Stamen Mural
Designing and hand painting a mural in Mission District, San Francisco.
Stamen is an award-wining data visualization design studio based in San Francisco, California. Since 2001 they have crafted interactive design and data visualization projects for clients like National Geographic, the World Health Organization, and the Dalai Lama. In August 2018, while I was still living in San Francisco, Stamen commissioned me to design a mural for their office.
Such a wall (seven and a half by two and a half meters) brought a particular challenge: The mural needed to have a strong message and charming character, but also needed to be neutral enough to not overwhelm the space.
After a couple of ideas and several sketches, I was given the green light to make “You Are Here.” A mural inspired by a grand art gallery where each rendering portrays Stamen's location from a different perspective.
The result is a collection of 21 illustrations of maps, infographics, diagrams, architectural and urban plans, each of which I hand-painted freehand style on the wall. I sought to contextualize Stamen’s data visualization work in the physical space they inhabit while inviting them to step back and consider many perspectives as they do their work.
You can find parts of the process in my Instagram Stories.
Key Words:
Concept Work, Art Direction, Illustration.
Tools:
Brushes, level, ladder, Benjamin Moore Paint, Paint Markers.
Credits:
Illustration, hand painting, and hand drawing: Catalina Plé.
Pics: Cristobal Castilla. Thanks to Alec Burch for the help and the English hardware lingo class.