Badger High School Interior Facility Branding Makeover

Introduction

Badger High School in Wisconsin faced a challenge familiar to many established schools: one section of the facility looked noticeably older than the rest of the campus.

Built in 1958, the original portion of the school no longer matched two newer sections constructed decades later. Rather than undertake a complete building renovation, Badger High School identified an opportunity to modernize the older athletic spaces through strategic facility branding.

After discovering BIGSIGNS at an athletic directors convention, Athletic Director Jim Kluge partnered with the BIGSIGNS team to transform outdated lockers, doors, windows, and the sports center entrance with custom graphics. DoorSkin™ Door Wraps, LockerSkin™ Locker Wraps, MicroDot™ Window Graphics, and a WonderWall™ Fabric Graphic System helped bring the aging section into the modern era while creating a stronger, more welcoming school identity.

The Challenge

Badger High School’s administrative and athletic leadership had already discussed improving the part of the building constructed in 1958.

Two other sections of the school were significantly newer—one approximately 10 years old and another approximately 20 years old. The difference in appearance made the original area feel disconnected from the rest of the campus.

This approach allowed the school to:

  • Refresh highly visible areas of the older facility

  • Cover outdated brown lockers

  • Introduce school branding across doors and windows

  • Create a more welcoming sports center entrance

  • Evaluate community response before expanding the project

  • Build a long-term plan for additional facility graphics

The BIGSIGNS Solution

Athletic Director Jim Kluge first encountered BIGSIGNS at an athletic directing convention in 2019.

After seeing the graphics and facility branding capabilities on display, Kluge recognized that BIGSIGNS could help bring Badger High School’s vision to life. The company offered multiple products that could address the school’s different surfaces while maintaining one coordinated visual identity.

LockerSkin™ Locker Wraps were used to cover the unattractive brown lockers, converting an outdated feature into a custom school branding opportunity. Instead of removing or replacing the existing lockers, Badger High School enhanced their appearance with graphics designed around the school’s identity.

Products Used

The first phase of the Badger High School facility branding project included:

  • DoorSkin™ Door Wraps

  • LockerSkin™ Locker Wraps

  • MicroDot™ Window Graphics

  • WonderWall™ Fabric Graphic System

Each product addressed a different surface while contributing to one cohesive interior branding strategy.

Project Highlights

  • Interior branding for a school section built in 1958

  • Custom graphics covering outdated brown lockers

  • DoorSkin™ graphics installed on five doors

  • MicroDot™ graphics applied to window areas

  • WonderWall™ welcome display at the sports center

  • Design process beginning in November 2019

The Results

The first wave of graphics helped Badger High School bring the older portion of its facility closer to the look and feel of the school’s newer sections.

Kluge described the project as an opportunity to make several targeted improvements, evaluate the visual impact, and build support for future phases.

“We’ve had lots of positive feedback. The community is pretty excited.”

Lessons Learned

Start with a Focused First Phase

A complete school branding transformation does not need to happen all at once.

Badger High School began with lockers, five doors, windows, and a sports center welcome display. This focused approach allowed the administration to evaluate the process, community response, and visual results before moving forward with additional phases.

Schools with budget or scheduling limitations can use the same strategy by prioritizing the most visible or outdated areas first.

Identify Existing Surfaces with Branding Potential

Outdated facility elements do not always need to be replaced to achieve a visual improvement.

Lockers, doors, windows, and entrance walls can become valuable branding surfaces when paired with the appropriate graphic product. Evaluating these existing features can reveal cost-conscious opportunities to improve a facility’s appearance.

Use Multiple Products to Create One Consistent Look

Different surfaces require different solutions.

Locker wraps, door graphics, window graphics, and fabric display systems each serve distinct purposes. The design should connect them through consistent school colors, logos, typography, and visual themes.

A coordinated system creates a stronger transformation than a collection of unrelated graphics.

Focus on High-Visibility Areas

The first phase included spaces that students, staff, athletes, families, and visitors were likely to see regularly.

Entrances, locker banks, doors, windows, and sports center displays can influence how people perceive a facility. Improving these areas first helps a school maximize the impact of its initial investment.

Plan Installation Around the School Calendar

Badger High School’s graphics were professionally installed on January 2, allowing the project to move forward during a period that could reduce interference with normal school activity.

Schools should account for academic schedules, athletic events, building access, surface preparation, and installation requirements when establishing a project timeline.

Use the First Phase to Build Momentum

Positive feedback can help generate support for future facility improvements.

Badger High School’s initial graphics gave the community a tangible example of what custom branding could accomplish. This helped the administration begin planning the next wave with greater confidence and enthusiasm.

Why LockerSkin™ Locker Wraps?

Locker banks occupy substantial visual space in many schools, athletic facilities, and team areas. When the finish looks outdated, lockers can affect the appearance of an entire hallway or room.

LockerSkin™ Locker Wraps help schools transform these prominent surfaces without allowing the existing locker color or appearance to define the space.

Custom locker graphics can:

  • Introduce school colors and logos

  • Cover unattractive or dated finishes

  • Create a more unified interior environment

  • Strengthen school and athletic branding

  • Improve high-traffic hallways and team spaces

  • Coordinate with doors, windows, walls, and welcome displays

Why DoorSkin™ Door Wraps?

Doors are often overlooked during facility branding projects, even though they are visible throughout a school.

DoorSkin™ Door Wraps turn standard doors into coordinated design elements that can feature school branding, approved imagery, colors, or messaging. When multiple doors appear within the same area, wrapping them can help create continuity across the space.

At Badger High School, five wrapped doors helped extend the transformation beyond the lockers and into additional areas of the older facility.

Why MicroDot™ Window Graphics?

Windows provide another opportunity to introduce school identity without adding permanent structural elements.

MicroDot™ Window Graphics can help schools use glass surfaces for logos, branded visuals, directional communication, or decorative enhancements. When coordinated with surrounding wall, locker, and door graphics, window graphics contribute to a more complete visual environment.

For Badger High School, MicroDot™ Window Graphics helped ensure the facility branding continued across multiple surface types.

Why WonderWall™ Fabric Graphic System?

A welcome area should establish a strong first impression.

The WonderWall™ Fabric Graphic System gave Badger High School a prominent display at the sports center, helping the entrance feel more intentional, modern, and connected to the school’s identity.

Fabric graphic systems can create large visual focal points for entrances, athletic areas, corridors, recognition displays, and other prominent interior locations. They also help schools move beyond smaller graphics by introducing a commanding branded feature into the facility.

Why BIGSIGNS?

BIGSIGNS helps schools, athletic departments, universities, parks, recreation centers, and sports venues enhance existing facilities with coordinated custom graphics.

The BIGSIGNS team combines award-winning design, custom manufacturing, premium materials, nationwide experience, and a collaborative planning process to develop solutions for a wide range of surfaces and environments.

Whether a customer is updating one entrance or planning a multi-phase facility branding program, BIGSIGNS helps identify the right products, develop a consistent visual direction, and create graphics that strengthen the experience of the space.

Ready to Transform Your Facility?

An aging area of your school does not have to feel disconnected from the rest of your campus.

Custom locker wraps, door graphics, window graphics, and fabric displays can turn overlooked surfaces into a coordinated environment that reinforces school pride and creates a stronger first impression.

Request a FREE Mock-Up from BIGSIGNS and see how your existing facility could be enhanced with custom graphics designed around your school’s colors, logos, spaces, and goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can locker wraps cover outdated locker colors?

LockerSkin™ Locker Wraps can be used to visually transform suitable locker surfaces with custom school branding, colors, logos, and approved design elements.

Can schools complete a facility branding project in phases?

Yes. Schools can begin with high-priority areas and add graphics over time. A phased strategy can support budgeting, scheduling, and long-term facility planning.

Can door, window, locker, and wall graphics share one design theme?

Yes. Coordinating colors, logos, typography, and imagery across multiple products helps create one consistent visual identity throughout the facility.

Which areas should a school brand first?

High-traffic and highly visible spaces are often strong starting points. These may include entrances, athletic areas, locker banks, hallways, doors, windows, and welcome displays.

Does BIGSIGNS renovate school buildings?

BIGSIGNS enhances existing facilities through custom graphics and branding solutions. Building construction, structural renovation, and other capital improvements are separate from the graphics and branding services provided by BIGSIGNS.