The Urban Forest Project will be planting banners by students and designers from San Francisco in the heart of the City this Fall. 25 of these banners will be created through the efforts of the AIGA San Francisco and Worldstudio—and AIGA SF members.

Each banner will use the form of the tree, or a metaphor for the tree, to make a powerful visual statement about the environment.

The brief is simple
Begin with the form, idea or a characteristic of a tree and use it to interpret and explore an issue around the environment that you and your student feel is pressing, or an idea you find entertaining or intriguing. A complete list of specifications will be provided.

Together you’ll create a forest of thoughtful images in one of the world’s most creative and sustainable cities. We hope that by bringing these images to the urban landscape we will encourage those passing by to pause, if only for a moment, to be entertained, stimulated or provoked by the work. The Urban Forest Project was first executed in New York City’s Times Square in the fall of 2006 and this is the first in a series of worldwide planned executions.

The banners will be hung on lightpoles in downtown San Francisco during the Fall 2009. Afterwards, they will then be taken down and recycled into unique products designed exclusively for the project by Academy of Art University students to be sold at auction. The proceeds will go to Friends of the Urban Forest to sustain their mission of “creating a greener San Francisco, tree by tree.”

Here’s how it works

• Students for the program will come from a variety of non-profit arts organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. All of the students will be predisposed to creativity and will be eager to learn from you.
• You will meet with your student for six two hour sessions over the course of July and August in your office. You set the schedule with your student.
• The program is designed to be easily implemented by anyone, so you don’t need to have mentoring experience—just a desire to share your knowledge with a young artist.
• You’ll be provided with a comprehensive mentoring guide to take you through the project step-by-step.

Contact: David Hisaya Asari, Diversity Co-Chair & Elizabeth Vereker, Student Liason @

Learn more about The Urban Forest Project San Francisco.

The Urban Forest Project, conceived by Worldstudio, is being presented in San Francisco in collaboration with:

• AIGA San Francisco
• City and County of San Francisco
• Academy of Art University

With special thanks to Adobe Youth Voices for their support.