Meaning, Place & Permanence: Tactile Creative In The Built Environment

[𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦: 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘎𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘦𝘨𝘢 & 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤 35𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺.]

Whether through large-scale murals, intricate tile work, mosaic, embroidery, hand-painted shopfronts and signs, window displays, or wheatpasted posters, brand expression made by hand, in physical spaces, that you can literally reach out and touch, all ask something of the place and the people in it.

Some brands clocked onto street art fast. They’re out here renting walls, briefing artists, turning bricks into billboards for a new trainer drop, an album, a film, a festival, even Wimbledon. It's advertising, but it doesn't always look like advertising. Half the time you can't tell where the art ends and the sales begin.

[𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦: 𝘈𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘴. 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.]

Intention & Consideration

Digital content is built for reach, speed, and immediacy, and brands have gotten very good at using it that way. Digital and tactile creative both require brands to know their audience, just aimed in different directions. Digital creative reaches people wherever they scroll. Tactile creative meets them wherever they already walk or live and, done well, becomes somewhere people go out of their way to see.

When thinking about creating tactile work for the built environment, a good a planning or media partner asks; who walks past this? Why here? What effect will this have on the people who see it every day?

Done authentically, with consideration, it results in an enriched brand experience.

[𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦: 𝘛𝘰 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘴 & 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘐𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 6 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥-𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵. 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦]

Craft & Skill

Making tactile work means seeing the brushwork, the physical texture, the placement, the imperfections. It’s evidence of a human hand, of human effort. And people appreciate that. Using your hands to make or do takes time and skill. When a brand commissions tactile work from experienced craftspeople, it invests in keeping human crafts alive.

[𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦: 𝘈 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥-𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘓-𝘙, 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘎𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘮, 𝘌𝘷𝘢 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘥.]

Place & Community

Respecting the built environment and local culture is paramount to a piece of art landing in the way its intended. Tactile creative is site-specific. It’s something specifically made for 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 wall, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 window, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 place. It should enrich the neighborhood, drawing on local heritage and local artists. Done right, it adds pride of place. Done without consideration, it risks feeling like invasive "artwashing."

[𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦: 𝘈 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘴 | 𝘓-𝘙 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘶𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘣𝘢𝘨, 𝘑𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘮𝘺 𝘓𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭, 𝘏𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘴𝘺𝘭𝘶𝘮 𝘈𝘳𝘵 𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘺, 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘕𝘠𝘊]

Meaning & Interactivity

People physically engage differently with art in the real world. It’s a sensory experience. We look at murals, handpainted signs, window displays, yes, but we also touch them, photograph them, stand in front of them, and even use them as landmarks for directions. They become a permanent part of people's daily routes and photo archives, giving physical craft an organic digital second life.

[𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦: 𝘑𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘮𝘺 𝘓𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘯. 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦]

Trust & Permanence

Putting something into the physical world that cannot be easily removed demonstrates long-term commitment to craft and human-ness, authenticity, and confidence. Which means that right now, permanence is the ultimate trust metric.

Get in touch to find out how we can help bring your tactile ideas to life - here.

[𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦: 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘑𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘦, 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘺 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘚𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥-𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘺𝘭'𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵, "𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵" 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵.]

[𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘪 𝘈𝘳𝘵 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥-𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 & 𝘓𝘢𝘧𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘰𝘏𝘰 𝘕𝘠𝘊 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 2017, 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘯, 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦.]