A History Since 1981 on a Wall: A Corridor Identity Wall for CMU's Department of Medical Laboratory Science

The department wanted its bare corridor wall to tell its story without turning into a stiff bulletin board. We used circles and organic color blocks in the department's identity colors to bring its milestones, since its founding in 1981, into one wall that is both readable and worth a second look.

Year: 2026
Client: China Medical University, Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology (中國醫藥大學醫學檢驗生物技術學系)
Services: Environmental Graphics 、 Brand Identity
Topic: 公部門

China Medical University Department of Medical Laboratory Science corridor identity wall application | Howdy Creative

Challenge

The original corridor wall had nothing but paint, alongside a fire hydrant, an electrical panel, and other fixed equipment, with no identity or department introduction of any kind. The department chair wanted the wall to convey the department's history and professional image without falling into a generic stock-graphic look. The wall also needed to keep a magnetic section for future notices, all while meeting the university's requirement that wall materials be fire-rated.

Goal

Within a limited budget and the constraints of the existing wall, design a corridor identity wall that represents the professional image of the Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology while clearly presenting its history, founding, renaming, and the launch of its master's program, and that keeps a magnetic area for posting notices while working around the existing electrical panel, fire hydrant, and ID card reader.

Completed identity wall for the Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, blue-green timeline and department emblem — The department identity wall: a corridor wall that starts with the founding year

Installation of the identity wall, technician aligning cut graphics with a laser level — On site: aligning each cut graphic to keep the layout precise

Approach

Built the design around the department emblem's blue-green palette, paired with microscope, DNA, and test-tube imagery, using large organic color blocks instead of a rigid grid layout to give the wall movement rather than the feel of a standard bulletin board.
Organized the department's milestones, its 1981 founding, 2004 renaming, and 2005 launch of the master's program, into a timeline running along the wall, presented bilingually in Chinese and English for different audiences.
Produced the graphics with computer-cut vinyl on foam board and added a magnetic layer, keeping part of the wall available for ongoing department notices alongside the identity design.
Measured the existing electrical panel and emergency equipment on site before production, designing the graphics to route around these required fixtures, then finished the installation with PVC adhesive printing and a trim frame for a clean edge.

Full corridor view of the completed identity wall, DNA and test-tube graphics extending toward the lab entrance — The wall extends to the lab entrance, finishing with DNA and test-tube imagery

Another angle of the identity wall, blue color blocks extending toward a virology lab doorway — Organic color blocks extend to the doorway, routed around existing sensors and emergency equipment

Wide corridor view with the lab door open, showing the full depth of the identity wall — A deep corridor view where the identity wall blends naturally with the existing space

Outcome

The bare corridor wall became a complete identity wall presenting the department's history since its 1981 founding, giving the department a concrete visual identity for the first time while preserving flexibility for future notices. It passed final inspection in July 2026.

Completed wide view of the identity wall as part of everyday corridor life for faculty and students — Life after completion: the identity wall as part of the corridor's everyday use

FAQ

Questions people ask
about projects like this.

How do you keep a campus identity wall from looking like a stiff bulletin board?

We build the design around the department's identity colors and imagery drawn from its field, in this case organic color blocks paired with medical laboratory motifs, so the wall has visual movement while still keeping a clear information hierarchy.

What should a department prepare before commissioning a corridor identity wall?

It helps to gather the department's key milestone years and events in advance, along with an on-site wall measurement marking existing fixtures like electrical panels and fire hydrants, so the design team can route the graphics around obstacles from the start.

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