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Mural Installation

Written by Street Level Studio    30 Oct   
Category: 
Design Can Be Found Everywhere
Human Interest

After several years of discussion and research, Street Level Studio is pleased to announce that we just completed a mural project on the outside of our building in Highwood, IL. We are very excited about the finished piece as it makes a once drab exterior wall come to life by honoring one of Highwood’s finest artists, Emilio “Babe” Galassini. His family was kind enough to allow us to use this piece, which is one of our favorites. We reproduced this whimsical and colorful oil painting of fruit and flora, which includes actual fruit stickers, leaves, nuts, berries, and even a real bee. We originally searched for a mural artist to reproduce the work in paint, but given that we are a graphic design company and have a client who manufactures large format printing equipment, we chose to have it digitally reproduced. The printed wall mural material was literally melted onto the surface of the building with a heat gun. Color Direct Inc., out of Milwaukee, secured the technology for us, printed the entire project on nine separate panels and did the installation. It is our hope that this larger than life painting by a revered local artist will inspire the community and serve to remind us of the rich cultural history that defines Highwood as a unique and special town.

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Every color tells a story, and each of the roughly ten million colors that are visible to the human eye conveys a message by producing a chemical reaction in our brains. These messages are often tied to emotional responses, personal memories, and cultural context. They can impact our perception—when you assume that a yellow car on a city street is a taxi—and they can cause us to act—when that same taxi stops at a red light.

So, what happens when we boost this communication by giving the colors names? By adding in language, can we craft these messages and reframe these perceptions?

If you’ve ever opened a package of crayons, purchased a lipstick, or perused paint chips, you’re familiar with color names that fall out of the standard ROY G. BIV spectrum. These names hold a great deal of power, first and foremost, the ability to offer a fuller description of a particular color.

Pantone, the authority on color trends, chooses one “Color of the Year” to express the visual spirit of the year and to predict future trends. According to Pantone [1], the 2015 color “embodies the satisfying richness of a fulfilling meal while its grounding red-brown roots emanate a sophisticated, natural earthiness… [It is]…an earthy shade with a bit of sophistication… A matte finish highlights [its] organic nature while adding a sheen conveys a completely different message of glamour and luxury.” That’s a big message for one color to convey. Pantone has chosen the name “Marsala” from a wine originating in Sicily to perfectly encapsulate this meaning.

However, the most descriptive name isn’t always the most beneficial. According to Help Scout [2] citing this study [3], “when subjects were asked to evaluate products with different color names…‘fancy’ names were preferred far more often. For example, mocha was found to be significantly more likeable than brown—despite the fact that the researchers showed subjects the same color!”
This may even extend to purchasing power; for example, “It has also been shown[4] that more unusual and unique color names can increase the intent to purchase. For instance, jelly beans with names such as razzmatazz were more likely to be chosen than jelly beans names such as lemon yellow.” Thus, with the right color name, marketers can affect product appeal and even user choice.

Lilac Dew
Grape Scott!
Deep Eggplant