Wallscapes

Go outside and look around you. In today’s modern society, you’ll see more man-made structures than ever. Buildings, roads, bridges, vehicles, and more – all things that man has made in a bid to make life easier and more convenient. And with the growing number of man-made structures outdoors, it’s no longer surprising that out-of-the-box entrepreneurs are coming up with ideas on how to make business out of such an architectural boom. One of these brilliant ideas is outdoor advertising.

Outdoor advertising is a multi-billion dollar industry in the US, raking in almost $7 billion annually. It’s basically advertising meant to reach the end-users whenever they’re outdoors. So once you step outside and see an advertisement, that’s automatically outdoor advertising.

There are many types of outdoor advertising, but what makes them essentially the same is the need to install them in strategic places so that people “on the go” can see them. Such places are public areas like commercial locations, transits, and waiting venues. One type of outdoor advertising however, begs to differ somehow as it remains visibly seen outdoors and in public but takes advantage of the huge buildings and skyscrapers found in busy streets. They’re called wallscapes, as they’re installed on the outside walls of buildings. They’re available in different sizes and shapes. They have a tremendous effect in metropolitan areas as they’re visible even from afar, making them great marketing and advertising tools for any type of business.

What you need to know about wallscapes though is that they can either be painted directly onto the wall as murals, or printed in vinyl then installed, just like with billboards. Technically however, they’re not really or strictly classified as murals. But as with all large format printed collaterals or media, wallscapes are often referred to as murals.

Traditionally, wallscapes are painted onto buildings’ outside walls by sign-writers. Today though, large scale format printers and designers take on the job of designing and making wallscapes. Large scale printers employ several different people who specialize in the conceptualization, designing, and production of wallscapes. These people work closely with clients, taking into consideration what their client wants and needs regarding the design and content of the wallscape.

The main goal is to present whatever the client needs to be conveyed to their target customers in a manner that’s not only enticing, but ideally easy to understand and grasp. For branding purposes, the designers will incorporate the client’s business, company, or brand name, logo, mantra or tag line, advertising or marketing message, and contact details. Graphics, preferably high-resolution images, are then used to blend in with the text to produce a much more powerful message that will appeal not only to existing patrons, but to potentially new customers as well. In other words, wallscapes are used not just to get the word out there, but basically to expand the reach or scope of the business.

To carefully put it, wallscapes are not just outdoor advertisements. The text and graphics are carefully planned and executed to produce artistic murals with a business purpose – to create exposure for many different businesses.