI)

Page 19 text:

Kan Claire Is Expecting! Il « «luc in April lo brromr I hr prouil parrnlt of rlrvrn new bu r . In preparation for I hr arrival v» are romplrlrl rr«lrti nin ihr map , •rhedulr . uniform and adding pathfinder •l«n . chrllrr and other convenience . The e will make riding the hu a hole Nr Eaperienre. Ad hope been cart fully planned. About left: Part of the campaign before the bust come played up the We're Expecting theme Above right: Upon arrival of the blue , a eeriea of Congratulationi ade appeared Lower: More recent ade uee the Take the but in-if rad idea and point out the advantage of riding a but rather than driving a car After getting approval from the City Council and Transit Comrais-aion, the group spent many hours talking and researching before designing. According to Lawler, they were systematic in their work and after coming up with the final design and color scheme, they spent hours working on a presentation and justified everything they did in order to answer any possible doubts about the project. The entire system is based on color and graphics. Each bus has seven colors on it; no two of the buses look the same. The buses carry no ads on the sides. We didn’t design a product and then design the advertising. We designed a product as a marketing effort. Everytime it goes by it sells itself.” Lawler contends. One student agrees, saying, We wanted the design to work by itself without any distractions. A carefully planned ad campaign informing citizens of the new system preceded the buses’ arrival. When they arrived on May 1, 1975, ribboncutting ceremonies, displays and a public dance were among the events held to welcome the new system to the city. Ridership has increased with the new system, new programs have been started, and more services are expected for the future. Although most of the original 11 design students have been graduated. new students enroll in the course each semester to take up where others have left off—creating ads and doing whatever design work there is to be done for ETC. Lawler estimates a 60 per cent turnover of students in the class each year. He says that although students in the class are not required to work on the ETC project, he’d like his class to continue with it as long as they're interested and while the city needs the students’ work. 17

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I Assignment: Design and market public transit Color is a key to the ETC system The buses are colorful both inside and out and the maps, schedules and pathfinder signs are coded by color, name and number UWEC art students have pooled their talents over the past two years in a unique project—the design and marketing of a public transit system for the city. By September 1975, it was estimated that 5.000 man-hours had been spent on the Eau Claire Transit Com|»any (ETC) project. The tulent and effort of the students was reflected in a recent letter to the city by Nicholas Bade, marketing program manager for the I’rban Mass Transportation on Administration in Washington, D.C.: Congratulations for the excellent marketing program . . . (It is) easily one of the best in the country. It is comprehensive- and imaginitive.” University students got involved in the project in November 1975 when art instructor John Lawler heard of the city's decision to buy the then private transit system with federal assistance. Lawler saw this as a contemporary design problem for his advanced advertising design class. He mentioned the idea to his students who were intrigued by it. One student, a senior in commercial art. said. I personally drew an interest in the project because I had been following new graphics on planes for a long time. It would present a unique problem to solve ... a different kind of challenge. Lawler drew up a proposal to the City Council in which the students promised to produce a strong, progressive visual image for the new public transit system at no charge (except for materials) to the city. Flans included: design of the graphics in and on the buses and bus shelters, a pathfinder sign system, route maps, bus schedules, drivers' uniforms and advertising.

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LOBBY SHOPPE It had been one of those days. Your ID vanished. Your typewriter had gone bananas and you had a paper due the next day. You put a quarter in the vending machine but all you got was a groan and a click. You desperately needed a newspaper to study for that current events quiz and it was too late to go to the library. And you were in the mood for an engrossing game of chess. The Lobby Shoppe, a jack-of-all trades operation, handled these and other problems students and faculty had. Questions were answered over the counter and over the telephone (for those either far away or too shy to ask in person). The Lobby Shoppe rented typewriters; distributed schedules, directories and informational brochures; sold newspapers, Xerox, ditto and offset copies, stamps and postcards; checked out ping pong paddles and chess sets nnd provided a telephone directory service. The central Lost and Found for the campus was operated from the Lobby Shoppe. Wayward IDs, text or library books, dorm keys or other valuable items were turned in here and held for at least one week. Posters were stamped, dated and initialed here, and cards for the Wanted. For Sale. and Housing boards were approved. Reservations for the tunnel and meeting rooms for extracurricular activities were handled by the calendar secretory in one of the Lobby Shoppe’s back offices. Larry Appleyard, assistant director of University Operations, said that when the Davies Center addition is completed, there would be a new Lobby Shoppe offering more services to students and faculty, and even to the person who is just having one of those days. IS