Project Brief

The “Design Journeys” mural was created specifically for “You Are Here,” an interactive exhibition at the AIGA National Design Center in New York. Like the exhibition itself, the mural was designed to increase awareness about diversity within the design profession: it celebrated the lives and careers of 25 outstanding designers from culturally and racially diverse backgrounds, and it encouraged aspiring designers from all backgrounds to consider design as a viable and rewarding career.

Approach

In a continuous line drawing, the mural weaves the last names of the 25 designers featured in the show within an abstract composition of organic and geometric forms. One name fluidly leads to another in this exuberant visual feast, inviting the viewer on a journey of discovery through the interconnected shapes, letterforms, and textures. The mural graphically communicates that each designer’s journey is unique yet part of a larger professional tradition and community.

Outcome

Visitors to the exhibition were encouraged to creatively participate in the mural’s ongoing composition. The original design was put up only in black outline on a white wall. At the show’s opening and throughout its four-month run, hundreds of colored markers were supplied for visitors to use for adding color and their own inspiration to the mural. By the close of the exhibition, the mural had blossomed into full-spectrum color, becoming a graffiti-like work of art celebrating the talent not only of 25 honored designers but of all the visitors to the show as well.

In a continuous line drawing, the mural weaves the last names of the 25 designers featured in the show within an abstract composition of organic and geometric forms. One name fluidly leads to another in this exuberant visual feast, inviting the viewer on a journey of discovery through the interconnected shapes, letterforms, and textures. The mural graphically communicates that each designer’s journey is unique yet part of a larger professional tradition and community.

Outcome

Visitors to the exhibition were encouraged to creatively participate in the mural’s ongoing composition. The original design was put up only in black outline on a white wall. At the show’s opening and throughout its four-month run, hundreds of colored markers were supplied for visitors to use for adding color and their own inspiration to the mural. By the close of the exhibition, the mural had blossomed into full-spectrum color, becoming a graffiti-like work of art celebrating the talent not only of 25 honored designers but of all the visitors to the show as well.