Sylvan Gray

Dynamic Director of Design with a proven track record at Transit Innovations, enhancing product aesthetics and functionality. Expert in design strategy, with a knack for identifying market trends and fostering cross-functional collaboration. Skilled in Adobe Creative Suite, Sketchup 3D Modeling, and possesses a strong problem-solving aptitude.

Sylvan Gray has extensive experience in creating impactful visual solutions and a proven ability to work seamlessly with design teams, championing collaboration and driving results in dynamic environments. Known for adaptability and commitment to high standards in design and execution and team performance.

• Collaborated with team in the development of TOD/Transit Oriented Development & TI/ Transit Innovations.

This part of the city (30th and Capitol Drive) was the former industrial site of A.O.Smith. The City of Milwaukee presented a challenge to create a gateway entrance to this 60 acre site to encourage future economic growth to the underutilized and economically challenged neighborhood. Our presentation was one of a half dozen entries which took a unique dive into Milwaukee's 500 million-year-old deep history, starting with geologic formation and the following human settlement of the last 10,000 years. Dynamically engaged with the Fibonacci spiral of inclusiveness, the design highlighted a growth pattern of potential and also a return to what home and belonging are about. This visual revolved around a theme of what we coined as, "Spirit of Place". The following is an explanation that accompanied the design: 

Spirit of Place

“Spirit of Place” is a poetic verb ringing throughout the region. Recollecting, gathering, and restoring our rich communal heritage in the Milwaukee region enables our hearts to sync together as one people. Coupled with a robust urban environmental education will leverage people’s sense of place and foster ecological place meaning through direct experiences of places, social interactions in environmental programs, and nurturing residents’ ecological identity. One’s responsibility to the land is through ecological identity and the dynamic practice of sustainability and feeling empowered and competent to improve local places.

This unique potential guides us together in playfulness, mutual creativity, and brotherly love. “Spirit of Place” reflects the bond between people and places, and “place meaning” reflects symbolic meanings people ascribe to places. In short, the “Spirit of Place” is the lens through which people experience and make meaning of their experiences in and with the dynamic places called home. This is all embedded in our right relationship with our surroundings and one another. So “Spirit of Place” is an action phrase in place of a clever techno culture tagline. This is a celebratory invitation to drop into the ongoing poetic nature and enchantment with our deep history, migration, and organic generative growth.