Embracing the Handmade

While we already had experimented with using painted graphics to animate YouTube’s offices, with this project we were able to go further. The murals push this idea of motion and animation by creating scenes of irregular shapes that travel through the space. Like the furniture and art we selected for the project, the varied shapes – around 40 in total – have a sense of the human hand and are detailed to retain their cut-out quality.

Creating the murals started with black construction paper and a pair of scissors. Each shape cut generated new shapes from the paper left over; a welcome effect. We then scouted locations by walking around the 3D model, and tested many combinations of shapes and placements before landing on the final set. The selected shapes work as a cast of characters that play off one another, sending a message that we’re all different and that’s beautiful!

The final step, painting the murals, was about as analog as where our process began. Using tape and detailed dimensions, the team from Burdick Painting meticulously laid out and painted the compositions. In between, we applied a number of digital tools, moving from paper to Google Slides, to Sketch-up and Revit, to get to the detailed 2D drawings used in the field. It was the perfect conclusion to a design that celebrates the unique characteristics of the handmade.