Part 1: Using design And art to create a corporate mural

Detail of the mural I painted for the reception area of the Blue Chip company Imagem (now Concord Music Group) : October 2017 - Jan 2018

Through the years I've undertaken many (mainly design related) roles:

Challenge:

Paint a mural:

• 10 times larger than anything you’ve painted before
• For a corporate client with high expectations
• In a set and strict time-frame
• That will be viewed by every new team member and every single visitor to their London corporate HQ for the next 10 years.

That was the brief that was sitting on my desk. 

Luckily I felt I could create a piece of art that:

• Blended my art practice, style and experience
• Fitted the client’s needs.

My appetite for taking managed risks is fairly low. I've undertaken many roles through my career (see below) - many of which are responding to complex challenges: I'm used to getting my teeth sunk into a new brief!

​The opportunity also arrived across my lap at a time when I was starting to explore the question: 

​How can I bring 15 years experience in
​design and innovation to the world of art?

​Challenge to pitch for the mural :: accepted!​
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​In this article (part 1) I cover: 
​1. Project context
2. Mural brief

In Part Two of this blog post I'll cover:
3. Designing three 'inspirations'
4. Creating the mural

In Part Three of this blog post I'll cover:
​5. Finishing the mural
6. Creating a post-care package for the mural

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1. Project Context:
Imagem (Now Concord Music Group) is one of the largest publishing music businesses in the world - responsible for managing 400,000 pieces of music for musicians including Madonna, Radiohead and Theatre productions such as the Sound of Music.

As part of a new office fit-out they wanted a mural artwork that was beautiful, inspirational and most importantly related to their business for their London corporate HQ. They were moving into larger offices and their plan was to incorporate a new artwork that would add the sizzle to the wider office design.

A friend and fellow artist Anne-Laure Carruth recommended me for the job.

I went to meet them and saw the space and heard about their plans for the look, feel and function of the new office.

Brief: the artwork was to be painted on top of these service doors.

2. Mural brief:

This included 3 core components:

• Artwork that resonates and is relevant: in the form of a music themed art mural for the new reception area
• ​User-experience: a consistent and flowing experience from the entrance, through reception and into the office
• Practicalities: longevity and durability  - looks as good in 10 years as it does when completed.

The client asked me to develop and present 3 art ‘Inspirations’: high level ‘starting-points’ from which to develop a full artistic concept. If they liked one: they'd consider commissioning me to paint the mural. 

​The gauntlet was thrown down.
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Coming next... Part 2 - find out how I created the three 'inspirations'