Which Mural Style is the Best Fit For You?

Just as in Fine Art or Interior Design, there are many different styles of murals that are used to change a space and transform its vibe completely. From abstract to illustrative, each style tells a different story and conveys a different feeling and ambiance. Wall and Wall is here to explain the differences and help guide you to the best fit for your space, whether it’s at home, at the office, or even at a corporate or social event.

Let’s start with the basics. A mural is a piece of art that is painted onto a permanent surface such as an interior or exterior wall, and it can extend onto other surfaces such as the ground or ceiling. As with all art pieces, a mural can come in many forms and styles. Let’s go through each of them and unveil their multiple purposes and benefits…

Illustrative Style - Expressive, Expansive, Distinctive

One of our most popular styles, the illustrative style is great for story telling and for creating a focal point within a room. Within the illustrative category, there is a large range of styles you can use to tell your story.

With a simple design and a limited color palette, such as those seen in our Essex or Luxe projects, you can create bold statements that don’t overwhelm the room. The more detail and colors that are added, the longer the painting process takes, though you end up with timeless pieces that draw in your guests. We have done intricate cityscapes for Capital One at SXSW and Prologis, and we even got brand specific in painting the exact machinery used at DuPont in their Sunnyvale offices.

The style of illustrations can range from colorful to more toned down, just as the level of realism can vary. In a Japanese-inspired office at CrunchyRoll, Wall and Wall painted a realistic blowfish with a painted faux cinder block background, transforming this office space into the alleyways of Japan. With the Illustrative style, our artists will take your inspiration and transform it into a design that fits the exact needs of your space, branding and budget.

Doodle Style - Fun, Creative, Branded

The doodle style is our second most popular style, as it can be used in many different scenarios. As the title suggests, the doodle style uses small illustrations to fill the surfaces and convey the impression of doodles on the wall. This is especially effective if you want the focal point to be a specific brand name, logo, or icon, or if you want a specific wall filled with doodles. The perfect example for doodles taking over an interior is the Capital One pop-up space.

Another way we have used the doodle style is through custom-cut panels that are brand specific. This style also works well for filling up a shape or logo, as found in our Pared, Thumbtack and Brex projects. Working with our clients, we cut the logo or icon out of MDF and fill the panel with customized doodles. This is perfect if you want a mural that you can take with you and move around!

Abstract and Geometric Style - Professional, Universal, Lively

The abstract and geometric style uses geometric and organic shapes to form a beautiful composition for any space. This style is growing in popularity in office spaces, hospitality, and retail locations as it is flexible and long-lasting. With this style, mural designs can vary in complexity and cost, yet it has a larger range in pricing, which helps make wall murals more affordable than ever before. With a simple geometric design such as seen at Grammarly or our WeWork Stairs, you can add visual interest to larger amounts of space without breaking the budget. If you want more of a speciality wall, you can get more intricate, like what our muralists painted for the Facebook offices or the incredible geometric design for ModPizza.

Graffiti Style - Unique, Dynamic, Organic

Last but not least, we have graffiti style murals. If you are looking for more gritty or organic artwork, this style could be for you. Dating back to the 1960’s, graffiti has evolved into an entire culture within the art world. Between tags and pieces, there are a range of approaches under the graffiti style.

At Wall and Wall, we use aspects of the graffiti style in our work, such as the wheat paste found in our Destapas piece. Wheat pasting is the use of prints on paper as a medium within the mural. It is applied with a thick glue-like paste that adheres the paper to the surface. Another style is the more organic and colorful approach found in our Stay Weird project. With this project, we had a general design direction, but the organic and experimental nature of the paint led to a unique and less structured art piece. In the background of our Paintzen project, our artists painted with more precision but still delivered the organic feeling of the graffiti style without the use of spray paint.  

There you have it!

From illustrative to graffiti, there is a style for everyone and every space. Whether you have a specific style in mind, or you don’t know where to start, our mural artists are here to help you find the best option for your project. All you have to do is reach out to get started, and one of our team members will walk you through the process so you can make your spaces shine!

If you have any questions about which style is best for you or you have a project in mind, you can reach out to us at info@wallandwall.com or fill out the form below.

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