Overview
The City of Sheboygan’s Planning and Development Department and Department of Public Works is seeking design proposals from local artists for vinyl graphics wraps on utility control boxes. Designs should relate to the culture, history, important people, and/or landscape of Sheboygan. It is encouraged but not required to make a design relating to the location of the specific utility control box that it is to be applied to. This project is intended to transform dull utility cabinets into visually appealing, enjoyable additions to the public right of way. The utility box design project is funded by a federal grant for placemaking.
Eligibility
This Request for Proposals (RFP) is open to experienced artists who live within the City of Sheboygan. Previous experience working on public art is not necessary but applicants will be required to submit images of their past artwork. An applicant can only be selected once for a design submittal unless the City decides otherwise.
Reward
Proposals are allowed to be submitted any number of individuals but the reward is to be split among each applicant.
Deadline
Please submit any proposal by 4:30 pm on June 30, 2021. Interested artists are to submit digital designs and/or questions to:
Chad Pelishek
City of Sheboygan Planning and Development Director
920-459-3383
chad.pelishek@sheboyganwi.gov
The Vinyl Wrap Process
Designs selected by the city will be printed on a vinyl wrap and applied to a city utility control boxes. The City is responsible for procedures and costs involving contracting a vendor to properly apply the vinyl wrap. Vinyl wraps may be made with graffiti-resistant materials to help prevent vandalism and make the cleaning process easier. DESIGNS MUST BE PROPERLY SCANNED OR DIGITALLY CREATED. Any physical copy must also include a well-formatted digital version or the project will not be considered. Please note that vents, windows, meters, and occasionally other features of the utility control box cannot be wrapped so artists should take this into account when designing or even incorporate those features into their designs.
Available Locations
- Mead Public Library
- 7th Street across from JMKAC
- 9th Street & Pennsylvania Avenue southeast corner
- Roundabout on S. 8th Street just east of Four of a Kind
- 25th Street and Kohler Memorial Drive
- 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue southeast corner
- Calumet Drive and North Avenue southeast corner
- Several Boardwalk locations
Application Process
Include name, email address, home address, phone number, and please attach to the email:
- Artistic Résumé and/or artist biography. A résumé should describe any history of contracted public mural or other contracted art work. A biography should give a background of the artist’s life, their inspirations, styles, etc.
- Portfolio: Three to five relevant examples of the artist’s previous work. (JPEG format and 5 MB maximum please). The examples can be in any medium but it is recommended to include at least one 2D example.
- Final design for utility control box (JPEG format or Full-page PDF).
a. Please provide a detailed description and explanation for each design describing: themes, significance, inspirations, symbols, etc.
b. If any design is for a certain location, please specify which location it is for.
c. Each artist or team is allowed to submit two designs.
– Attachment file should be named using this format: “Smith, John Utility Box Design1”
Design Guidelines
- Designs must be original work from the artist but is not required to be brand new and can be an earlier work from the applicant.
- Please do not submit a design displaying entirely dark colors or it could cause issues of extreme heat during summer.
- Designs must appeal to a broad constituency.
- No design can have a traffic sign or other traffic signal as a focal point as it could be misleading to pedestrians and drivers.
- Keep in mind that designs may be in place for several years so artists should intend on creating something that will be tasteful in the present and future.
- You have the option to design a template (see page 5 of RFP), submit a collage of designs (see top of page 6 of RFP) or simply submit a page with the entire design (see page 6 of RFP).
- Designs to the top of boxes will only be implemented if it will be visible to the public.
Acceptable File Formats for Printing
Vector Files: BEST RESULTS, OUR RECOMMENDATION 300 dpi, EPS (Encapsulated Post Script), PSD (Adobe Photoshop), AI (Adobe Illustrator), PDF (Adobe PDF), TIFF (High Resolution TIFF), EPS (CS4 or lower), AI (CS4 or lower), PDF If submitting these files be sure all fonts are converted to outlines or curves. Vector files can be submitted at any size proportionate to the final print size. Raster Files/Images: PSD (CS4 or lower), JPEG, TIFF, PDF.
Raster files should be submitted using the following guidelines: Full Scale at 100 dpi. 50% scale at 200 dpi or higher. 25% scale at 300 dpi or higher. 10% scale at 600dpi or higher.
Evaluation Process
The City of Sheboygan’s design review team will not accept any work involving profanities, advertising, a living person’s likeness without written and signed consent, plagiarism, political campaigns, negative messages or otherwise unfavorable content. Artists not selected during this process are welcome to submit additional proposals for any future Call for Artists RFP. Please keep in mind that certain locations may have many submissions so a thoughtful explanation will help your design to stand out.
Dimensions and Templates
Click HERE to download the full RFP with dimensions and templates.