Exterior Neighborhood Mural for Design Agency Evolve Collaborative
Right before Portland’s rainy season hit we worked with the team at Evolve Collaborative to create this community focused mural on the outside of their office building located on NE Prescott in Portland, OR. This design agency hired us to curate a local artist and direct a custom public mural to honor the building’s previous tenants and give thanks to locals that share the space with them.
We helped acquire a mural permit from Portland city and direct an artistic design that wouldn’t center the agency itself but rather celebrate the Alberta/Concordia neighborhood and its outstanding history.
Our artist pulled together two creative concepts for the client to explore. The final concept speaks to the hands that make a community – hands that work, hands that play and hands that join together to turn a neighborhood into a home. The design includes emoji-like caricatures partaking in a variety of activities such as waving hello, shaking hands, playing basketball, pointing down the alley, planting a flower, a peace sign, a love sign, sharing a candy and more. Through three rounds of revisions we were able to narrow down the best hand activities to include onto the wall. We selected a retro color palette that would remain neutral and inclusive to all ethnicities and natural skin colors.
Additionally, the design incorporates previous businesses that have resided in the building since its origin in 1922. We discovered these businesses through research with various historical organizations and reviewing old photography. These family owned businesses have always been a staple to the community including QuickWay Market, Hunderups, Food King, Collectors Corner, Prescott Fountain and Humes Food.
Our client Evolve Collaborative was thrilled with the outcome of the design and its final execution. Since the wall has a white background and incorporates negative space into the design, we took an extra step of precaution and coated the wall with a mural shield to protect the color from UV rays and other weather conditions. Additionally, we added a wax coating to safeguard the artwork from unwanted graffiti tags that can easily be removed with a power washer.
If in the Portland Alberta District, be sure to swing by the location to see this playful and engaging mural for yourself! Discover more about our mural process and offerings below.
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