26 Nov Wall Murals for Development Project Signage
Wall murals are often thought of as indoor signage used for restaurants or splashy brand advertising for chic clothing retailers in malls, yet murals are much more widely used than you may think. Sandbox Signs + Graphics has provided mural design and printing services to a variety of BC businesses since 1994.
Originally, murals were “frescoes” painted by hand on fresh plaster. The most widely recognized murals in the history of art and architecture were painted by Michelangelo on the walls and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City in Rome, Italy. In our era, wall murals have changed because of technology. While fine artists may still paint on fresco, in advertising and marketing, murals are usually photos or graphics (or both) printed on thin, impermeable vinyl that is adhered to an exterior wall.
How Project Development Marketers Use Wall Murals
In real estate development, wall murals are used for marketing the project and development partners (e.g., construction companies, architects, engineers) and for the project’s sales centre.
Murals are usually used on:
The primary project signage at the construction site
The primary wall mural is often used like a billboard, adhered to a wood or steel frame and high off the ground. The main project sign is usually located at the project’s busiest intersection.
Street-facing walls of pedestrian boardwalks on the perimeter of the construction site
Construction sites sometimes erect covered pedestrian boardwalks, if one side of the site faces a busy street. The exterior boardwalk walls work well for large wall murals.
Property sales centre exteriors and interiors
Sales centre exterior walls frequently use oversized wall murals of artist’s renderings of the finished development. Inside the sales centre, you’ll usually see large-scale murals depicting each side of the exterior façade and its landscaping, and an artist’s renderings of finished suites and other building amenities.
Project Development Wall Mural Design 101
While Sandbox Signs + Graphics designs and installs wall murals, we usually work closely with a project’s graphic design team. It’s all too common to take an “everything AND the kitchen sink” approach to design. Yet, judicious use of photos, graphics and textual messaging works best. The following are a few simple guidelines for creating impactful wall murals where the main focus isn’t lost in visual clutter.
Keep the central focus for the wall mural clear
If you want pedestrians or motorists to see the finished project rendering, the project name and sales centre address and phone, we recommend against adding other elements that muddy the focus.
Use graphics sparingly
If the mural uses one large background photo, graphic, or artist’s rendering, avoid too many additional photographic or graphic insets. If you find yourself doing that, you may want to consider breaking these elements out into a second mural.
Avoid lengthy lines of text and too many list items
Pedestrians, and particularly motorists, don’t read textual information on a wall mural verbatim. They look for visual landmarks like the project name, artist’s renderings, and the sales centre address and phone number. Lengthy paragraphs and too many list items in a bulleted list are a waste of prime mural real estate and will dilute and cloud the main focus.
Receive a Free Wall Mural Consultation
If you have questions about project signage or wall murals for your Vancouver or Lower Mainland development project, please contact us or request a quote. We will be glad to collaborate with your team.