SCAD Makes Permanent Mark on Sharpie Brand Headquarters

Patch Staff Report

Savannah College of Art and Design has partnered with Newell Rubbermaid to help the company permanently capture the essence of its brands and celebrate the company's new Sharpie brand headquarters and consumer marketing hub in Sandy Springs.

Last week, 10 SCAD students armed solely with Sharpie permanent markers — from original Fine Point to Neon and Metallics — directed and collaborated with Newell Rubbermaid marketers to turn student designs into wall murals.

The spirit of the company’s consumer brands, including Sharpie, Paper Mate®,  Calphalon®, Graco®, Goody®, Dymo® and Levolor®, will be captured in Sharpie ink on walls as large as 9 feet by 14 feet.

“Sharpie stands for self-expression, making it the perfect tool to permanently brand our new consumer marketing hub as we create a space to foster creativity and fresh thinking,” Adam DeLange, director of brand activation for Sharpie at Newell Rubbermaid, said in a news release. “SCAD’s talent and curriculum are renowned for their creativity, and we’re excited about the ideas these students are bringing as they also get an interactive real-life experience to help prepare them for future careers.”

Newell Rubbermaid and SCAD’s Collaborative Learning Center (CLC) partnership allows marketers to work directly with student consumers to leverage outside ideas and perspectives to help infuse an innovative mindset into the company’s culture and brands. The freshly redesigned marketing floor — and bold new murals — will encourage idea generation and sharing, and promote creativity and collaboration among brands.

SCAD has a strong, university-wide commitment to providing students with hands-on, collaborative learning opportunities with external partners. Through the CLC, students work on design projects with the biggest brands around the world including Microsoft, Coca Cola, Fisher-Price and Hewlett-Packard, just to name a few. Most recently, SCAD students collaborated with FOX Sports to create a concept for the opening animation of Super Bowl XLVIII in New York.


Information in this story was provided by SCAD and edited for publication.