Reception wall at Pritchatt's House Hub reading 'Make your dream a reality' in bold type, over teal line illustrations of Old Joe, a piggy bank and alarm clocks, beside a circular reception and information sign

Category & Discipline

Pritchatt's
House Hub

Client:University of Birmingham
Category:Student Services, Wall Graphics, Internal Dressing
Services:Illustration, Typography, Print, Graphic Design

Pritchatt's House Hub presented an opportunity to transform an everyday university environment into a space that felt vibrant, welcoming and connected to student life.

Working with the University of Birmingham, the aim was to develop an internal dressing concept that combined bold typography and illustration, bringing together familiar references from both the University and the wider city.

Installed stairwell graphic reading 'Pritchatts Park Village' in white type on a teal illustrated wall, with a timber handrail across it
Moodboard of bold typographic and street-art references in red, blue and cream, including New York poster art and hand-painted lettering
Photographs of installed doodle-style wall graphics, including a 'People Life' mural and students using the space
Typeface specimen board for Akzidenz-Grotesk, showing regular, medium, bold and black weights Typeface specimen board for Baskerville, showing regular, italic, semi bold and bold weights
Colour palette board on dark navy, with CMYK swatches in white, pale mint and teal
Interior design pack — annotated elevations with specification tags, alongside 3D renders of the reception lobby, study lounge and seating areas
Architectural sections through the building, with the graphic zones highlighted in yellow and red
Architectural drawings setting out the first-floor building graphics, with elevations and a stair detail
Teal line illustrations of a Commonwealth Games medal, the Old Joe clock tower, the Birmingham bull and a West Midlands Metro tram

Bringing Student
Life Into the Space

The creative direction was built around an expressive mix of typography and hand-drawn, doodle-inspired illustration. Taking cues from the visual language of emojis and social media, the approach created a playful and instantly recognisable style suited to a student audience.

Illustrations referenced everything from Old Joe and the Birmingham skyline to the Bullring, student life and wider cultural landmarks, allowing the environment to tell a broader story about studying and living in Birmingham.

Blue line illustration of a University of Birmingham building drawn in a single-weight outline style Blue line illustration of a University building facade drawn in a single-weight outline style
Grid of hand-drawn doodle icons — microscope, test tubes, theatre masks, seedling, open book, hourglass, graduation cap, globe and camera
Contact sheet of wall graphic concepts alongside photographs of the finished installation
Reference board pairing photographs of Birmingham landmarks — a Commonwealth Games medal, the Bullring bull, Old Joe, the Barber Institute, the Floozie in the Jacuzzi and the Library of Birmingham — with their illustrated counterparts
Stairwell artwork plan reading 'The future is now', with magnified callouts showing the illustration layer in detail
Annotated stairwell artwork plan for 'Pritchatts Park Village', with callouts marking the Birmingham city silhouette, hero text, positive affirmation and digital screens
Installed stairwell mural reading 'The future is now' in white and navy over a pale blue illustrated wall, beside the staircase
Close view of the 'The future is now' mural, showing the layered drop shadow and the teal doodle background behind it
The 'The future is now' stairwell mural seen through the white balustrade, with the Barber Institute illustration alongside
Installed stairwell graphic reading 'Pritchatts Park Village' in white type on a teal illustrated wall, with a timber handrail across it
The 'Pritchatts Park Village' stairwell graphic with a timber handrail, next to a digital screen displaying a welcome message
Reception wall reading 'Make your dream a reality' over teal line illustrations, beside a circular reception and information sign
The 'Make your dream a reality' reception wall seen from the stair landing, with the circular information sign at its centre
Wide view of the reception landing, with the 'Make your dream a reality' wall graphic beyond the balustrade and study seating in the foreground

From Concept
to Environment

The finished environment brings together University identity, Birmingham culture and student experience within one cohesive graphic language.

What began as an exploration of doodles, illustration and expressive typography developed into a flexible internal dressing system that gives Pritchatt's House Hub its own distinctive sense of place.

Let's work together

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