Guest Post: Looking at Environmental Graphics

Recently I have accepted a project to design a mural for a commercial space. I'm SO excited because this is something I've always wanted to do. Right now I'm in the very early stages of the project, which means I'm looking for inspiration and collecting images to create my moodboards. This stage is always so fun because I get to take time to surf the net, look at books and go through my stash of magazine clippings for ideas. For this project I'm researching how other artists and designers approach murals and environmental graphics; especially how they handle scale and type, pattern and color. This helps me see what can be done, what has been done and what I can do to make my ideas functional and unique.

Ideally I would love to use tons of hand-lettering which is why I liked seeing the super graphics (large-scale environmental design) done by the likes of Pentagram, design company ATTACK, mural artist Stephen Powers, and street artist Ananda Nahu. My favorite though, is the work from Margaret Kilgallen. Her whimsical images inspired by street art, old-style letter-forms, and folk-art are simply beautiful.

I also like the simplified graphic patterns used in the first image for Design Within Reach and then the wallpaper for Salon Modern by Studio MPLS. These are all great references for beautiful large scale artwork that communicates a message, design identity or tells a story.

From our Guest Blogger Andrea Pippins of Fly