Cincinnati Mills Timeline
This was created for Swati Chopra's Timeline assignment. The project scope was to create a timeline for our concept. Allowing us to do research and production to create a timeline. In which we had to create a timeline based on something of our own interests. My approach to this design was to celebrate the legacy of this mall during its last 25 years of existence. I wanted to make sure that it would fit within the standards of what the Mills Corporation would have produced when the mall was new.
My goal was to capture the spirit and legacy of the mall, designing in a style that reflects the original branding of the Mills Corporation. The look and feel were inspired by the mall’s iconic street sign, with layout influences from Hayyan Creative Studio. The Cincinnati Mills logo featured is the original, created by the Mills Corporation.
Early Concepts
During the conceptual stage the rough concepts I came up with were to allow the readers eyes to easily flow throughout the piece. Out of the four rough concepts the far right one was the design I went forward with.
Research
Making sure this was as historically accurate was important. Using a large variety of sources from Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati Post, and official Forest Fair sites. I was able to gather a complete timeline of the mall from 1986 to 2024. The images were also important for the timeline only using imagery from the news, The Mills Corporation, photographers I got permission for, and my own personal archive. In the end I had over 200 photos and a 17 page research document.
First Design Draft
The initial design concept was to create a long scroll which would be split into two sections. One featuring the Forest Fair Mall era and the other half featuring the Cincinnati Mills/Mall era. Due to size, time, and resources it was scaled back to just the Cincinnati Mills/Mall era.
Cincinnati Mills Timeline Design Drafts
