Eastern Visual Arts Student Matthew Pappalardo of Mansfield Center Creates Billboard Design Commemorating Eastern Connecticut State University's 125th Anniversary

2014 Dec 22

A group of students in Professor June Bisantz's ECSU Design Group class created designs for five local billboards commemorating Eastern Connecticut State University's 125th anniversary.

Matthew Pappalardo '15 of Mansfield Center, CT, was one of the five students that created a billboard design. Pappalardo's billboard design profiles 1914-1939 and is located on Bridge Street in Willimantic. Pappalardo's major is Visual Arts and his minor is Communication.

Each billboard depicts a visual timeline of 25 years, told in yearbook photos taken from Eastern's archives. The photos are presented against a backdrop of Eastern's architecture of the corresponding time period.

"This was a wonderful opportunity for the Eastern Design Group - a rare chance to design and produce something for public space. Creating a successful billboard requires sophisticated design skills as well as digital expertise - the scale involved alone presents a challenge. Another great aspect of this project is its historical component, which necessitated research and thoughtful, considered image choices that tell the story of Eastern's history and express the students' pride in their undergraduate institution. It is always a joy to work with such talented young people - I'm very proud of them - and I hope the Windham community will join us in this celebration of Eastern's 125-year history," said Bisantz.