The objective of the University of Washington’s Intercollegiate Athletics program’s renovation of a section of Alaska Airlines Arena went beyond simply making a space greater. Their goal was to create a cutting-edge setting that would improve student-athlete performance, boost recruiting, and showcase the leadership of one of the nation’s best sports departments.

The project needed a partner who could integrate multi-stakeholder collaboration, construction awareness, and brand accuracy into a dependable process. That’s exactly where SuperGraphics came into play.

The Vision: Creating a High-Performance Training Space to Match UW’s Standards

For their men’s and women’s basketball programs, UW required a revolutionary training facility. The institution could greatly improve the athlete experience, eliminate scheduling issues between teams, and increase long-term recruitment power by converting 36,000 square feet of interior space into an innovative practice facility.

The creative direction came from Gallagher, UW’s branding and experience design partner. They gave SuperGraphics the final art files and trusted us to engineer, print, and install each component so the design concept was executed perfectly.

The expectation of a consistent visual identity across all surfaces, programmatic necessity, and creative ambition served as the foundation for this project.

Where SG Showed Up: Full-Scale Branded Interiors for High-Performing Athletes

A complete set of branded environmental graphics was created and placed by SuperGraphics throughout the renovated building. Among the deliverables were:

• Wall Murals:
  The men’s and women’s basketball teams’ practice courts are covered in more than 14,000 square feet of wall paintings. The facility’s distinctive visual focal point was these murals.
• Framed Fabric Graphics:
  Three high-end Silicone Edge Graphics that provide a polished, dimensional, and clean finish perfect for contemporary sports facilities.
• Painted Murals:
  Personalized painted artwork that links the new training facilities with the history of the old arena and strengthens the team’s identity.
• Window Graphics:
  Decorative accents and branded privacy that enhance the sense of arrival and promote athlete focus.
• Large-Scale Wallpaper Graphics
  Compelling wall coverings that bring the renovated space’s design language together.

The end product is a unified visual experience that seems purposeful, elevated, and designed for the everyday grind of collegiate athletics.

Why UW Trusted Us: A 20+ Year Partnership Built on Reliability and Results

For over 20 years, SuperGraphics has provided support to UW Athletics. Their teams are aware of our effectiveness:

• Dependability & reliability
• Precise brand implementation
• Transparent, consistent communication
• Flawless installation that adheres to strict construction timelines

As a leader in collegiate athletics, UW seeks partners that can keep up with them while preserving their brand image. We were the ideal choice for a fast-paced, multi-stakeholder project because of our background with collegiate sports facilities, our commitment to sustainable production, and our capacity for collaboration.

Managing Complexity: Multiple Stakeholders. Tight Schedules. Zero Room for Error.

This project required direct collaboration with three key groups:

• UW Athletics (Owner)
  is responsible for final approval, facility use, and long-term expectations.
• Mortenson Construction (General Contractor)
  is driving the remodeling schedule and site access.
• Gallagher (Branding Agency and EGD Partner)
  leads creative, experience strategy, and environmental graphic design.

Navigating the needs and communication styles of each partner meant our team had to be meticulous. Every update, measurement, proof, and install window had ripple effects.

The main obstacles were:

• Strict brand guidelines on large surfaces
• Matching colors in areas with mixed illumination
• Coordinating the timing of installations within a strict construction timeline
• Completing artwork for various stakeholders using various evaluation processes
• Providing robustness for intense athletic use

By grounding the process in transparent communication, SuperGraphics overcame these difficulties with ease. In order to verify site conditions, engineer materials, and maintain stakeholder alignment on deadlines and deliverables, our project management and installation teams collaborated closely with Gallagher and Mortenson. The project was able to proceed without compromising visual quality thanks to this dependability.

The Outcome: A Facility that Elevates Athlete Experience and Program Identity

The transformation is a great success in the end. Both the basketball teams, men’s and women’s, now train in a state-of-the-art, spacious, widely branded setting that boosts performance and embodies UW Athletics’ pride.

The modernized facility:

• Provides a high-impact, inspiring environment for athletes
• Enhances hiring with a cutting-edge, visually stimulating environment
• Honors the spirit and history of Husky basketball
• Offers a useful and motivating space for daily exercise.

This project exemplifies what SuperGraphics does best. Large-scale, intricate settings where collaborative problem-solving, fabrication know-how, and brand storytelling all come together to produce an amazing finished product.

We get our energy from this work: Projects that call for skill, confidence, and the capacity to transform bold, imaginative concepts into actual environments that people use on a daily basis.