Nike/Union “Spread Love Mural”
brand:
Nike/Union L.A.
project:
Nike/Union “Spread Love” Mural
summary:
In 2020, I helped Air Jordan and Union Los Angeles uplift black businesses and raise awareness on racial inequality by designing and painting a 20’x10’ mural promoting their “Spread Love” campaign.
responsibilities:
Art Direction, Design Strategy, Mural Painting
challenge accepted
In September, 2020, Union Los Angeles wanted a young black artist to collaborate with them and Air Jordan on a special storefront mural – one that would be seen by thousands of passerby citizens on La Brea Ave. daily. On the left you can find an image of what the gate looked like before.
I was brought on board through connection with and past mural work for the nonprofit org, Black Out the Ballot (pictured left). I was commissioned to lead a small team of artists in painting an original piece for Jordan x Union’s “Spread Love” campaign. The campaign’s purpose was to bring awareness to racial inequality in 2020 by uplifting black businesses and voices alike. This campaign was also simultaneously released with the highly anticipated Union x Jordan 4 sneaker collaboration.
the campaign behind the shoe
I met with Adrian and Shaun from Nike who briefed my team that they were searching for a bold, fun, and easily legible design highlighting their main slogan. We were gifted the logo asset (the iconic ‘Spread Love’ font in black) and from there we had the creative freedom to go wherever our imagination led us!
I went through pages on pages of iterations (seen right), many of which incorporporated the color way of the new Jordan 4. I thought Union absolutely nailed this color palette for encapsulating and representing love. It was my goal to use color to paint a visually stimulating and inviting world, stirring curiosity in anybody who saw it.
paint day
After much back & forth over the final design, Nike ultimately chose the grayscale prism background leaving the slogan to pop in that Jordan 4 color way.
I was joined by the insanely talented Rahzizi and Gbenga, two other black USC artists whom I respect dearly. We were given a budget to collect all necessary materials, including a projector, tarp, paint, & brushes. Something we did not account for however was the massive amount of power our generator would need to continue running throughout the day outdoors. Without a sufficient generator, my team and I had to rely on analog mural techniques using a grid system! Although this was a fun challenge, it lengthened our workday to almost 24 straight hours.
reflections
Both owner of Union L.A., Chris Gibbs, and the Nike representatives all really enjoyed the finished project! This commission was such a powerful learning experience in managing time, money, and creativity to produce beautiful promotion for this impactful campaign.
For murals I work on in the future, I will make sure to obtain a stronger generator with sufficient power supply (although I am capable of doing the job with traditional grid methods it just makes the painting process unnecessarily longer). I am grateful for my team and my lesson in flexibility, sharpening my ability to adapt on the fly and
press on with quality work.
