Free PDF Guide: Corporate Art – Murals or Large Scale Commisions

Live Your Values–And Improve Workplace Culture 

Often, murals and other large-scale corporate art commissions can be a wonderful way to practice Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and to communicate your core values. They can also mean a happier workplace culture and a sense that employees are appreciated for the work that they do!  

CSR has tons of amazing benefits including increased employee productivity, retention, and overall workplace happiness. Plus, studies show that consumers are likely to choose a brand or company they perceive as charitable and value-driven over a competitor! 

Art has also been proven to benefit mood and productivity: people are happier when they are around art, they report feeling more creative, and overall less stressed. These are all great trends for improving office culture and ensuring a happy team. Employees are more likely to work harder, be more productive, and communicate effectively when they feel supported and appreciated. A workplace mural is an easy way to show your team that you are grateful for their hard work and that you want to give back. 

Finally, a mural attracts new customers and partners, and sets you apart from your competition. A new mural generates buzz on social media and in local art circles. You may find that new customers or partners find you on the basis of your fabulous new art. It’s also clear that a mural or large-scale commission sets you apart from competitors, as you are able to clearly display what makes your company different, unique, and driven.

Case Study: PepsiCo Chicago 

Last year, we had the amazing opportunity to work with PepsiCo on a mural for their new offices at the Historic Old Post Office Building in Chicago. PepsiCo is an internationally known company that puts its employees first, while creating high-quality products that put it at the front of its field, so we were thrilled to get to work with them. PepsiCo was moving their Chicago offices and thought that the big shift would be a great time to invest in a large-scale mural. 

The mural was to be located on an 11ft x 54ft wall located between the open kitchen area and a grouping of comfy seats, booths, and tables for eating, chatting, or taking a relaxing break. We spent a long time discussing style, purpose, and theme with the team at PepsiCo to figure out exactly what they were looking for. 

The theme we decided on was ‘Chicago’s Multicultural Identity’ and the goal was to depict Chicago’s broad cultural history through people and landmarks. Immediately a scene of the lakefront, the ‘L” train and other iconic Chicago sights came to mind. We were excited that PepsiCo chose a theme that proclaimed their values of community and diversity so loudly and we couldn’t wait to get to work.

PepsiCo did lots of internal work to collect feedback from their Employee Resource Groups, which serve as points of connection and perspective for different people and communities represented in the PepsiCo employee body. Each group was given questions by us at IPaintMyMind to help understand the symbols, people, ideas, places, values, and images that felt representative of the groups we were looking to depict as part of the mural. It was clear to us that PepsiCo really wanted this mural to be for its employees, first and foremost. The care, time, and resources that they put into these discussions made this a very intentional process, which is reflected in the finished mural.  

Once we had the creative brief from PepsiCo, we turned to our vast network of artists and muralists to propose options for PepsiCo to choose from. Mostly composed of Chicago-based artists, we ended up selecting Ruben Aguirre and Sam Kirk, whose styles are different but complementary, and a perfect blend for this mural. Both Sam and Ruben bring an energetic mix of color, a love of Chicago, and embrace of multicultural identities throughout their artwork. 

After a long process ensuring that the feedback was captured while still respecting and yielding to the artist’s creative vision, the design was finalized and we were ready to make it real. The 8 day painting process went off without a hitch and we had a blast watching the mural come to life on the wall in front of us. 

However, the best was yet to come. PepsiCo’s mural commission was able to fund a full year of arts programming for 3 CPS schools! 

That’s right–one workplace mural provided high-quality year-round arts programming to three schools, including workshops, our art curriculum, art supplies, and an IPMM Art Gallery at each school. The PepsiCo Chicago team will be able to enjoy their new mural for years to come, all while feeling great about the positive community impact that they were able to make.

Learn More About The Benefits of Workplace Murals 

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive a free PDF download outlining the benefits of workplace mural and walking you through each step of the process. Make sure to check out some of our other mural projects as well, including this one at Linkedin’s Detroit offices. 

If you are interested in taking the next step on your office mural journey, book your FREE consultation call with the IPMM mural team today.