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Most Happening Spaces Have The Best Walls- Lets Talk Art Murals
Places feel different. You know this, I know this. Modern society has gotten us so used to living with constant sensory input – sounds, images, lights, people, smells – that the nuances of these spaces are something we pick up on instinctively. Sometimes we don’t even realize it. And thus were born ‘vibes’. And though the perception of vibes can be subliminal, their creation isn’t. Vibes can be curated, and that’s what we’re going to be talking about today. Specifically, how a little wall art can transform your space.
Murals create Distinction
Murals are a powerful tool for artistic expression for many reasons. But the fact that murals become a part of the space they are painted in makes them a powerful tool in interior (and exterior) design as well. Consider these examples.
Now, imagine walking by the buildings those murals are painted on. What purpose are they serving here? The designs themselves are quite simple, but they still make the building stand out, and the entrance easy to find. Imagine them in the context of the buildings around them; they would contrast sharply with the grey and beige of the usual urban landscape. Moreover, they allow the viewer to figure out with a single glance what the business that operates out of that building is all about. This is what we mean by ‘vibes’.
Murals help you build your Brand
Murals work in tandem with the other elements in the space they are in. This is especially relevant for external murals on commercial buildings. For example, you don’t need to put cartoon t-shirts on your walls for people to know that you are an apparel company, they can see that just fine through your display windows. What the mural tells them is what kind of clothes you sell. Are you minimalistic and formal? Funky and modern? Easy-breezy and casual? Sleek and sophisticated?
Let's take another example- say you’re a café, and you specialize in pies of all kinds. Your mural, wherever you decide to place it, could be doodles of fruit and pie which could double as a menu board while also brightening up your space.
And if you place it in an accessible space, it could even serve as the kind of accent wall people want to take pictures in front of for their social media.
Different murals for different venues
What if your business is a corporate office, and you want to liven it up a little to boost employee spirits, but not so much that it becomes distracting. Single colour or line drawings would add visual interest to your walls, and in this case, you needn’t stick to a single wall because you goal is for the mural to be part of the background. The colour combination and imagery you use would ideally be something not too unique or eye-catching, but still otherwise pleasing; there’s a time and place for standing out. Abstract lines, for example, or pinstripes, or even flowers and vines; brightening, but not obtrusive. They could even be functional, depending on how creatively you use your space.
At the end, Its all about creating moods. And murals serve the purpose well.
Throw some colour psychology in there, and you can create a space that delivers exactly the vibes you need; pinks and greens for calming, blue for relaxation, red and yellow for energy and vigour. Say you run a children’s hospital in a low-income area; you have a lot of very stressed people in and out of your space every day, with their children who are probably scared, sick, or in pain. You want keep them calm for everyone’s sake, but it’s not like you can just paint the walls willy-nilly just for the sake of doing it; this is a hospital, walls are white for a reason. One example of what you could do though is use light pink and green to create shapes on the walls, little details for kids to fixate on, like puzzle pieces. The lightness of your colours fits the requirement for your space, but the tone of them – pink and green – subliminally calms the people in that space, because that’s what those colours are scientifically proven to do.
And all that is just the tip of the iceberg. Just like any other art style, murals can be tailored to suit the needs of the space exactly, and the people who know how to do this best are muralists. In fact, as Goa based muralist Mamta Singh, who’s painted over 300 murals for various occasions, spaces, and organizations explains, the ideation of the project takes far longer than the execution. It can sometimes take a month to create a design that incorporates all the elements required, whether they are decided by the artist or the client. And once the design is finalized, it just takes a day or two to get the artwork up on the wall.
But how much does a mural cost?
Mamta tells Skyshot that the costing of a mural project depends on the experience and expertise of the artist, starting from 100 per sqft for a beginner to even 2500 sqft for a celebrated artist- there can be huge variance. But the idea always remains the same- to bring out the natural vibe of the space with the mural- something that fits that room, and the people in it, specifically.
Mamta points out that wall murals have always been a part of traditional Indian art scene- used sometimes for celebrating the rich Indian culture or other times for spreading awareness- especially in rural areas.
But in the past decade or so, wall murals are something that public as well as private entities in urban cities - like the government, small businesses, restaurants and big corporates - are relying on heavily to give meaning and soul to their spaces. As India tries to be seen as a global tourist destination, the use of murals in public spaces is going to grow, says Mamta.
We hope you enjoyed this article! If you'd like to commission a mural of your own, or know more about the process, feel free to contact us. We'll be posting more articles about murals and mural art, so stay tuned!
Written by
Sambhavi Sinha, Content Writer at Skyshot Media.
Anubhav Gaur, Founder, Skyshot Media
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