THE EVANISKO PROJECT
Featured in the Pattee and Paterno Library’s Collaboration Commons, the Evanisko project is a grant funded initiative to showcase student work from The Penn State College of Arts and Architecture’s Graphic Design Department.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
The purpose of the Evanisko project is to enrich the University Libraries, funding a three-year long collaboration with the Department of Graphic Design. This benefits the University Libraries by establishing a program for highlighting student work in the Libraries, increasing the visibility of the Collaboration Commons and the University Libraries as an exhibit center for thought provoking and vibrant student works, and establishing a relationship with a new department and further strengthening our partnership with the College of Arts and Architecture.
The Libraries currently employs several large digital displays in the Collaboration Commons to promote University Libraries collections and services among other features of the University. At the completion of the Evanisko Project, these digital displays will be enhanced by a program of routinely scheduled showcases of student work, potentially reaching into other areas of the Knowledge Commons and atrium.
THE DESIGN PROCESS
The Evanisko Project is an iterative project stretching over six semesters from the Spring Semester of 2021, to the Fall Semester of 2023.
Each iteration of the project completes three main tasks over the course of three semesters, User Research and Studies (semester 1), Project Planning and Development (semester 2), and Production of a Finished Product (semester 3).
MIKE AND CYNTHIA EVANISKO
Mike Evanisko earned an undergraduate degree in labor-management relations from the College of the Liberal Arts in 1971 and a master’s degree in public administration in 1973. Though Cynthia is a loyal graduate of the University of Denver, she shares Mike’s enthusiasm for Penn State, the University Libraries, and the partnership with the Department of Graphic Design.
Mike and Cynthia Evanisko are longtime supporters of the University Libraries and public art at Penn State, funding the installation and development of several art and design projects at the University.
“We value the role that the library and the arts play in the life of the University and have been impressed by how the library has evolved over the years. Through this gift, we are pleased to fund a partnership that will help establish the Collaboration Commons as an environment where visitors are motivated to explore, learn and evolve their thinking.“
-Mike Evanisko
Penn State University Libraries
The Evanisko Project