One of the environmental design services we offer at OtherWisz is creating wall murals that can be used to liven up a space with corporate branding, to promote specific messaging, or to tell a story. These stories are often told in the form of a timeline graphic that illustrates an organization’s milestones, combining event dates and historical information with visuals such as archival photos and bold graphics.
When the Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers (BFNC) repurposed its Westminster Community House in 2022, we designed a tryptic of wall graphics for the newly renovated office space that told the storied background of the building — which has the distinction of being the second oldest settlement house in the U.S. In Spring 2024, BFNC moved its main headquarters, and Executive Director Chandra Redfern again called on OtherWisz to create a timeline mural that could share the story of BFNC over its expansive 125-year history and highlight the long-standing place in the community it holds. Chandra had a vision and she knew that our team could make it happen.
A timeline mural is a balanced combination of informative design (facts, figures, dates, etc.) and decorative design. It should convey a narrative to the viewer without overwhelming them by making each timeline point easy to digest so the viewer can move on to the next in a reasonably short time, never feeling like they are reading a history textbook. After review and evaluation of a client’s supplied content, copywriting and editing is clearly a key part of our mural design process.
Working with photographs and media of various time periods can also be difficult — pieces often need to be edited or styled so they are visually cohesive despite the age difference. For this project, we decided to render over 30 photos spanning from the 1890s to 2020s in single-color monotones, either the purple or gold from BFNC’s brand color palette. This helped unify all our selected images across the full timeline, which extends down 60 feet of hallway.
To further brand the mural, a single dark purple through-line uses BFNC’s signature sun icon as the milestone marker. Events are positioned on a foot-wide band of gold, broken up by purple fields that feature specific years. The gold band includes a border of interlocking hands that not only symbolize BFNC’s continuing mission of helping the community through the years, but also adds another element to help carry viewers along through the story from point to point.
All OtherWisz mural projects include on-site installation by our experienced team. We worked with some challenging conditions on this install, including an extensive grade change, different ceiling heights, and multiple door openings along the hallway. We determined the ideal height for milestone text from end to end, and were able to keep the timeline level despite the grade change.
Staff and visitors can now get a complete understanding of BFNC and its important role in the community. The mural serves as a conversation piece, a history lesson, and a visually pleasing addition to an otherwise ordinary hallway.
If you are looking for a way to share your organization’s history or promote your company with a custom-designed timeline mural or other branded wall graphic, contact OtherWisz Creative to plan a site visit. We can be reached at 716-882-3803 or info@otherwisz.com.
