UK Plaid: A Tailored Tradition

The UK Plaid Project is a unique experiential education project engaging students in the Department of Retailing and Tourism Management (RTM) in product development from creative inception to point of sale and marketing.

The project began during the spring 2008 in two courses in the department. Students in Problem Solving in Merchandising designed 35 plaid patterns and the official plaid was ultimately chosen in May 2008 through online voting. The winning plaid was designed by RTM students Christina Criollo and Jena Everhard.

Students in Customer Relationship Management designed UK Plaid logos for use on apparel and accessory items produced using the official UK Plaid. Three logo designs were incorporated into the final product tag.  The designs were created by RTM students Cyntrale Johnson, Kristin Kover, Erin O’Brien, and Whitney Whitmer.

Since 2008, students have developed product designs through various courses in the department.  The UK Plaid Project Advisory Board selects products from the student designs for production. Additionally, students have designed retail displays and conducted market research.

Royalty funds derived from the sale of UK Plaid products support student learning through scholarships for educational travel experiences both domestically and abroad.