Next time a client asks if they can paint their office walls, just show them this:
This incredible feat is the work of Ben Brucker, a graphic designer in San Francisco.
He had been based in his San Francisco offices for nearly two years and, after describing the workspace as “sterile and boring”, felt he had to do something about it.
Despite working for a creative company, Brucker’s team was not allowed to alter the walls or the office design since they were due to move into new offices within the next six months. So any changes had to be strictly temporary.
This will strike a chord with many business centre clients and coworking members. In a market renowned for its short-term leases and project spaces, not all operators allow their clients the freedom to customise their space.
But the industry is also renowned for its flexibility, and where once tailormade office designs and wall art may have been tied in with longer-term commitments, many operators are now more open to bespoke designs.
That said, if it’s a temporary fix you’re after, Ben’s inspirational work could be just the ticket.
With the boss’s approval, Ben bought 9,000 post-it notes in assorted colours (costing around $300) and ended up using 8,024 post-its in total. He mocked up a series of ‘pixel art’ superhero designs in Photoshop, and then set to work.
He and some of his team – including their families – gave up their weekend to create the artwork.
“First thing we did was line the top row of every character panel,” said Ben, according to his reddit post. “Then we used those to measure 2 foot (8 post-its) vertical grids spanning the whole wall. We taped them out to keep the grid as straight as possible, since there were a lot of helpers and the wall was huge.
“It felt daunting at first. It’s a very slow process, but we powered through.”
Check out some of the before-and-after photos below. More can be found on reddit and Imgur.