Digital Murals Create Ideal Environments Designer Kandace Keyser Uses Digital Mural Design to Create a Branded Environment at the Fairview Health System. In hospitals, preschools, museums and even coffee shops, murals capture the personality of a space and effectively communicate it to all who enter. Rainbow Creations has an exceptional option to the traditional hand painted mural. Full color murals can be printed with digital technology on durable Type II vinyl wallcovering. For over 27 years, Rainbow Creations has produced custom vinyl wallcoverings. This experience in customs allows us to create and produce digital murals professionally and affordably. We can even create a digital mural from artwork you provide. Should you prefer to employ the services of an artist, time and money can be saved as a commissioned artist works at one-quarter scale in the convenience of his or her studio. Multiple copies of the mural, in varying sizes, can be printed to allow the mural to be installed in several locations. Printed on Type II vinyl wallcovering, the mural is durable and scrubbable. Designer Kandace Keyser of Designwright Studios recently worked on a project that illustrates one possible application of the digital mural: the ability to "brand" the environment. A Message of Caring Fairview Health System is a large network of hospitals and clinics. Fairview recently adopted a Pediatric Branding Program whose aim was to effectively communicate to the public a message of caring for children. Fairview contacted Kandace because they wanted to visually communicate the feeling of caring in all of Fairview's children's places. Kandace's design would eventutally be used in the settings of both clinics and hospitals. "We Need a Mural" "Because the design plan for these spaces had to be both specific and generic," said Kandace, "I felt we needed a mural." Betty Greenlee, Kandace's sales representative from Comwall Wallcoverings, had already introduced Kandace to the capabilities of Rainbow Creation's Digital Mural Program. Kandace knew that a digital mural from Rainbow Creations would be durable, cleanable, and easy to specify and order. Kandace called Betty to make sure that the specifics of the digital mural program would work for her plans. In order to be branded, the mural needed to be an original piece of art. Because the amount of space in each facility would differ, the mural would span across 6 panels. A smaller facility could choose 2 or 3 panels, while a large facility could use all 6. Betty gave Kandace the green light and work on the project began. ” The Fairview Mural sets the scene in both hospitals and clinics that are part of the Fairview Health System. Click for a high resolution image. The original artwork, broken down into four panels, used to produce the Fairview Mural. Another view of the Fairview Mural. Click for a high resolution image. Developing the Fairview Children's Mural 1. MURAL CONCEPT DEVELOPED Kandace and her team decided they wanted the mural to include a change of seasons and diverse segments of the population: children in wheelchairs, children wearing glasses and adults and children interacting. Kandace selected an artist, Joy Shilda, whose style complimented the objectives of the mural. 2. SPECIFICS COMMUNICATED Betty Greenlee worked closely with Kandace and Rainbow Creations to coordinate the specifics. Joy Shilda talked to Steve at RC to make sure she understood the unique requirements of painting for a digital mural. To help Joy get a feel for the end result, Steve had her paint a small sample area. RC enlarged this sample four times, printed it on vinyl, and sent Joy the result. 3. ORIGINAL PAINTED Joy painted the original following the instructions she received. Her natural talent was most effective in creating a very special image. She was very attentive to detail, knowing that her original would be enlarged four times. For small animals, Joy used an extremely fine brush creating shading that would be reflected in the enlargement. 4. ORIGINAL SCANNED AND FIRST PROOF PRODUCED Once Joy completed the original, RC scanned the artwork and prepared the file. RC then provided a test section on vinyl of the image at actual size to demonstrate the final resolution and color. 6. GROUND SELECTED Kandace and her team also needed to select the ground the mural would be printed on. RC provided a sample of the mural printed on 2 different grounds to make this decision easier. Kandace explained, "We discovered we needed a heavier texture rather than a smooth one as we had expected. The heavy texture actually added depth to the mural." 7. PRINT COPY PROVIDED TO FACILITATE ORDERING RC provided color prints of the mural with dotted lines indicating where each panel occurs. This enabled the facilities not using all 6 panels to select the exact panel(s) they wanted to install. Realize Your Vision Rainbow Creations This project required a coordinated effort between Rainbow Creations, Betty Greenlee, Kandace Keyser, and the artist, Joy Shilda. When asked about this project, Kandace said she was very pleased with the support Rainbow Creations provided: “Rainbow Creations did a great job of holding our hand and educating us on how to create this mural. At the same time, they made sure we didn't spin our wheels, they helped us to focus. They even helped as we developed our production time. Throughout the project, they helped us to find the solution to fit the vision.