Girls Inc.

Client: Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis
Service: Murals
Type: Commercial Indoor & Outdoor
Coverage: Full
Detail: Deluxe
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Square footage: 400 sq ft

Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis commissioned a mural for their lobby and fence to share the story of the nonprofit’s impact

Jump to: Indoor‍ ‍Outdoor

Setting the Mood

To get to know Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis, I met with staff and youth who participate in its programs. We had several brainstorming sessions so I could hear directly from them what the organization is all about. It’s a powerful nonprofit that works with girls ages 5-24 through a wide variety of programming in and outside of school. There is a focus on STEM skills as well as bringing the girls in contact with a wide array of career opportunities.

Following our conversations, I created a mood board that showed a variety of inspiration ideas. These existing images act as a visual “menu” of sorts. Stakeholders can easily communicate which images they like and don’t like. This stage is incredibly helpful before jumping into original design ideas.

the heart of the project:

Empower girls and young women to feel strong, smart, and bold

Design Concepts

Showing abstract concepts like growth mindset and mental health became the focus of my designs for this project.

Here are the two options I showed the Client. I named the top one “Garden in My Mind” and the bottom one “Every Girl is a Universe.”

I included the main branding color of red, with one option more brightly colored and the other with more earth tones.

Installation

For this project, I painted off-site on an aluminum sheet of metal measuring 11ft x 4ft. The aluminum is designed to be mounted to walls using a rail system. I worked with Midwest Arch Solutions to install the panel inside the Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis lobby.

Design Concepts

Capturing the many elements of what Girls Inc. does proved challenging. I found an emphasis on high school graduation and postsecondary education to be an important marker of success. There is a range of girls represented, with younger girls on the left and graduates and professionals on the right. To represent Indianapolis, I explored different ways to depict the Circle.

The chosen design depicts the Soldier & Sailors Monument as a pencil obelisk atop a paint palette. Other downtown buildings are represented by school supplies. There is a girl confidently walking up a staircase titled STRONG, SMART, and BOLD, since those are the characteristics Girls Inc. instills. Many of the careers depicted came from girls in the program saying what they wanted to be.

Installation

To include the community, I created a paint-by-number setup with color-coded outlines on the fence. Almost forty community members came out to paint the mural! The kids and adults worked diligently over two hours, and then I finished the details over several days.

I also painted during an event on site for the national Girls Inc. Conference as part of the entertainment. This is a service called Live Painting.

“The mural in the Welcome Space at Girls Inc. Indy is a piece that will live on for generations to come. It captures what we do regarding growth-mindsets and being healthy, independent, and strong.

The mural makes walking into our center an experience full of color and life.

We are so grateful for both of our mural projects. They have truly transformed our space, making it welcoming for everyone we serve, and our staff and volunteers.”

Lindsay Gramlich
Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis President and CEO