BlueOval City Public Landmark Production, University of Memphis, Ford Motor Company, Youngblood Studio, Frank Balton Sign Company, April 19, 2023 - May 8, 2025. Managed conceptual translation, student artistic intent, and production planning of a large-scale permanent public sculpture commissioned by Ford Motor Company to mark the entrance of BlueOval City, one of the largest automotive manufacturing investments in U.S. history. The concept was designed by University of Memphis students and selected by a board of regional artists, then produced and installed in collaboration with Youngblood Studio and Frank Balton Sign Comapany of Memphis, TN. The sculpture stands 28 feet tall with a 25 square foot footprint, and incorporates approximately 18 tons of structural steel in Ford's signature brand colors. Six leaf-like canopy forms are laser-cut with 18 original symbols representing the ecological, cultural, and industrial identity of West Tennessee. Dedicated publicly May 8, 2025. 

BlueOval City Sculpture Legend, University of Memphis, Ford Motor Company, Frank Balton Sign Company, May 23, 2024 - June 4, 2024. Designed 18 original laser-cut symbols and authored the interpretive meanings for each icon incorporated into the permanent sculpture at BlueOval City, Stanton, TN. Symbol system and written legend published and distributed by Ford Motor Company as official sculpture dedication materials. Named by Ford in published feature article as the designer of the symbol vocabulary: "six soaring canopies, each perforated with a vocabulary of symbols developed by one of our post-graduates, Emily Balton." Legend available for public download via Ford's media platform.

Published: "Sketch to Steel: West Tennessee Inspires BlueOval City Sculpture," Ford From the Road, May 8, 2025. https://www.fromtheroad.ford.com/us/en/articles/2025/sketch-to-steel--west-tennessee-inspires-blueoval-city-sculpture

BlueOval City Public Landmark Partnership Cultivation, Ford Motor Company, University of Memphis, August 2022 - September 2022. Cultivated institutional partnership between Ford Motor Company and the University of Memphis Department of Art and Design. Converted an initial client inquiry into a formal academic engagement that resulted in a $350,000 contract with the department negotiated by then chair of the department, Lucas Charles. Partnership also yielded a course integrated into the curriculum and a two-year public art installation project.

Design and Manufacturing Consultant, Ford BlueOval City Sculpture Studio Course, University of Memphis, Department of Art and Design, Spring 2023. I was invited to attend all course critiques for a curriculum-integrated studio course originated by then-chair Lucas Charles and taught by Kelsey Harrison and Andrew Parks in partnership with Ford Motor Company, serving as a design and manufacturing consultant. Alongside Ford global marketing representatives, University faculty, regional artists, and community members, I provided feasibility guidance and design critique on student concept proposals throughout the semester. My contributions drew on professional experience in environmental graphic design and sign manufacturing to help assess which concepts were executable at scale.