City of Austin
Commissioned by Cloudera, this double-walled 27' X 5' mural was designed for two interior walls in a South Congress (SOCO) high-rise in bustling South Austin.
The Challenge
The Outcome
515 Congress Ave is clean, modern, new build housing dozens of national businesses. Bank of America was already established on the ground floor. Cloudera wanted to establish a more locally-owned, grass-roots flavor in order to appeal to their new clients. Most of their new clients attend meetings in-house. The interior feel of the new space was cold and rigid.
This design was printed on decals and installed by Red-Rider studios of Taylor Texas. Each mural stretches roughly 27 feet long by 5 feet tall. They flank a wide corridor that leads into Cloudera’s main office.
Cloudera achieved their branding goals and came in significantly under budget due to the quick rendering of creative direction and my helpful sourcing solutions. They are proud to present the engaging pop-art design that emanates pure Austin culture.
Client Interview:
Cloudera is seated in the cutting-edge of cloud-based tech and physically seated in the heart of SO-CO, one of Austin's most hip neighborhoods. Owners and employees strongly value innovation in tech, pop-culture, and engaging execution. They came to me with a branding goal of ensuring their clients and customers know they are culturally relevant and aware. Their shot-gun office layout featured a long, empty, double-walled corridor. Because most of their meetings were held in-office, I proposed two murals be installed to speak "Austin" culture through and through. As prospective clients would be guided through an engaging story of Austin’s culture as they journey into Cloudera’s office.
Defining the Specs:
I developed mood boards based on a few style references provided by Cloudera. Each wall measured 27 feet long by 8 feet tall. I worked with Red-River studios to quote various sizes. The 5’ tall decals were roughly 2K less so I proposed we center the graphics and frame them out with black vinyl tape for a clean line.
The client loved my full-service approach to sourcing, design, and branding. They agreed that this was the best solution for the budget and the branding goals of the project.
Research:
With most design projects, I build mood boards before beginning the design phase. This ensures the creative direction is aligned with my client’s goals and brand vision. I developed a board filled with designs and illustrations that I felt embodied the spirit of their team and Cloudera's brand story. From this board, Cloudera chose 2 different directions to expand into digital sketches. First round sketches and mood boards are crucial to the establishing the direction of a project and staying on budget.
The Design Process:
Cloudera requested specific words that spoke to Austin's vibe: "Food, Music, I love Austin." They further communicated that they wanted to appeal to local businesses and overcome the "national franchise" aesthetic of 505 Congress.
I rendered two sketches including all of Cloudera's specs. One sketch would require significant digital illustration and "doodling" which would have been more costly. The other required a stucco-like background and a more iconic approach to graphics. The client chose the more simple, pop-art inspired design. Cloudera's main input on sketches was their love of the typographic treatments and the poppy screen-printed vibes.
With the approval of the left wall direction, I rendered an concept out to cover the right wall which included Eeyore's birthday, a local festival. While Cloudera loved the concept, they realized that Austin tourists might not get the reference. We revised the first design to reference Willie Nelson instead.
With the right-hand wall design approved, I started in on the left. As a long-time Austinite and 7th Gen Texan, I knew the key words, Southern Hospitality and SOCO (South Congress) were important to locals. Also, Barton Springs and, of course, Hats and Boots. With zero revisions to the next design, this project was a true zip.
