Murals
We approach painting murals through two lenses: that of an artist and a designer. This enables us to create branded artwork that not only represents your organization and resonates with your audience, but does so in a unique and beautiful way.
We specialize in typographic and illustrative murals that convey brand values, ethos and manifestos. Our process consists of understanding your organization on a ‘brand-level’, and then creating something artful based on those insights.
We’ve had the pleasure of painting murals for partners such as NBC, Lululemon, Twitter, the SyFy Network, and many others.
See below for a few mural samples.
MURAL SAMPLES
Mural Process
Because we are designers, our mural process follows a similar process as a branding project. The project will (generally) be broken down into the phases below. Please do note that all projects are different, and your experience may or may not be directly reflective of the process below:
Contract/Deposit/Questionnaire
After we have aligned on our project scope through our initial discussions, emails and phone calls, we will send you the following:
Contract: this outlines the terms and conditions of our mural project agreement
Project Brief: this outlines the scope of work and details of what's to be created for your mural. Generally, this speaks to usage rights, size of wall(s), and content of the painting itself (quotes, typography, illustrations, etc.)
Deposit invoice: this invoice (generally) represents 50% of the project value, and must be paid up front. Should this be an issue, we can discuss separately a payment plan that works best for you.
The above elements must be signed/paid prior to moving forward with any further creative work.
Questionnaire: this document is a series of questions that helps us better understand you, your company/brand, and what you stand for. These questions range from "how long have you been in business", "who is your target demographic", and "why do you want a mural", to "if your company was a song, what song would it be?" and "are there any colors you want to stay away from?" The answers to these questions ultimately function as the filter through which the majority of our creative decision making runs through, enabling us to create an original, designed piece of artwork that directly represents your business or brand.
Mood boarding / Creative Brief
VS: Once we have received the 4 elements listed above, we will begin creating mood boards and a Creative Brief for this project. We will discuss up front whether it's just our team contributing to the mood board or if you'd like to be included in this process. We will then pull together a Creative Brief that concisely outlines the project, the brand/ethos and goals you have, and depending on what our Contract says, various visual samples of mural styles we could execute, as well as a verbal articulation of how that inspiration speaks to what we hope to do/create for your mural.
CLIENT: agree on mood board and select design styles/directions that you like from the mood boards.
Round 1 Design
VS: Assuming congruence on the above mood boards/creative brief, we will begin designing round 1. Generally, design rounds will showcase 2-3 different design directions that follow the mood board/creative brief, but apply the artful design in different ways. Whether that's showing different styles, different elements, different treatments, different colors or otherwise. Depending on the mural style, this will appear in one of two ways: 1) these designs will either be refined sketches in black and white, mocked up on the actual wall so you can understand how the piece will look, or 2) these designs will be fully completed and rendered concepts mocked up on the wall intended to be painted. This is a case by case, style by style decision on our end.
CLIENT: you will then select a design direction, and at this time you can give any thoughts, feedback or offer any suggestions that you may see fit. Sometimes, that's as simple as "can you make this portion green instead of blue", other times, it may be a bit more comprehensive feedback.
Round 2 Design
VS: we will apply your feedback to a new design, and present to you a last and final design solution, mocked up on the space intended to be painted. This will enable you to understand and see how the mural will look before it's ever painted. *Note that due to the limitations of photography, the programs used, and variability in colors from screen to print to paint, these mockups are intended to only be reference and as will be stated in your contract, we are not held accountable to make the mural appear exactly as shown.
CLIENT: Here, we hope to get the green light and get movin' on the actual painting! However, should there be minor tweaks/adjustments needed, we can make them at this time. Should your adjustments be more than 'minor', this would be considered a 'change order', and would be treated according to what is stated in the mural contract.
Finalize
VS: if you had any feedback above, we will make those adjustments and show you one last time.
Once finally approved, we will work with you to coordinate the best time to come in and paint, we will purchase all necessary supplies, and we will get started on our painting!
FAQs
How long does a mural take?
From start to finish: contract to final painted mural, this process takes about 6–8 weeks (if you’re local). This timeline assumes both punctual feedback on the end of the client as well as a 'normal' work load on ours. Sometimes we can be spread a bit then, and need a few additional weeks for design concepting and prep.
How much does a mural cost?
Simply, it always varies. This question is akin to asking "how much does a car cost?" Well, what kinda car? Leather or cloth interior? Do you want manual or automatic windows? Factors such as scale, wall material, mural intricacy, and timeline all come into play. As a rough pricing estimate, you can figure roughly $45–$60 per square foot for your mural (this pricing tends to include design and material costs outside of lift/scaffolding rentals and travel/accommodation if needed) with a minimum base price of around $7,500. This is case-by-case, and is dependent on a number of factors. Please note that this price applies to local murals only. Travel would incur additional baseline expenses.
Who paints the mural?
Well, we do of course! Adam has painted countless murals, and will likely be utilizing mural assistants to keep things timely, efficient and productive.
How do I care for my mural?
Indoor murals don't need anything special. We use premium indoor paint (Behr, Gliden, Sherwin Williams etc.) and this is the same paint that is currently used on the walls inside your home. For exterior murals, depending on supplies used as well as wall material, your mural may want a protecting spray. This would be discussed up front.
Do you do live murals/artwork?
Sure do! Check out this page for more info.