Split Flap at the Austin Visitor Center
Location: Austin, TX (The Austin Visitor Center)
Use Case: Retail Signage
Client: Visit Austin
Design Style: Contemporary Artistanal, Mounted Signs
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Split Flap Specs
Size: 6 ROW x 32 COLUMN Display
Dimensions: 42″ x 93″ x 5″
Finish: Custom Color Indigio Metal Casing
Installed: 2026
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Project Overview
Every Austin local knows that when it comes to tacos, live music, and general “weirdness,” they are spoiled rotten. The city is undeniably the cultural (and literal) capital of the Lone Star State, and they’ve got the BBQ, honky-tonk, and Junk Cathedral to prove it. With the opening of their new downtown Visitor Center in March 2025, the city now has a physical manifestation of everything that makes it so special. Mounted proudly above the beautiful, quirky, and iconically country retail space is a Split Flap display, embellishing the shop with its uniquely analog style.
The design of the Austin Visitor Center puts the city’s best foot – err boot – forward. The Center’s interior branding links Austin’s old-west past with its off-beat present. The retail space juxtaposes retro neon marquees and warm, softly-lit alcoves with weathered wood accents, wagon wheels, and the odd barrel. It’s designed with an eclectic but careful blend of old and new, all with an unmistakable country-western twang. Adorning this delicate expression of identity, the Center’s Split Flap display is a key piece of retail signage that highlights the city’s history, attitude, and spirit.
Functionality and Design
With 6 rows and 32 columns, the Austin Visitor Center’s Split Flap display has plenty of room for longer messages and distinct formatting. Entire rows can be left blank as a line break to help text read with a specific cadence. The case is finished in a rich, deep blue that fits into the color scheme, contrasting nicely with the desert neutrals in the space. The flaps are black with bright white text, creating a retail signage moment with further visual intrigue to match the shop’s eclectic design.
“Coming from the art and museums world, I’ve found that, as humans, we value objects that connect us to each other, our past, and our future,” says Senior Sales Representative Colleen Wilson, who helped bring Visit Austin’s custom split flap to life.
Wilson, who has also worked on experiential signage projects for The Irish Exit, adds, “Kinetic displays like Split Flap ignite our imaginations – admiring craftsmanship links us with the craftsperson, examining machinery transforms us into engineers. That investment creates memories that are inextricably linked to guests’ experience of a brand, which simply can’t be replicated in a digital format.”
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Behind the Scenes
Behind the scenes at Oat Foundry, every Split Flap display begins long before a single flap clicks into place. It starts at the drawing board, where each project, such as the Austin Visitor Center, is designed specifically for its space, down to size, color, messaging, and style. What appears to be a simple board is actually a deeply engineered system, often made up of thousands of individual parts working in perfect synchronization.
From there, the process becomes hands-on and intricate. Sheets of cold-rolled steel are cut, bent, and powder-coated, then assembled into a rigid cabinet, the structural backbone of the display. Inside, electronics and proprietary software bring it to life, while technicians carefully install each printed flap into its rotating carousel. The result is a blend of mechanical precision, craftsmanship, and motion, where every flip, sound, and transition reflects the intentional, behind-the-scenes work happening in the Philadelphia shop.
Retail Use Case
Austin, the “Live Music Capital of the World,” certainly knows the value of interior acoustics. Creating a distinct auditory identity is paramount to capturing the city’s vibe in a retail context. Split Flap, when used as retail signage, fills a space with its iconic and distinct sound, often compared to gentle rainfall or white noise. The uniquely analog clicking and clacking create a memorable sensory experience for guests, further cementing the relationship between sound and space in Austin. More directly, the Austin Visitor Center uses the Split Flap as retail signage that communicates values. The board displays friendly messages, fun facts, and country-western quips all designed to delight and welcome the city’s visitors.
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Press and Media
Visit Austin, the organization that runs the Austin Visitor Center, proudly announced the opening of their new location, and the news was quickly covered by their local NBC affiliate, KXAN News. Shortly after their doors opened to the public for the first time, The Austin Chronicle selected the Austin Visitor Center as the “best first stop for out-of-towners” in the city.
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Oat Foundry Predicts: 2026 Design Trends
The Austin Visitor’s Center retail design is a great example of some of the most prominent design trends in 2026. From character to curation to craft, here’s how we see these trends unfolding through this year and beyond.
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FAQS
How can retail signage impact the customer experience?
Retail signage plays a key role in shaping how customers interact with a physical retail location. While screens and static signage have little more to offer than what someone can find online, analog retail signage makes a memorable impact, connecting customers to the physical space and creating a lasting impression.
How can my Split Flap display match my retail space’s aesthetic?
The displays at Oat Foundry can be color-matched to ensure a fit with your brand palette. Additionally, custom logos, colors, and designs can be printed on the flaps themselves. Split Flap displays are perfect for adding a kinetic sensory element to a space, and, with full control over the board’s messages, they can be tailored specifically to your brand’s voice, look, and feel.
How durable are Oat Foundry Split Flap displays?
Our displays are handcrafted and built to last. Oat Foundry has been running a test board since 2017, and it recently reached 50 million rotations. If those rotations were spread out at the frequency of an average Split Flap owner, the board would last over 300 years.
Learn more about Split Flap on our FAQ page.