CSUMB ESports Gaming Lounge
Environmental Design
Overview
Interior environmental designs for a new esports gaming lounge for students at Cal State Monterey Bay. The lounge is located in CSUMB’s Otter Student Union (OSU).
Scope
The brand new esports lounge was in need of a customized wallpaper design for each of the 4 walls. The wall dimensions were 264" x 169" and the final designs were handed off to Monterey Signs who printed and installed them.
Process
I presented my stakeholders with a mood board featuring a diverse range of esports graphics and design trends to find which artistic direction we wanted to go with. After collecting feedback from students and club organizers, it was noted that the CSUMB esports lounge demographic would be primarily geared towards people who enjoy modern games that contain competitive leagues. Therefore we intentionally chose not to include any retro gaming imagery and instead opted for a more modern, sports-inspired look.
Moodboard
The OSU also houses a classic game room, called the Rookery, outfitted with traditional activities like ping pong and billiards. While the Rookery’s wallpaper design provided an initial reference point during concept development, I aimed to craft an environment that authentically aligns with the culture and aesthetics of the esports community. This approach ensured a design language that captures the energy, identity, and dynamic visual elements distinctive to the space.
By the end of the exploration phase, I had a solid understanding of the design themes and direction. The concept I proposed was to overlay brightly glowing electrical components all around the room on top of a dark textured background. The electrical circuits would glow the school colors, either blue or green, depending on which side of the room (aka which team) they landed on. Flowing electrical circuits not only depict the digital ecosystem in which players interact, they also represent the teamwork, adaptability, and strategy that is necessary in esports.
Iteration
I began the design process by creating a dark hexagonal pattern in Adobe Photoshop as the foundational texture. From there, I transitioned to Adobe Illustrator to lay out circuitry components, shapes, and graphical elements on the first wall. Initially, I jumped straight into digital plotting, confident in my vision. In hindsight, starting with thumbnail sketches would have provided a clearer framework. While the process felt intuitive and playful at first—driven by my enthusiasm for the project—I quickly realized I had overcomplicated the design. Connecting the first wall’s components to the second became challenging due to the intricate network of circuit paths, which started to feel cluttered and overwhelming. Recognizing this, I scaled back the design to create a more cohesive and balanced composition. This adjustment not only kept the project manageable but also ensured the space remained visually engaging without being overly distracting.
Early Design Iterations
Once the circuit layout was complete, I finalized the additional assets to integrate with the design. These included elements like a console game controller, a PC gaming keyboard, a HUD display, and a pixelated abstract light arrangement. The pixelated shapes were a deliberate nod to the livestreaming community, a key facet of the eSports ecosystem. Hexagonal patterns, often associated with gaming and livestreaming setups, further reinforced this connection, grounding the design in a visual language familiar to the audience.
Inspiration
Once all components were assembled and the alignment across walls was finalized, I shifted focus to visual effects and color implementation. By applying a series of glow effects, the plain lines and shapes evolved into vibrantly electrified circuits, bringing the design to life. The same glow effects were applied to gaming-related graphics, such as the controller and keyboard, giving the impression that they were actively “powered on,” adding an extra layer of energy and immersion to the composition.
Final Designs
Outcome
The final designs were delivered to Monterey Signs, a local business who printed and installed them during the weeks leading up to the launch date. The designs were delivered in both image formats (.png) and Photoshop project files (.psd) formats for best viewing and printing practices. The esports lounge was unveiled at the official launch celebration on April 5, 2024.
This project has been the most significant solo endeavor of my career, and I’m deeply grateful to Dan Burfeind and Jeff Rensel of CSUMB for trusting me with this opportunity. It’s been an honor to design an environment for a new space that will foster connection and community among students on campus.
Learnings
Scaling the concept
The concept I went forward with included lots of interlinked elements and textures that needed to be seamless when transitioning from one wall to the next. While the execution came out great in the end, the process of creating a seamless design that translated well among all four walls was quite a challenge. Initially I wanted to include even more circuitry elements and effects, but I had to simplify things and scale my concept to fit the context and scope of the project. In addition, I had to make sure not to overwhelm myself with too intricate of a design.
Pixel resolution
The biggest challenge was understanding the right pixel resolution to work within. In my inexperience, I began working at 150ppi, but this became a major issue once I started adding effects in Photoshop. The files were so big that it became incredibly time consuming to make or save any changes. It also meant that I wasn't able to use a master document to see all the walls put together. Therefore, much of my time spent working on the project was spent waiting for things to load and save.
After doing some research and reading through many Adobe forums I learned that when it comes to bigger signage, the pixels per inch matters less the bigger you get. After I learned this, I began working at 72ppi which accelerated my workflow immensely.
Workflow
In order to work non-destructively, I relied on the ability to link Adobe files within each other. This saved me when it came time to make any adjustments or realign certain layers.
The existence of a master document was another huge part of my workflow that I was able to utilize once I fixed my pixel resolution. Before that, I was aligning 2 walls at a time rather than being able to see all walls together at once.
Lastly, the usage of mock-ups along the way really helped me visualize what the final output would look like. They not only helped me to accurately construct my vision, but it also was useful for showcasing my designs to stakeholders so they could get a good sense of the final product.
Press
